Godwin Emiefele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has issued a riot act to shipping businesses exporting unauthorized commodities from the country’s coasts.
Emiefele issued this warning on Tuesday during the RT200 Non-Oil Export Summit 2023 in Abuja.
During his speech on the topic “Challenges and Prospects for Success,” he emphasized the significance of diversifying away from oil exports.
“We all know that a nation that continues to export more than it imports is destined to fail and there will be no meaningful development of any nation without harnessing its export sector for the good of the nation,” he said
“In the case of Nigeria, we know that developing the non-export oil sector is absolutely imperative given that it holds vast potential for generating a significant amount of foreign exchange earnings.”
The governor of the central bank warned exporters who ignored multiple warnings to follow due process in ensuring their documentation fulfilled the required export criteria.
Emefiele said “We keep hearing people trying to sidetrack the process and all I can do now is appeal to those of us who believe we can do business without proper documentation to try as much as possible to desist from this practice.
“We will continue to engage Customs, we will continue to engage Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and we will continue to engage the shipping line or shipping agents to nip in the bud the incidence of exporting with documentation .”
“What you do is that you hurt the export earning potentials of the country when you do this.”
In a list of the RT 200’s successes, Emiefele stated that earnings from non-oil exports climbed by 40% from $3 billion in 2021 to $5.6 billion at the end of 2022.
“In the first quarter of 2023, a total of US$1.7 billion was repatriated to the economy while about $790 million was sold at the I&E window year-to-date,” Emefiele said, referring to repatriation proceeds as a veritable means of bolstering foreign reserves, maintaining a robust balance of payments position, and a stable source of foreign exchange inflows.
