By Henry Umoru
THE Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM,  has come under serious attack by exporters and manufacturers for lack of response to demands for direct lending facility aimed at financing exports of non-oil products from the country.

According to them, besides the major problem of power confronting manufacturers in Nigeria, NEXIM bank is yet another headache that must be addressed by the government if the country’s move to diversify its earnings from the oil sector to non oil must be achieved.

Lambasting NEXIM bank and other Commercial banks for the lapses experienced in securing export grant for timely exportation of goods, the federal government was urged to immediately review all export processes and ensure that all money meant for exporters were made available to them.
Speaking with Journalists at the pre-event briefing of the 9th African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, forum scheduled for Kansas City, USA, between August 2nd, to the 6th, 2010, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer ZDRAVEXPORT Nigeria limited, Mr. Paul Nkadi, disclosed that because of Nigeria’s over reliance on the oil sector for the nation’s earnings and the negligence of the non-oil sector, the country was loosing over $50m (N3bn) monthly from other sectors of the economy apart from already accruing income.
Nkadi, a leading exporter in the agro-allied industry, stressed that the stringent measures and hard conditions attached by the banks in Nigeria before giving out credit facilities to them discourage exportation and in turn dwindle the nation’s foreign earnings.

According to him, “even though former President Olusegun Obasanjo mandated Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) to ensure that all exports come to stay and attract foreign investments, not much has been achieved in this area.

“If NEPC is empowered to recommend people who are qualified for this loan after obtaining letter of credit (LC) for this export, things will improve in this country as Nigeria stands to earn over $50m every month through different sectors apart from what the country is earning now.
“Our appeal is to see how CBN will look into this issue of export grant because at the beginning of every year, CBN will claim that they have given commercial banks export grant to help exporters but nobody has been able to access either $1 or N1 from this grant. The money is lying fallow and we do not know whether it is CBN or NEXIM bank that is keeping the money that they normally announce and we call for transparency in disbursement of the grant.”
Also narrating his experience in the hands of our banks as it pertains to export grant, the General Manager, Meena Agro Oil limited, Jacob Shekarau, lamented that after approaching NEXIM bank for a credit facility of N50m in October 2007, he was only given N25m in February 2009 after the contract was cancelled.
According to Shekarau whose company produces Sheer butter and groundnut oil for export: “We export sheer butter and groundnut oil to the United States. We have the capacity of one container but the companies in the US are looking for 1000metric tonnes in a month. They are looking for 1000metric tonnes which we know we cannot be able to export even when we combine all the companies that produce sheer butter.

“We supply the US and the supply has been going on well but the major problem we have is export financing. In October 2007 after our training, we approached NEXIM bank applied for N50million facility and they approved N25million in February 2009 which is one and half season after our contract has been cancelled, and with a very stiff condition which included repayment plan of 180days, 19% interest rate.

According to him, “Even at that, of the N25million approved, we will only have N21million left after paying other exigency fees for the process. At the end of the day, we were not able to utilize the loan as the contract had been cancelled since we could n’t meet up with the deadline.

“Most of our importers are ready to open letters of credit, some even are ready to open their warehouse here and export it when they are ready but the major problem we are having is accessing loan and without that, it will be difficult to meet up the export order”.