Lawan: Why Nigeria signed Africa Free Trade Agreement

By Armsfree Ajanaku

THE need to create jobs, boost African economies and stem dangerous migration by African youths in search for livelihoods are among the reasons for Nigeria’s decision to sign the Africa Free Trade.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, made this position known when he received a visiting delegation from the African Continental Free Trade Area, led by its newly elected Secretary General, Wamkele Keabetswe Mene in Abuja.

 Lawan stressed that for the agreement to yield intended results, it must be backed by requisite legal frameworks, the right policies, and commitment to implementation of the agreement.

Represented by Senate Leader, Ajayi Boroffice, Lawan said aside from facing the challenges of unemployment, and underemployment, which have been a trigger for both regular and irregular migration, economies on the continent are being dogged by low productivity, reduced efficiency, and the problem of limited resources.

The Senate President therefore, described the African Continental Free Trade Agreement as “a step in the right direction for the growth of African economies, through limited restrictions, leading to the stimulation of trade, commerce, and industry.”

He said: “In signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and depositing the instrument with the African Union Commission, our countries made a statement on the determination of our collective economic fate. This fate is in our hands, through requisite legal frameworks, right policies, and a robust implementation.

“The initial momentum from the signing of the agreement needs to be continued, for a greater continental impact, to benefit Africans, both on the continent and outside it”, he said.

The Senate President added that, “the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, which is the agency of government, responsible for managing, coordinating, and leading all trade and trade related negotiations, has the clear mandate of managing Nigeria’s side of the agreement.”

 According to Boroffice, “Nigeria’s action in signing was not just an evidence of our commitment to the spirit of Africa, but a sign of our trust in a unified economic growth. The multiple benefit of the arrangement is also not lost on us.”

“As the biggest market and economy on the continent, we have a strategic role to play in the evolution and stabilization of the African economy. We are ready to expand the possibilities through our status, with your confidence in us, and the demands of posterity,” the Deputy Senate Leader said.

Earlier, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Mr. Wamkele Mene, in his speech noted that the success of the trade agreement was largely dependent on the measure of benefit accruing to African countries.

“The AfCTA, if it benefits only the big countries in Africa, is not going to work”, Mene said. According to him, the secretariat going forward, would look up to Nigeria for guidance in coming up with policies and ways of implementing the content of the trade agreement to accommodate the interest of all African countries.