By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emiefele, has revealed that earnings from non-oil exports in Nigeria increased by 40 per cent from $3 billion in 2021 to $5.6 billion at the end of 2022.
Mr Emiefele made this disclosure at the RT200 Non-Oil Export Summit 2023 on Tuesday in Abuja during his speech at the event themed Challenges and Prospects to Success.
Recall that the RT200 FX programme was introduced to stimulate non-oil exports with a $200 billion FX income target in the next three to five years.
“Today, I am happy to note that the RTX 200 programme has led to tremendous progress in export proceeds repatriation since its establishment in February 2022.
“In the first quarter of 2023, a total of $1.7 billion was repatriated to the economy while about $790 million was sold at the I&E window year-to-date,” he said.
Mr Emefiele detailed the importance of diversifying from oil exports, noting that it was important for Nigeria to boost its 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 banker added.
The CBN governor warned exporters who disregarded several warnings to follow due process in ensuring their documentation met the needed criteria for export.
“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,” he said.
“We will continue to engage Customs, we will continue to engage Nigeria Ports Authority, 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,” he said.
Modupe Gbadeyanka