Economy
NEXIM Bank, Indonesia Eximbank Fortify Bilateral Ties
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In a bid to enhance cooperation and forge stronger relationships in promoting regional and global trade and investment between Indonesia and Nigeria, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Indonesia Eximbank and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank).
The MoU, according to a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communication Department at NEXIM, Chinedu Moghalu, is strictly limited to the expressed desires of the parties to enhance cooperation in respect of the matters set out in the document. It is not intended to impose or create any legally binding rights or obligations on the parties.
It is also to foster trade, technical assistance, experience and information sharing, including other investment relations in a way that would promote financing, guarantees, insurance and counter trade instruments to increase transactions between Indonesia and Nigeria.
Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr Abba Bello, expressed his delight that both banks were able to quickly come to terms on the Articles of the MoU considering the brevity of time spent in the negotiations, showing commitment on both sides to work towards a more mutually beneficial relationship.
He further indicated that by virtue of both banks’ membership of the Global Network of Eximbanks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) G-NEXID, he hopes that the intentions expressed in the MoU would be much easier to pursue.
NEXIM Bank has been the honorary president of G-NEXID since May 2015.
Mr Abba informed the Indonesia Eximbank team that NEXIM Bank was established by Act 38 of 1991 as an Export Credit Agency with the broad mandate of promoting the diversification of the Nigerian economy and deepening the external sector, particularly the non-oil export sector.
The bank, he said, pursues this through the provision of credit facilities in both local and foreign currencies; risk-bearing facilities through export credit guarantee & export credit insurance as well as business development and financial advisory services etc.
Presently, its current strategic initiatives are geared towards boosting job creation and foreign exchange earnings in the Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Solid Minerals and Services (MASS) sectors in alignment with the efforts of the federal government to diversify the economy, create jobs and increase both the value and sources of foreign exchange earnings in the country.
Mr Bello assured his Indonesian counterpart that NEXIM would do all within its mandate in regard to the intentions expressed in the document. Concluding, he expressed his hope that the MoU will strengthen Nigeria’s existing bilateral relations with Indonesia through increased technical assistance, promotion of non-oil export trade and other economic activities and thereby provide more support to the Government’s efforts to diversify the economy.
In his response, the Managing Director of Indonesia Eximbank, Mr Dwi Wahyudi, expressed his satisfaction that the two institutions have established a viable intention to forge strong collaborative relationship as signalled by the MoU.
Mr Wahyudi expressed hopes that the MoU signed with NEXIM Bank would spur meaningful bilateral cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of the intentions expressed in the Articles.
This becomes more germane given the readiness of the Government of Indonesia to enhance more mutually beneficial economic relations with Nigeria as indicated during the official visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs Retno Marsudi, in June this year.
Mr Wahydi disclosed that the Indonesia Eximbank was incorporated by virtue of Law Number 2/2009, as an export credit institution that provides export financing in the form of security, insurance and consultation services.
Like NEXIM, the Indonesian Eximbank supports its Government’s economic development aspirations by providing financing for (a) businesses that are into production of goods and services for export; (b) viable projects that are not attractive to commercial banks but have the prospects to increase the national export base; and (c) providing assistance to overcome the obstacles facing banks or other financial institutions in providing financing for exporters through various export credit instruments.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has announced the recovery of N7.43 trillion (approximately $4.85 billion) from outstanding payments owed by oil and gas companies, following its industry-wide financial disclosures.
The recovery is part of the total $8.26 billion identified in NEITI’s 2021 oil and gas audit report.
This was disclosed by NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Mr Orji Orji, while speaking during a press briefing in Abuja over the weekend, noting that the recoveries demonstrate the agency’s commitment to transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
The NEITI chief noted that while significant progress has been made in recovering funds, unresolved financial liabilities remain a major concern.
