Billions Spent, Zero Markets Built: Nigeria’s Border Trade Dreams Still Stuck on Paper

Nigeria pledged six transnational border markets to formalize trade, curb smuggling, and create jobs. In 2011, the Department for International Development (DFID) financed a ₦500m feasibility study for Okerete. A decade later, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) rolled out a ₦50bn Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP) to boost non‑oil exports and regional trade.

Fifteen years on, none of the promised markets has matured into a functional hub. Smuggling persists, infrastructure is thin, and policy momentum is fragmented — despite billions spent.

What Was Promised — and What Exists Today

DFID’s ₦500m feasibility produced studies and plans, but no market infrastructure stands at Okerete. NEPC’s ₦50bn EEFP strengthened exporter support and regional ambitions, yet no hubs were delivered. The Export Expansion Grant framework remains the core incentive for exporters, but informal border corridors continue to fall outside its reach.

In 2021, during the late President Muhammadu Buhari‑led administration, NEPC rolled out a ₦50bn Export Expansion Facility Programme under the Economic Sustainability Plan to increase non‑oil exports and deepen ECOWAS trade — explicitly positioned to strengthen export capacity and regional market linkages.

EEG framework: NEPC’s Export Expansion Grant remains the core post‑shipment incentive to scale exporters’ competitiveness, requiring formal exports, repatriation of proceeds, and compliance with NEPC/CBN guidelines.

TheDiggerNews.com  findings reveal that the ₦50bn EEFP remains the largest fund ever released to the council since its creation in 1976.

NEPC was established in 1976 – about 50 years now – with the mandate to promote, develop, and diversify Nigeria’s non‑oil exports.

TheDiggerNews.com can authoritatively confirm that, despite DFID’s feasibility study and NEPC’s ₦50bn expansion funding, there is still no operational transnational border market at Okerete or across the six pledged sites.

Status Across the Six Pledged Border Markets

Okerete in Oyo State remains informal, plagued by rampant smuggling and lacking a formal market. Gamboru Ngala in Borno reopened in 2022 as a cattle market, but the promised transnational hub has yet to materialize. Kamba in Kebbi reopened in 2024, yet trade revival has not been matched with structured infrastructure. Babanna in Niger is stalled by closures and inertia. Mfum in Cross River saw a bridge inaugurated in 2022, improving facilitation but not delivering a market. Lokpanta in Abia remains a controversial cattle market undermined by crime and insecurity.

Where the Money Meets the Road — and Stalls

₦500m was spent on feasibility studies, but no visible assets were delivered. ₦50bn was released for expansion, but no hubs were built. Agencies shifted focus to paperwork and data integration, while the core promise of building markets stalled. Incentives reward formal exporters, leaving porous border corridors excluded.

A source confided to TheDiggerNews.com  that successive Oyo State governments have lacked the political will to develop Okerete because it is situated in Saki, Oke‑Ogun axis and the past and successive governors, except the late Adebayo Alao-Akala was the only governor outside Ibadan among the governors.

Further investigations by the TheDiggerNews.com reveals that substantial amount was released from part of the 50 billion Post COVID-19 intervention funds by the NEPC to commence work in the market’ “but the project didn’t see the light of the day”, a source who confided in TheDiggerNews.com hinted.

According to the source, “Hydraulic construction was carried out to build proper drainage systems and culverts along the road to prevent water damage and flooding by the Oyo State Government between 2006 and 2007 but the work was discontinued owing to lack of political will on the side of the subsequent governments.”

What Must Change — Now

Nigeria must build hubs, not just plans. Okerete should be fast‑tracked with roads, sheds, bonded warehousing, and digital customs. Funding must be tied to assets, with disbursements conditioned on infrastructure delivery. Micro‑traders should be aggregated into cooperatives to qualify for EEG incentives. Security architecture must be embedded into market operations to deter smuggling and crime. Transparent dashboards should publish quarterly scorecards showing funds committed, assets delivered, traders formalized, and exports recorded.

Bottom Line

₦500m in feasibility studies and ₦50bn in expansion funding later, Nigeria’s border markets remain invisible. Not a single hub has been built. Not a single corridor transformed. Smuggling thrives, communities suffer, and billions vanish into paper promises.

Plans were drawn. Funds were released. But no markets stand today.