NEPZA Urges EU to Invest in Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has urged the European Union to integrate Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones into European value chains to drive industrialisation, boost economic growth and deepen bilateral cooperation.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, Dr Olufemi Ogunyemi, made the call on Monday at a trade and investment facilitation meeting held at the European House in Abuja.
Ogunyemi said Nigeria’s Free Zones, operating under NEPZA’s strategic framework, could serve as effective platforms for strengthening EU–Nigeria economic relations amid ongoing shifts in the global economic order.
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“It is a privilege to address this distinguished gathering at this critical moment in global economic history,” he said.
“Our discussion examines how Nigeria’s Free Zones can enhance EU–Nigeria economic cooperation at a time of significant structural change.”
He noted that as the global system moves away from a predictable, rules-based order to one shaped by changing alliances and economic pressures, the European Union should increasingly leverage Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones to expand and deepen its partnership with Africa’s largest economy.
According to him, the EU’s push for economic resilience and strategic autonomy aligns with NEPZA’s vision of building diversified and resilient partnerships anchored on shared interests rather than narrow supply dependencies.
Ogunyemi said increased European economic activity along Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones corridors would help reduce dependency concentration, protect critical supply chains and stimulate economic engagement across West Africa.
He also observed that recent efforts by the EU to realign its economy projected the need for mutually beneficial partnerships between Europe and Africa, stressing that Special Economic Zones could accelerate shared economic gains.
While acknowledging that the EU remained Africa’s leading trade and investment partner, Ogunyemi noted that trade relations were still largely skewed towards Africa’s export of raw materials.
He said trade in goods between Africa and the EU stood at nearly €355bn in 2024, while trade in services exceeded €100bn, adding that the structure of the trade posed a shared strategic challenge.
“Overreliance on primary commodities without meaningful value addition constrains industrial growth, limits human capital development and threatens the long-term sustainability of our supply chains,” he said, adding that greater investment in Nigeria’s economic zones could help address the imbalance.
The meeting was attended by ambassadors of European countries, heads of delegation of EU member states, as well as representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service.
NEPZA said the engagement was part of ongoing efforts to position Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones as hubs for industrial development and preferred destinations for foreign direct investment.
