Business
‘Nigeria Not Gaining From International Trade Agreements’
An international trade ex
pert with UNIDO, Dr John Isemede, said Nigeria is really not gaining from its international trade agreements.
Isemede told newsmen in Lagos that many of Nigeria’s trade agreements had even worked to its disadvantage due to poor export capacity in non-oil and low industrial capacity.
He said that it was regrettable that in spite of its over 550 trade agreements, Nigeria could still be in a recession
“It is a bitter truth that Nigeria has gained almost nothing from trade agreements that we are into.
“Nigeria is not really doing business with the world, but just trading,” he said.
Isemede said that the best way out of economic recession would be to look inwards and utilise resources from all 774 local governments across the country to create jobs and food security.
“Nigeria currently has signed more than 100 trade policies in the last decade, none of which has impact, because we lack adequate capacity unlike our other countries in these agreements.
“There is a need to review trade agreements and policies at this time because most of the developed countries we see today grew by closing down their borders for a while.
“Take a look at AGOA for instance. For 10 years, only very few exporters have been able to export under the platform due to lack of poor information and proper documentation.
“We have rice mills and farms that are barely functioning, except for the new intervention of the UNIDO and Bank of Industry to empower farmers and this apparently is not enough.
“Most of the nation’s farm produce have been rejected in the EU countries due to the high amount of pesticides, and poor storage methods, yet we are the highest producer of most of those foods.
“For instance, our yams, cassava, sesame seeds, shea butter are being freely exported under documentation from countries like Ghana, Cote’d Voire,” he said.
Isemede said that these countries were beating us to it because of poor marketing capacity.
“Informal export and import trade has also taken over the country and smuggling accounts for up to 80 per cent,” he said.
Isemede appealed to the Federal Government to introduce new policies to boost the export potential of valued added products in sectors like mining, agriculture and manufacturing.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
