President Muhammadu Buhari wants the National Assembly to set in motion modalities to domesticate the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The President who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Sector Matters and Secretary of the National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Francis Anatogu said the objective of the AfCFTA will help to deepen economic integration of the continent, improve and expand intra-Africa trade, enable rule-based engagement facilitating dispute resolution and addressing injurious trade practices.
The AfCFTA which came into effect this January is considered the foundation for enhanced cross-continental trade in Africa.
Signed by 54 countries, the agreement comprises the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, the simplification of custom procedures, and the elimination of red tape with the aim of creating a single market for goods, persons and services.
Representing the largest economy in Africa, with over $500 billion in Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) and a population of 200 million people, Nigeria is poised to significantly gain from both investment and trade opportunities created by the AfCTA.
Atatogu who spoke at a Leadership Stakeholders Consultation on ‘Defining the Trade in Service Strategy for the AfCFTA’ said the agreement will also serve as the foundation for establishment of a continental Customs Union.
He expressed optimism that if effectively implemented, the AfCFTA will result in the elimination of tariffs on 90 per cent of tariff lines, adding that product specific rules of origin will help to grow African content.
Anatogu also said the pact would assist in the harmonization of policies, regulations and standards, as well as lead to customs co-operation and mutual administrative assistance.
The AfCTA, according to him, will double intra-Africa trade flows, currently at 15 per cent as well as double Africa’s share of world trade from three per cent to six per cent over the next 10 years.
He urged stakeholders to facilitate the domestication of AfCFTA as enshrined in the constitution, in order to ensure utmost benefit accrues to Nigeria.
Professor of International Economic Relations at Covenant University, who doubles as a consultant of ECOWAS Common Investment Market, John Aremu said in a presentation titles “Conceptual Issues in Africa Integration Emergence of AfCFTA, and It’s Protocol”.
He said while it is right for Nigeria to ratify the agreement, the constitution provides that such treaties entered into by the can only become beneficial to the nation if it has a place inside nigerian law to guarantee enforceability.
“If AfCFTA cannot be domesticated into the national law, it cannot be deployed in defense of cases involving their violations before courts of law in the country, neither can they be used for advocacy of rights within the country.
“Further to this, violators of AfCFTA provisions, whether they be institutions, companies or individuals cannot be held accountable, since the AfCFTA treaty has not been domesticated in the country”, he said.
