Ayeni Launches SOAR as NEPC Records Landmark Progress in Staff Welfare and Export Expansion
The Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni, has unveiled the maiden edition of the Sustainable Opportunities for Active Retirement (SOAR) Initiative, describing it as a major step in empowering retiring public servants to transition into productive enterprise within Nigeria’s non‑oil export economy.
Speaking at the event in Abuja, Ayeni said the initiative reflects NEPC’s commitment to inclusive economic participation and long‑term welfare support for officers exiting public service. She stressed that retirement should be seen not as the end of productivity but as the beginning of a new chapter where years of experience, discipline and leadership can be channelled into sustainable wealth creation.
Ayeni noted that staff welfare has remained a top priority under her administration. She explained that seven out of the Council’s eight Directors were promoted, alongside numerous officers across directorate and other staff levels.
She added that NEPC has maintained a transparent promotion regime in which 97 percent of staff who sat for promotion examinations were elevated, while 97 officers benefited from international trips and professional exposure. All staff, she said, have also benefited from training programmes, with plans to intensify capacity building.
To improve operational efficiency, Ayeni announced that NEPC has installed solar power systems in most of its 36 state offices, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery nationwide. She emphasised that these achievements were collective, with every staff member actively involved and carried along in the Council’s activities.
Ayeni then highlighted major milestones recorded in the non‑oil export sector under her leadership. She revealed that Nigeria earned US$6.1 billion from non‑oil exports in 2025, the highest formally documented figure since NEPC began keeping records. This represents an 11.5 percent increase from the US$5.46 billion recorded in 2024, with 281 products exported to 120 countries.
She also disclosed that NEPC conducted 728 training programmes in 2025, reaching over 96,000 participants across its state and regional offices—up from 629 programmes and 64,000 participants the previous year. In addition, the Council fully funded FDA, ISO 22000, Halal and HACCP certifications for 210 SMEs, bringing the total number of certified exporters to more than 600, enabling them to access niche markets and meet international quality standards.
Ayeni announced that NEPC’s Export Skill Acquisition Centre (ESAC), in partnership with Lelook, has trained over 300 women and youths in garment bag and accessory production, with a target of 1,000 trainees under the Renewed Hope Agenda. She added that more than 70 SMEs have been onboarded on Jumia, expanding access to global markets through digital trade.
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To reduce export rejects, Ayeni said NEPC is implementing the STDF 845 project with the International Trade Centre to address rejection of Nigerian sesame and cowpea abroad, beginning with the Kebbi sesame cluster as a pilot. She also noted that NEPC was the only African institution selected for phase one of the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, where 146 women‑led businesses received training, mentoring and grants ranging from US$3,000 to US$30,000 from over 67,000 applications.
She further highlighted that NEPC Connect webinars have reached more than 30,000 participants, while trade missions and fairs in 2025 produced market linkages, MoUs, contracts and actual export sales—including the establishment of the first sesame export production cluster in Kebbi State, which emerged from a trade mission to Turkey. NEPC is also working with the National Bureau of Statistics to mainstream informal non‑oil exports into official national data, while continuing to promote value addition to ensure Nigerian exporters earn premium prices in global markets.
Ayeni said all these achievements align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly the administration’s priorities of economic diversification, food security, job creation and private‑sector development.
She expressed appreciation to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, development partners and participating MDAs for supporting the SOAR Initiative, describing their collaboration as a demonstration of shared commitment to the welfare and long‑term economic security of Nigerian public servants.
Ayeni concluded by expressing confidence that the SOAR Initiative would become a national model for transforming retirement into a period of renewed purpose, productivity and prosperity.
In her remarks, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson‑Jack, praised the SOAR Initiative as a timely and innovative intervention capable of reshaping how public servants perceive retirement. Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office, Dr. Danjuma Usman Kalba, she noted that retirement should never be seen as “a sentence to misery,” stressing that proper planning, skills development and entrepreneurial training can help workers enjoy fulfilling and financially secure lives after leaving public service.
Walson‑Jack expressed optimism that other Ministries, Departments and Agencies would adopt similar programmes to prepare their workforce for productive retirement and contribute to national economic growth.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Labour Union at the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Comrade Maruf Ogunlana, commended the NEPC Executive Director/CEO for organising the SOAR programme and for her broader commitment to staff welfare. He pledged stronger collaboration between labour and management, noting that true welfare extends beyond active service.
Ogunlana emphasised that protecting officers after retirement is essential, and that equipping them with knowledge, financial literacy and practical skills helps safeguard their dignity while reducing vulnerability to hardship and exploitation.
By PRNigeria
