Grow Nigeria’s Forex Earnings Through ‘Export For Survival’ Programme, NEPC Urges State Govts

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has called on state governments to key into its exports programmes aimed at boosting the country’s foreign exchange earnings as well as diversify the nation’s economy.

The Executive Director/Chief Executive, NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak gave the charge on Wednesday in Abuja during the opening session of the National Forum of States Committee on Export Promotion.

The event was organized by the NEPC for the Chairmen and Secretaries of the State Committee on Export Promotion.

The State Committee on Export Promotion was statutorily created by virtue of section 8 of the Nigerian Export Council Act, CAP N108 Laws of the Federation, 2004, as a veritable tool for the promotion and development of grass root non-oil export programmes.
Yakusak stated that over the years, SCEP has contributed significantly, to the development of non-oil export across the federation.

Through the partnership of NEPC with SCEP, he explained that the nation has witnessed a sharp increase in the numbers of NEPC offices from just 15 in 2016 to 34 currently.

He said while the non-oil export performance of the country has been on the onward movement within the last one year, despite the impact of COVID-19 on the economy in 2019 and 2020, there is still need to do more to increase the foreign exchange inflow.

During the first half of 2022, Nigerian earned its highest non-oil revenue in recent time of $2.59bn. This is 62.37 per cent increase compared with $1.60bn recorded during same period in 2021.

Yakusak said, “In pursuant to the aggressive economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government, early this year, NEPC launched a national non-oil export stimulation initiative tagged the Export4Survival.

“The campaign was developed to boost foreign exchange earnings through the non-oil export sector while preparing Nigeria for an economy that would not be dependant on crude oil export for its survival.

“To this end, we are partnering with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), to carry this campaign to the grassroot. As a critical stakeholder, we enjoin the Chairman of SCEP in each State to also join in propagating this campaign in their respective State.”

He also said the that the NEPC had developed a grass root export promotion strategy known as One State One Product (OSOP) Programme.

The concept was developed to ensure that each State of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) focuses on at least one product to develop for export.

The NEPC Boss told participants at the workshop that the success of OSOP largely depends on the functionality of the State Committee on Export Promotion (SCEP) in each State and FCT.

‘The SCEP is therefore expected to act as a major driver for the implementation of the One-State One-Product (OSOP) in their respective States,” he added.

Within the last one year, he said the NEPC has come up with some programmes and activities aimed at increasing the performance of non-oil export in the country.

He recalled that the Council recently launched the Export Trade House in Cairo, Egypt and Nairobi in Kenya as well as the first NEXPORTRADE House in Lome, Togo, as part of efforts to creating sustainable market access for Nigeria’s Products.

He urged members of the Forum to discuss identified challenges bedeviling SCEP operations in each State and to jointly proffer workable solutions.

“I urge you therefore to feel free to contribute to the discussion so that we can come up with workable recommendations at the end of this event.

“We are committed to reinvigorating the SCEP and ensure its optimal performance for growth of the non-oil export sector,” he added.