By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and investment, Adeniyi Adebayo has said that the positive impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Nigeria is huge, pointing out that the country will be a big beneficiary of the intra African trade.
Adebayo who briefed State House Correspondents at the Special Weekly Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communication Team on Thursday at Presidential Villa, Abuja on the achievements of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari through the various investment drives and the implication of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Nigeria insists that there positive impacts of the trade agreement signed by the country.
According to him ACFTA agreement signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 7, 2019, has led to the increase in free movement of goods and services with its many benefits.
The Minister said to maximize the benefits of agreement President Buhari inaugurated the National Action Committee on ACFTA on December 20, 2019 headed by the Minister with the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed who is also the Chairperson.
He said the Committee which is to develop a national strategy programme to guide the implementation programme and other components to make the trading seamless has also
started nationwide sensitization on ACFTA programme to mobilise the states to key into it.
The former Governor of Ekiti state gave a long presentation of what his ministry is doing on the area of Industry, Trade and investment since his appointment, saying that alot have been achieved including in much-talked about ACFTA.
Said he: “First of all, let me provide an update on the ACFTA agreement signed by Nigeria especially let me update you on the general overview and the impact of the agreement in manufacturing and import sectors in Nigeria. I believe ACFTA has led to the elimination of import tariffs, reduced unit cost and has improved competitiveness”.
“It will be a catalyst for Nigeria’s export diversification by providing substantial market sources for Nigeria’s products and services for the huge African market which sources about 85% of her import from outside the continent”.
Explaining further Adebayo said:
“ACFTA therefore has the platform to make every state and community in Nigeria economical viable and resilient through export and intra African trade.
“Trading under the ACFTA, we will see export growth in all the various sectors; transportation,
Manufacturing, ICT, Agriculture, Oil and Gas and financial services sectors where we already have a comparative advantage over competing countries”.
“In Agriculture we have identified the specific opportunities in Sugar, Tomatoes, Cassava, Soya beans, Livestock among others. We strongly participate in manufacturing”
“While in the service sector, we have seen Software development, Fintech and Outsourcing are strong opportunities to create jobs”.
President Buhari signed the ACFTA agreement on behalf of Nigeria on July 7, 2019 with Nigeria becoming the 34th member of the African trading bloc.
Under the AfCFTA, Nigeria stands to gain from increased access to cheaper goods and services from other African countries, as its intra-African trade is currently low:
Indeed, as of 2018, Nigeria’s imports from the African region relative to total imports was at 3.2 percent while the share of Nigeria’s exports to the African region relative to total exports was 13.2 percent.
Moreover, in 2020, Nigeria’s main trading partner was actually China. Proponents of the Free Trade Area (FTA) expect the AfCFTA to reduce poverty, increase firm competitiveness, and boost intra-African trade and investment.
In fact, based on a recent survey of 1,804 Nigerian manufacturing enterprises, 6 out of 10 businesses expect the AfCFTA to lead to a reduction in material and labor costs, increase production capacity, expand market and consumer size, and reduce prices.
