Nigeria’s federal government set up an inter-ministerial working group on 5 October to review the design of export support. According to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the group’s main assignment is to propose a restructuring of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG). It has 60 days to submit recommendations. That is a timetable for advice to the government, not evidence that a policy decision has been completed or a new scheme is already in force.

The EEG is an incentive programme intended to support Nigerian exporters. The ministry said the redesign should draw lessons from past implementation and remain fiscally sustainable. Priorities include preventing another accumulation of obligations, progressing verified legacy claims through existing government processes and tying future incentives to measurable export performance. The announcement does not state the total value of outstanding claims, the number of beneficiaries or a proposed support rate per unit of exports.

The group’s review extends beyond the EEG. It will also examine the Duty Drawback and Manufacture-in-Bond schemes, which the announcement describes as inactive. Such programmes can address different issues in exporters’ input costs and production planning, but the government has not said that either scheme has reopened or is accepting applications. For now, they are options for the group to assess rather than benefits available to firms.

The ministry wants the future framework to define eligibility, incentive calibration, funding discipline, performance measurement, verification, governance and periodic review. It also called for a technology-enabled process that can track applications from eligibility checks through approval, payment, monitoring and reporting. If designed effectively, this could let firms follow their applications while giving public agencies clearer visibility into commitments and fiscal exposure. The release sets these as design requirements for the working group; it does not describe a functioning digital service.

The government statement also says 40 per cent of monthly Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) collections has been ring-fenced for a Trade Facilitation Fund supporting trade facilitation and export incentives. That percentage describes a financing arrangement. The release gives no total fund size, collection amount, cash already transferred or payments received by exporters. It also does not set out when the fund will become operational or the conditions for using it. The 40 per cent figure should not be read as spending already delivered to businesses.

The group’s task addresses a basic design challenge: public support should encourage additional exports, domestic value addition and productivity without creating obligations the budget cannot sustain. Measuring those outcomes will require clear baselines and reporting rules. The 5 October announcement establishes the review’s objectives and timetable, but it does not yet demonstrate the final rules, amounts to be paid or future effects on exports.