PRESIDENT TINUBU OPENING OF BORDER GENERATES MORE REVENUE FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES
What the Official Numbers Really Say About Nigeria–Niger Trade
8/28/20261 min read
Recorded bilateral merchandise trade (NBS, naira) between Nigeria 🇳🇬 and Niger 🇳🇪 land corridor trade. ATIKU should go and verify o
• 2024 total trade rose about 82% from 2023 despite remaining political tension.
• Exports from Nigeria made up about 90% of the recorded flow in 2024.
• After the March 2024 reopening, Q2 2024 exports to Niger jumped 204% quarter-on-quarter (from ₦6.72 billion in Q1 to ₦20.46 billion in Q2). nairametrics.com ( go and verify) like a Presidential Candidate will always say.
USD / international sources (recorded goods)
OEC (mirrored trade, 2024):
• Nigeria → Niger: about $169 million (main items: electricity, petroleum gas, refined petroleum).
• Niger → Nigeria: about $24.7 million (main items: live cattle, cement, tropical fruit).
• Combined recorded goods trade: roughly $194 million in 2024.
UN Comtrade-style series used by Trading Economics put Nigeria’s reported exports to Niger at about $55.7 million in 2024 (different coverage and valuation than OEC). Figures often diverge because of electricity sales, oil products, and incomplete reporting. tradingeconomics.com ( go and verify again ATIKU )
2025–2026
• Full-year 2025 NBS partner tables for Niger have not been widely published in the same detail as 2024.
• One 2025 press claim of “€2.4 billion” in bilateral exchanges is far above NBS and OEC recorded goods totals and should be treated as unverified or inclusive of transit/informal flows.
• 2026 is only part-year. Corridor reopenings in February 2026 released thousands of stranded trucks and were expected to lift formal transit and border-community trade, but no complete 2026 bilateral total is available yet.
