The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a formal vote of confidence in Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), commending her leadership on strategic initiatives aimed at youth empowerment and economic diversification. The decision was announced during a press conference held on Monday in Abuja by NANS National Secretary General, Comrade Oladimeji Uthman.
NANS highlighted the council’s recent performance in non-oil exports as a key indicator of progress under Ayeni’s tenure. According to figures presented by NEPC in January 2025, Nigeria generated approximately $5.456 billion in non-oil export receipts in 2024, marking a 20.77% increase from the $4.517 billion recorded in 2023. The volume of exported products also rose from 6.685 million metric tonnes in 2023 to 7.291 million metric tonnes in 2024, which NANS described as evidence of broader efforts to strengthen value addition and international competitiveness.
Central to the association’s endorsement is the launch of the NEPC-NANS Student Trade, Entrepreneurship and Export Programme (STEP-X 1.0) in Lagos in October 2026. The initiative, themed “From Campus to Global Market: Empowering Nigerian Students for Non-Oil Export and Global Entrepreneurship,” was developed following engagements between NANS national leadership and NEPC management in September 2026. The programme focuses on export readiness, international market research, documentation, product quality, packaging, and digital trade, aiming to bridge the gap between academic training and practical economic participation.
NANS stated that the collaboration recognizes students not merely as beneficiaries of government policy, but as potential exporters, innovators, and employers. The association noted that NEPC’s youth-development interventions, including the Export Skills Acquisition Centre established in partnership with LeLook Academy, have already benefited over 10,000 young people through 728 capacity-building programmes across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2025.
While expressing confidence in Ayeni’s commitment to expanding Nigeria’s non-oil export sector, NANS called on the Federal Government to strengthen NEPC’s institutional capacity by increasing its budgetary allocation. The association urged the government to support the expansion of export training and entrepreneurship programmes within tertiary institutions, including the development of functional export hubs across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
NANS emphasized that the success of the STEP-X 1.0 programme must be measured by its ability to reach students nationwide and create sustainable economic opportunities. The association concluded that the future of Nigeria’s economy relies on innovation and enterprise, urging students in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to leverage these legitimate opportunities to compete in the global marketplace.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
