By Mariam Abeeb
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has called on the Federal Government and private sector to adopt coordinated strategies to maximise the benefits of the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The President of ACCI, Chief Emeka Obegolu, made the call in a policy statement titled “From AGOA Opportunity to Sustainable Export Competitiveness,” issued on Thursday in Abuja.
Obegolu said the 2026–2028 AGOA extension presented Nigeria with an important opportunity to strengthen its export competitiveness, diversify the economy, create jobs and expand the country’s non-oil exports.
He, however, stressed the need for deliberate measures to ensure that the opportunity translates into sustained export growth.
According to him, Nigeria must use the period to address longstanding challenges that have hindered the country’s effective utilisation of AGOA, including inadequate market intelligence, product quality and certification, regulatory compliance, packaging, limited production capacity, financing, aggregation, logistics and insufficient value addition.
The ACCI president urged the country to shift from the export of raw commodities towards processing, packaging, branding and value addition to meet the requirements of the United States market.
He identified shea butter, cashew, ginger, hibiscus, sesame, sesame oil, textiles and apparel as products with significant export potential, alongside processed agricultural goods, selected solid minerals and creative-industry products.
He said increased domestic processing would enable Nigeria to retain greater value within the economy, stimulate industrial development and generate employment, while strengthening the competitiveness of Nigerian products in international markets.
Obegolu also advocated stronger support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with exportable products but limited capacity, noting that many businesses lacked the production volumes, financing, warehousing and logistics infrastructure required to compete effectively in global markets.
He proposed an open-access export enablement programme that would provide exporters with practical information, compliance assistance and market intelligence, while facilitating buyer linkages and aggregation opportunities.
He also called for more business-to-business engagements, trade missions and reverse trade missions to connect Nigerian businesses with potential buyers in the United States.
The ACCI president urged the Federal Government and relevant agencies to tackle policy and infrastructure constraints undermining Nigeria’s export competitiveness.
He recommended faster and digitally enabled Certificates of Origin, targeted duty relief for export-oriented machinery and packaging equipment, improved electricity supply, lower inland logistics costs and simplified export documentation.
He further called for the development of an effective single-window system for export-related permits and approvals to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks and make the country’s export process more efficient.
Obegolu stressed that Nigeria’s export strategy must extend beyond the lifespan of AGOA by building sustainable competitiveness based on quality, certification, innovation and ethical sourcing.
He said branding, technology, productivity and value addition were critical to developing globally competitive Nigerian businesses.
He added that capabilities developed through AGOA should serve as a foundation for Nigerian businesses to expand into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other international markets.
The ACCI president reaffirmed the Chamber’s commitment to collaborating with government, private-sector operators, financial institutions and development partners to build a competitive export economy, urging stakeholders to ensure that the AGOA extension did not become another missed opportunity for Nigeria but a catalyst for sustainable export development.
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