NEPZA Courts EU to Plug Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones into European Supply Chains

By Linda Ike

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has urged the European Union to anchor part of its future growth in Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones, arguing that deeper integration will boost industrialisation, stabilise supply chains, and deliver mutual prosperity for Europe and West Africa.

Speaking at the European House in Abuja, NEPZA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi said Nigeria’s Free Zones, under NEPZA’s strategic framework, offer ready-made platforms to scale up EU–Nigeria trade and investment amid a shifting global economic order.

He stressed that the EU’s focus on diversifying suppliers and building resilient partnerships plays directly into the opportunity offered by Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones corridors.

Dr. Ogunyemi pointed to Europe’s status as Africa’s top trade and investment partner with goods trade nearing €355 billion and services above €100 billion in 2024 but warned that a dependence on raw‑material exports holds back industrial development on the African side.

Investing in structured economic zones, he said, will reduce overreliance on commodities, create jobs, and support sustainable value chains between the EU and Nigeria.

The meeting, attended by ambassadors of European countries, EU Heads of Delegation, and representatives of the European Commission and European External Action Service, marked a push for concrete steps to link EU industries with Nigerian zones, including logistics hubs, manufacturing parks, and export‑oriented facilities under NEPZA’s oversight.