“So far, over $4.85 billion was recovered from the disclosures of $8.26 billion (made by NEITI in its 2021 oil and gas report. In the 2023 industry reports released in September 2024, NEITI disclosed liabilities of $6.175 billion and N66.378 billion, showing a significant decline from the liabilities of 2021 reports, yet worrisome because of the need for government to find resources to fund its 2025 budget,” Mr Orji stated.
He decried that despite NEITI’s efforts to ensure financial accountability in the oil and gas sector, several companies have continued to default on payments.
He called on relevant government bodies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), to take stronger enforcement actions against defaulters and adopt more stringent measures to prevent future revenue leakages.
“Analyses of how these liabilities, when paid, could support the federal government’s domestic revenue mobilization reveals that the liabilities, when converted at N1,500 to one dollar, would amount to N9.33 trillion.
“The sum is more than the federal government’s total budget for health, education, agriculture and food security, which totaled N8.73 trillion. Further analyses show that the sum is also more than the total budget for national security at N6.11 trillion, health at N2.48 trillion and social welfare of N724 billion all put together. The liabilities can also knock off about 72 per cent of the federal government’s budget deficit of N13 trillion for 2025.”
He called on relevant agencies responsible for collecting these revenues to do what is needed and support our governments at all levels to provide the much-needed infrastructure for our citizens,” he stated.
Mr Orji further disclosed plans to broaden the initiative’s industry-wide reports to include dedicated sections on divestments, forward sales of oil and gas assets, and environmental remediation.
This move, he noted, is aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.
He stated that while the agency’s current Beneficial Ownership data is up-to-date as of 2023, more work is needed to deepen engagements and public disclosures on companies acquiring divested assets.
Mr Orji highlighted challenges such as institutional constraints, funding limitations, and resistance to change.
He called for collective efforts from the media, civil society, and stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria’s oil, gas, and mining revenues are managed prudently for the benefit of all citizens.
“Transparency is not just a policy; it is a responsibility. NEITI remains steadfast in ensuring that Nigeria’s extractive revenues are accounted for and utilized effectively,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria earned N7.68 trillion from the export of natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and other gas products in 2024.
This showed an increase of 105.1 per cent from the N3.746 trillion earned from the sale of the commodities in 2023, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2024 noted.
It was revealed that gas export earnings accounted for 9.92 per cent of total exports recorded in the year under review versus the 10.42 per cent posted a year earlier.
Giving a breakdown of gas exports in 2024, the NBS reported that in the first quarter, the country recorded N1.437 trillion, N2.881 trillion was earned in the second quarter, while in the third and fourth quarter of 2024 stood at N35.845 billion and N3.329 trillion, respectively.
In comparison, the NBS stated that the country earned N668.119 billion, N711.1 billion, N1.109 trillion and N1.257 trillion from gas exports in the first, second, third and fourth quarter of 2023, respectively.
The NBS noted that the during the period under review, the country earned N1.943 trillion from natural gas exports, followed by other petroleum gases with N1.117 trillion, while Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) trailed with N269.074 billion.
The agency disclosed that Nigeria exported Liquefied Petroleum Gas valued at N112.71 billion and Natural gas worth N83.655 billion to the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of 2024; while natural gas valued at N135.21 billion was exported to France.
It added that Spain purchased N345.118 billion worth of natural gas from Nigeria and N131.289 billion worth of other petroleum gas, while India purchased other petroleum gas and natural gas valued at N337.085 billion and N209.159 billion, respectively.
In Africa, the NBS noted that Nigeria sold N10.81 billion worth of Liquefied Petroleum Gas to the Ivory Coast in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Based on the entire data, the stats office disclosed that total foreign trade stood at N138.033 trillion in 2024; rising by 106.6 per cent, compared with N66.825 trillion in 2023.
It added that total exports stood at N77.442 trillion in 2024, rising by 115.3 per cent compared with N35.962 trillion in 2023; while total imports stood at N60.59 trillion in 2024, rising by 96.3 per cent from N30.863 trillion recorded in 2023.
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