The Federal Government has said the newly signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates is designed to attract large-scale UAE investments into Nigeria’s infrastructure and industrial sectors, while positioning the country as a strategic hub for accessing the wider African market.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, stated this on Thursday while speaking as a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television, where she defended the agreement amid concerns about its implications for local production and jobs.
Oduwole said Nigeria deliberately opened its market to UAE investors in areas where the country has clear infrastructure and industrial gaps, stressing that the deal was negotiated to support Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda, not undermine it.
“We want investment in infrastructure, we want investment in so many areas that we have gaps, and so that UAE capital will come into areas, and of course they’ll make good money,” she said.
“But more than that, when the UAE are looking for a hub to access the rest of Africa, they will base those investments in Nigeria and use Nigeria as a hub to export to the rest of Africa.
“But this agreement is by no means one-sided. It’s one that I told you was a tough negotiation, but both sides insisted and came to the conclusion where it was going to be a win-win,” she said.
According to her, beyond capital inflows, the agreement would also allow Nigeria to import critical machinery and industrial inputs required to boost domestic manufacturing capacity.
“What we will also be importing from the UAE will be a lot of machinery, a lot of areas where we need inputs for our industrialisation agenda, and those are some of the lines that we’ve opened,” Oduwole explained.
Nigeria and the UAE recently signed the CEPA, one of Nigeria’s most ambitious bilateral trade liberalisation agreements to date.
Under the deal, Nigeria will eliminate tariffs on 6,243 products imported from the UAE, while the UAE will remove tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian products, granting Nigerian exporters expanded access to the Gulf market.
The minister said agricultural and industrial products, including fish and seafood, oil seeds, cereals, cotton, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, would now enter the UAE market duty-free.
She said, “This deal has been comprehensive. The message of this deal should be delivered in the most pragmatic manner.
“Even though it has been very technical work, over 11 months of tough negotiation, both sides were quite pleased with where we landed this deal for Nigeria.”
She urged Nigerian exporters to take advantage of the tariff-free access, noting that the agreement aligns with the Federal Government’s non-oil export drive under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Over 7,000 product lines, from oil seeds to pharmaceuticals, to our chemicals, to agricultural produce, will be allowed into the UAE market duty-free.
“We really do want Nigerian businesses to take advantage of that,” Oduwole said.
Oduwole, who spoke virtually, explained that the UAE was deliberately chosen as a trade partner because of its status as a global logistics and commercial hub.
“The UAE is about the 10th largest trading nation in the world. This is a gateway, this is a hub, this is an access that connects east to west,” she said.
“When it comes to transport, logistics and businesses having head offices, the UAE is one of the melting pots of the world,” Oduwole said.
She added that the agreement would also allow Nigerian businesses to establish offices and subsidiaries in the UAE, with business owners eligible to stay for up to 90 days within 12 months.
Addressing fears that the deal could flood Nigeria with foreign goods and hurt local manufacturers, the minister insisted that Nigerian interests were prioritised during negotiations.
Oduwole said, “We have prioritised Nigeria first. We have prioritised Nigerian investors.
“No UAE investor is trying to come into the Nigerian market on their own. They need local partners.”
She cited ongoing infrastructure projects and recent financial sector entries as early signs of growing UAE confidence in Nigeria.
“If you take, for instance, the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, we have seen some UAE capital coming. We have seen First Abu Dhabi Bank moving into Nigeria,” Oduwole noted.
According to her, Nigeria’s prohibition list remains intact, while tariff reforms are being coordinated with the Ministries of Finance and Justice to ensure alignment with national development priorities.
“Our prohibition list remains the same. Our tariff work has been ongoing, and it will deliver progress for the Nigerian economy according to the Renewed Hope Agenda,” she said.
Oduwole further described the agreement as one of the toughest and most comprehensive trade negotiations Nigeria has undertaken, emphasising that it includes safeguards and monitoring mechanisms.
“This agreement has 22 chapters. You have dispute settlement. You have a mechanism where we come together once a year to see practically what it’s going to deliver.
“It’s not just an agreement that you sign and go to sleep,” she said.
She revealed that both countries were already engaging investors sector by sector, adding that Nigeria would host the Investopia investment forum on February 2 in Lagos.
The minister also linked the CEPA to broader reforms aimed at improving Nigeria’s business environment, including the National Single Window project, export facilitation programmes, tax reforms and the revamp of special economic zones.
“These are not in isolation. They all come together to deliver an enabling environment for our businesses to thrive and to export,” she said.
On job creation, Oduwole argued that infrastructure investments tied to the agreement would have immediate employment impacts.
“How many jobs do you think the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway has created and generated for the Nigerian economy?” she asked.
She said the government was rolling out export-readiness programmes through agencies such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEXIM Bank, the Bank of Industry and SMEDAN, including cluster-based support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Oduwole maintained that the CEPA was balanced and firmly aligned with Nigeria’s long-term economic goals.
“Our job as government is to teach and to coach. Never, ever underestimate Nigerian productivity, Nigerian innovation, Nigerian capacity to take advantage.
“This agreement is by no means one-sided. It was a tough negotiation, but both sides insisted and came to the conclusion where it was going to be a win-win,” she said.
She expressed optimism that the deal would deliver measurable results, adding that Nigeria’s non-oil export performance had already hit record highs.
“We have broken another record on our non-oil exports in 2025. Let’s watch the data. The taste of the pudding is in the eating,” Oduwole concluded.
