Abuja, Jan. 27, 2026 – The Federal Government has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates to remove tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian productss.
Sam Onuigboin, a member of the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the agreement which was signed during at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week held between Jan. 11 and Jan. 15, 2026, would eliminate tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian products.
“This includes immediate duty-free access for 2,805 products (38.3 per cent), with the remainder phased out over three to five years, covering agricultural and industrial goods.
“Similarly, under the Nigeria/UAE CEPA, also signed in January 2026, Nigeria has eliminated tariffs on 6,243 products imported from UAE. That agreement creates these wonderful opportunities between Nigerians and the Emirates,” he said.
Onuigbo said the agreement would open opportunities for Nigerians, who have businesses that are verifiable and identifiable, to go over there and open offices and for others to work there for three months and come back.
He commended President Tinubu for the agreement, saying that the agreement was geared and targeted towards how to reposition Nigeria, create the enabling environment for employment, and, of course, make everybody happy.
“Nigeria is ready for business. Nigeria’s carbon market framework policy was unveiled again in Abu Dhabi
“Nigeria is a nation of nearly 250 million people and has had, over the years, the challenge of not having enough energy or power to be able to attain its economic and industrialisation targets.
“And because of that, Nigeria has been engaging in different activities, for instance, the Energy Transition Plan, enactment of the Climate Change Act, and the Electricity Act, which the President signed barely eight days after he assumed office in 2023.
“This shows the importance of addressing the energy gap, having enough energy, and electricity is a fundamental point to developing industrially, which Nigeria deems necessary.
Onuigbo lauded Nigeria’s participation at the Abu Dhabi summit, saying that the summit would further enable global economic opportunity for people to work together within Nigeria and UAE.
