…seek Tinubu’s urgent intervention
Workers of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), under the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), have protested against what they described as a “backdoor” attempt to alter the regulations and guidelines governing the operations of free zones in Nigeria.
The workers, who staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, alleged that a committee constituted by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had reviewed the regulations for about six months without adequately involving NEPZA, the agency legally responsible for regulating the country’s free zones.
They consequently called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in the matter, insisting that any review of the regulatory framework must involve NEPZA, its unions, management and other relevant stakeholders.
Speaking during the protest, Chairperson of ASCSN, NEPZA Chapter, Comrade Amaka Ugwu, said the workers were resisting what she described as an attempt to undermine the agency’s statutory mandate.
According to her, NEPZA was established under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act 63 of 1992 and is mandated to license, monitor and regulate free-zone activities in Nigeria.
“We are here to speak against the injustice that has been happening to NEPZA. NEPZA is a government agency established by Act 63 of 1992. It is the agency mandated to license, monitor and regulate the activities of free zones in Nigeria,” she said.
Ugwu alleged that the controversy arose from a proposed 28-page document containing changes to the regulations and guidelines governing the operation of free zones.
She said the document was allegedly produced after a committee set up by the minister had worked for six months without involving NEPZA in the process.
“But what happened? The Honourable Minister constituted a committee that sat for six months without involving NEPZA. What an injustice!” she said.
According to her, NEPZA only became aware of the document after it had allegedly been completed and forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for gazetting.
She said the document was subsequently returned to NEPZA, following which the agency was given only two days to participate in what the ministry described as a consolidation exercise.
“When the Honourable Minister realised that the document had been returned to NEPZA, NEPZA was given only two days — today and Monday — to come and meet with the people who had already concluded the document,” Ugwu alleged.
She questioned the nature of the proposed consolidation, arguing that NEPZA was being brought into the process after major decisions had already been taken.
“What they are doing is not asking for NEPZA’s opinion. They are merely asking NEPZA to append its signature to something that has already been concluded,” she said.
The ASCSN chairperson therefore called for the process to be suspended and restarted through a broader committee involving the agency and other stakeholders.
“What we want as an agency is very simple. The Honourable Minister should go back to the drawing board and constitute a proper committee,” she said.
“That committee must include NEPZA, the NEPZA unions, NEPZA management and other relevant stakeholders, because there are many stakeholders benefiting from the free-zone scheme.”
Ugwu warned that proceeding with the proposed changes without adequately considering the concerns of NEPZA and other stakeholders could affect the attractiveness and viability of free zones, particularly if incentives available to enterprises operating in the zones were altered.
“There are incentives attached to enterprises operating in these zones. What this proposed change is capable of doing is taking away those incentives and driving enterprises away from the free zones,” she said.
She argued that if the incentives and benefits associated with operating in a free zone were weakened, investors could choose to operate outside the zones, with implications for employment and investment.
“If the incentives and benefits that are supposed to come with operating in a free zone are removed, what is the sense of coming into the free zone? You might as well operate in the customs territory,” Ugwu said.
She further linked the workers’ concerns to Nigeria’s broader economic diversification objectives, noting that free zones were established to attract investment, generate employment and support non-oil economic activities.
“If these enterprises leave, where will we work? Where will our children’s school fees come from?” she asked.
“This is not just about NEPZA as an agency. It is about workers, businesses, investment and the future of the free-zone scheme in Nigeria.”
The NEPZA workers also warned against what they described as a process that could ultimately weaken the agency’s mandate and affect workers’ job security.
Ugwu appealed directly to the President to intervene, saying, “We are calling on the Federal Government, particularly Mr President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene.”
She maintained that political appointees might change, but NEPZA and its statutory responsibilities would remain.
“Ministers and political appointees will come and go. By next year, the Minister may be changed. Whoever is holding an appointment today may leave tomorrow.
“But NEPZA will remain. The people working there will remain, and the mandate of the agency will remain,” she said.
The workers said they would continue with the protest until their concerns were addressed, insisting that the action was aimed at protecting NEPZA’s statutory mandate and the interests of its workforce.
“Until we achieve our objective. Until we get the desired result,” Ugwu said when asked how long the protest would continue.
She added: “We must protect our mandate. The staff must protect our mandate because why should we watch while our agency is being weakened?”
Ugwu warned that the workers were prepared to sustain their resistance if their concerns were not addressed.
“By the special grace of God, the staff are ready. We must protect our mandate,” she said.
She concluded: “Anybody that wants to kill NEPZA, we say no. We will not allow it.”
The Federal Government has separately said its current review of the economic free-zone framework is intended to restore the export orientation of the zones, address concerns around domestic sales and provide greater certainty for investors. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment said the reform process began in February 2026 with the inauguration of a Special Economic Zones Legislative and Regulatory Reform Committee, which included NEPZA and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and their respective teams.
The government’s stated position is that the reforms are aimed at bringing greater clarity to the legal and fiscal framework without undermining the incentives that attract investors to the zones.
