Building a resilient export economy requires ensuring that future commitments are transparent, adequately funded and consistently honoured… Only then can Nigerian exporters confidently plan production, secure international buyers, obtain certifications, fulfil contracts and trust that government support will arrive when promised… That is the difference between announcing an export incentive and building a truly competitive export economy.
For years, many Nigerian exporters have waited patiently for government incentives designed to strengthen their competitiveness in international markets. While businesses fulfilled export orders, invested in production and expanded into new markets, delayed incentive payments and policy uncertainty gradually weakened confidence in the system.
The Federal Government’s renewed effort to resolve the ₦330 billion Export Expansion Grant (EEG) backlog therefore deserves careful attention. Beyond settling outstanding obligations, it presents an opportunity to restore confidence in one of Nigeria’s most important export support mechanisms and lay the foundation for a more credible incentive framework.
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At a recent stakeholder engagement in Abuja, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Nonye Ayeni, disclosed that the Federal Government was working with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEG) and other stakeholders to clear outstanding EEG claims while developing a sustainable funding model for the scheme.
According to NEPC, about ₦269.45 billion represents verified EEG claims involving 195 beneficiary companies under the Promissory Note Programme approved by the Federal Executive Council in May 2023. An additional ₦60.64 billion relates to stepped-down claims involving 32 companies covering the 2017–2020 period, bringing the total outstanding obligation to approximately ₦330.08 billion.
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For the affected companies, however, the issue extends beyond the amount owed. It is about the cost of uncertainty.
An exporter who has invested in raw materials, processed goods, fulfilled contracts and paid shipping costs cannot treat an approved government incentive as a distant promise. Delays affect cash flow, limit expansion, reduce competitiveness, constrain employment and discourage further investment.
Resolving the backlog is therefore necessary, but preventing another accumulation is even more important.
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The Export Expansion Grant was established to improve the competitiveness of Nigerian exporters by encouraging non-oil exports through Export Credit Certificates, which beneficiaries can use to offset specified federal tax obligations.
Its objective is straightforward: make Nigerian businesses more competitive in international markets.
The current reform goes beyond clearing outstanding liabilities. It also seeks to address weaknesses in the programme’s funding architecture — a development that could prove even more significant than the settlement itself.
Paying old claims without fixing the structural causes of the backlog would simply postpone another crisis.
Nigeria needs an export incentive system built on transparent eligibility criteria, efficient verification processes, predictable payment timelines and sustainable funding.
Such reforms have become increasingly important as the country’s non-oil export sector continues to expand.
In 2025, Nigeria recorded $6.1 billion in non-oil exports, representing an 11.5 per cent increase over the $5.46 billion achieved in 2024. Export volumes exceeded eight million metric tonnes, with 281 products reaching 120 countries.
Cocoa beans generated approximately $1.99 billion, while urea contributed $1.29 billion. Cashew nuts, sesame seeds and several other agricultural commodities also recorded significant export earnings.
These figures demonstrate that global demand for Nigerian products already exists.
The challenge is creating an operating environment that enables exporters to respond competitively.
Manufacturers and exporters still contend with high production costs, unreliable electricity, expensive logistics, limited access to affordable finance, certification challenges, regulatory bottlenecks and volatile international markets.
Although export incentives cannot eliminate all these constraints, they should at least provide a dependable policy environment that businesses can confidently incorporate into their planning.
One of the most encouraging aspects of the proposed restructuring is the establishment of a professionally managed Trade Facilitation Fund.
According to Mrs Ayeni, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the ring-fencing of 40 per cent of monthly collections from the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme to finance strategic trade facilitation initiatives and export incentive programmes.
This proposal has considerable potential.
However, its success will depend entirely on governance.
The Fund should operate under clearly defined rules governing collections, allocations, disbursements, transparency and public accountability. Exporters should understand how resources are managed, while government institutions should regularly publish measurable reports demonstrating the Fund’s impact.
The EEG backlog offers an important lesson.
Government incentives create value only when businesses can reasonably predict when and how they will be delivered.
An exporter considering investment in a processing facility or expansion into new markets must make long-term financial decisions. Uncertain incentive payments increase business risk and undermine the very competitiveness the programme seeks to promote.
The involvement of MANEG in the reform process is equally significant because export competitiveness begins with manufacturing.
Businesses do not experience government through separate ministries, departments or agencies. They experience one business environment.
When electricity costs remain high, logistics inefficient, certification processes slow, customs procedures cumbersome and financing expensive, even generous export incentives struggle to offset those disadvantages.
The restructuring of the EEG should therefore form part of broader reforms aimed at improving trade facilitation, industrial productivity and regulatory coordination.
In this regard, initiatives such as the Federal Government’s National Single Window are particularly relevant. Exporters require systems that reduce duplication, shorten processing time and simplify compliance across multiple government agencies.
Likewise, Nigeria must continue shifting from exporting raw commodities to exporting higher-value products.
Cocoa, cashew, sesame, leather and numerous other commodities present enormous opportunities for local processing, packaging, branding and manufacturing before export. Every additional stage of value addition creates jobs, strengthens domestic industries and increases foreign exchange earnings.
A reformed incentive scheme should therefore reward measurable outcomes such as value addition, local content development, employment generation, export diversification and increased international competitiveness — not merely higher export volumes.
Beyond promoting Nigerian products abroad, NEPC is increasingly demonstrating its importance as a coordinating institution capable of bringing together exporters, manufacturers, regulators and policymakers to address structural obstacles confronting the non-oil export sector.
Successfully resolving the EEG backlog will require sustained collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, NEPC, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Debt Management Office, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Assembly and other relevant institutions.
Yet coordination must achieve more than meetings and communiqués.
It must produce faster verification, transparent processing, predictable payment schedules and digital systems through which exporters can monitor the status of their applications from submission to settlement.
Ultimately, the success of the current reform should not be measured solely by how much of the ₦330 billion backlog is eventually cleared. It should also be judged by whether future claims are processed efficiently, payment timelines respected and confidence restored.
Nigeria has already demonstrated the enormous potential of its non-oil export economy.
The record $6.1 billion achieved in 2025 confirms that Nigerian products can compete successfully in international markets.
Sustaining that momentum, however, requires more than encouraging export statistics. It demands credible policies, reliable institutions, sustainable funding mechanisms and continuous engagement with the private sector.
Clearing inherited obligations is an important first step.
Building a resilient export economy requires ensuring that future commitments are transparent, adequately funded and consistently honoured.
Only then can Nigerian exporters confidently plan production, secure international buyers, obtain certifications, fulfil contracts and trust that government support will arrive when promised.
That is the difference between announcing an export incentive and building a truly competitive export economy.
Kabir Abdulsalam writes from Suleja, Niger State. He can be reached via [email protected].
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