The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria )MAN) have reaffirmed their commitment to addressing bottlenecks in Nigeria’s export sector, fixing the Export Expansion Grant scheme and promoting non-oil trade as a key driver of the country’s economic growth and development.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting and public discourse of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group in Lagos on Tuesday, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said that the government was determined to resolve the long-standing challenges affecting exporters, particularly those related to the EEG scheme.
Oduwole, represented by the Assistant Chief Commercial Officer in the federal trade ministry, Hajara Usman, said that the ministry was “fully aware of the difficulties confronting exporters and is working with the private sector to find lasting solutions.”
“The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is strengthening inter-agency coordination to eliminate duplications and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“We are also working to streamline documentation processes, digitise customs operations, and harmonise standards across borders,” she said.
According to Oduwole, the ministry has set up a technical working group to address concerns surrounding the EEG and to clear outstanding claims.
“We are working closely with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that these problems are brought to the fore and resolved. The minister is not relenting on this,” she added.
Oduwole explained that Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area required “decisive action to overcome non-tariff barriers, weak industrial capacity, and poor infrastructure.”
She said, “The AfCFTA represents not just a trade agreement but a historic opportunity to reshape Africa’s economic destiny. However, issues such as congested ports, unreliable power supply, and multiple regulations continue to inflate exporters’ costs and weaken competitiveness.”
The minister reaffirmed the government’s pledge to deepen partnerships with manufacturers.
“The challenges before us cannot be addressed by the government alone. We require a strong partnership between the public and private sectors. Together, we can transform Nigeria from a commodity-dependent economy into a diversified, export-driven powerhouse,” the report by Punch newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
Stakeholders agreed that collaborative reforms, particularly on the EEG, infrastructure development, and trade facilitation, would be critical to positioning Nigeria as a regional export leader under the AfCFTA framework.
The Chairman of MANEG, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, commended the Nigerian Government for efforts to clear EEG backlogs but urged for “a comprehensive policy review to clean up the process.”
“Manufacturing exporters have faced declining competitiveness in the global market due to high exchange rates, energy costs, multiple levies, port congestion, and infrastructure shortages. We urge the Federal Government to revisit policies designed to assist manufacturers and to reform the export expansion framework,” she said.
Erewa-Meggison thanked the Nigerian Export Promotion Council for funding the submission of baseline export data for 2023 and 2024, describing it as a step toward improving sectoral transparency and planning.
She said MANEG remained committed to supporting the objectives of the AfCFTA but warned that unresolved domestic barriers could hinder Nigeria’s ability to maximise the trade pact’s benefits.
The event, themed ‘Difficulties in Export Trading under Multilateral Trade Agreements: A Threat to AfCFTA Implementation’, drew participants from the public and private sectors, academia, and development agencies.
GIK/APA