The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to grow trade value in Nigeria to the tune of $12 billion between 2023 and 2027 as well as reduce trade cost by 20 per cent by facilitating the enactment of an omnibus bill on the AfCFTA.
While disclosing this during an implementation strategy validation meeting in Lagos, the promoters of AfCFTA said Nigeria targets to capture 10% of Africa’s global imports as well as double the country’s export revenue by 2035.
In a manual, tagged ‘Strategy Implementation Framework’, made available to journalists, They stated that Nigeria’s ability to successfully harness the opportunities inherent in the AfCFTA is dependent on her resolving the lingering challenges of competitiveness and insecurity, among others.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Evelyn Ngige, represented by the director, Special Duties of the Ministry, Dr Simon Omo-Ezomo, called for workable, patriotic policies that would improve the lot of Nigerians, stressing that policies are sensitive and if not worked on properly, would not turn out well.
A former secretary, National Action Committee (NAC) on AfCFTA, Francis Anatogu, said the validation of Nigeria’s strategic choices on how to win under the AfCFTA was critical.
“We are validating the strategies and also sensitising businesses on choices for better positioning. Some of these policies would need to be backed by law, leading to updates of laws that we already have and creation of new laws to make sure Nigeria leads Africa,” he said.
A Professor of International Economic Relations, at Covenant University and consultant of ECOWAS Common Investment Market, Prof. Jonathan Aremu, said “Nigeria’s potential to become a major player in the global economy by virtue of its market size, human and natural resource endowments, has never been in doubt but this potential has remained relatively untapped over the years.”
