Nigeria’s efforts to reduce its heavy reliance on oil revenues are beginning to show results. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) recently reported that the country’s non-oil exports grew by 20.79 per cent in 2024, reaching $5.456 billion compared to $4.5 billion the year before.
The Executive Director of the NEPC, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, said the growth highlights the resilience of Nigeria’s export sector, showing a shift towards a more diversified economy. She explained that major drivers of this increase include agricultural products like cocoa seeds, cocoa butter, sesame seeds, and cashew nuts, alongside urea and manufactured goods.
“This achievement can be attributed to the active diversification of the economy through the non-oil sector, with a focus on promoting agriculture, solid minerals, and manufacturing,” Ayeni said. She added that it also shows the positive effect of government policies aimed at boosting trade.
In a similar report, the Customs Area Controller of Lilypond Export Command, Mr. Ajibola Odusanya, said goods worth $986 million were exported between January and March 2025, a sharp rise from $236 million in the same period in 2024 — representing a 318 per cent increase. According to him, agricultural produce led the exports with a value of $596 million, followed by manufactured goods at $329 million and solid minerals at $50 million.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been playing a key role in supporting these growth efforts. Under the leadership of Governor Olayemi Cardoso, the CBN has introduced several measures to boost forex inflows. These include pushing Nigerian products to meet international standards, improving the competitiveness of local goods, and encouraging better packaging, branding, and quality.
The apex bank also launched two new financial products — the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account — aimed at Nigerians living abroad to make remittances and investments easier.
The CBN revised its guidelines for International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to improve transparency and facilitate quicker access to naira liquidity. Under the new rules, IMTOs must work closely with authorised banks and can now easily settle remittances either into bank accounts or in cash, with a $200 withdrawal limit.
The CBN is also promoting a “willing buyer, willing seller” model in the forex market, encouraging more flexible and transparent forex trading.
Experts say these efforts are already paying off. At a recent Cordros Asset Management seminar titled “The Naira Playbook”, Charlie Bird, Director of Trading at Verto, said Nigeria is now attracting more foreign investors due to improved dollar liquidity.
On the quality side, the CBN, alongside the Bankers’ Committee, is championing initiatives to make Nigerian exports more competitive globally. They are working to address key constraints such as poor product quality, weak packaging, and branding challenges.
However, challenges remain. The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Otunba Francis Meshioye, lamented the high cost of borrowing, which he said stood at between 35 and 37 per cent in 2024. He called on the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee to create cheaper, long-term funding options to support manufacturers and encourage local production.
Despite these hurdles, Nigeria appears to be making solid progress toward a more diversified and export-driven economy, with increasing support from financial institutions and government reforms aimed at stabilizing the naira and growing foreign exchange inflows.
