Africa: Finally, Buhari Ready to Sign Africa Free Trade Agreement

President Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday met with visiting President Cyril Ramaphosa of South
Africa in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he expressed readiness to
sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

At a joint press conference after their closed-door meeting, Buhari confirmed that he would soon sign the agreement.

The Nigerian
president, who earlier declined to assent to the continental trade
document, explained then that he could not agree to anything that would
undermine local manufacturers and entrepreneur in his country.

President Buhari
followed his decision by setting up a presidential committee to widen
consultation within two weeks towards understanding the economic and
security implications of Nigeria signing the deal.

In 2012, the
African Heads of State and Governments resolved to establish AfCFTA
treaty to create a single continental market for goods and services in
member nations of the African Union, with free movement of business
persons and investments using a single currency.

Consultations and
negotiations for establishing the treaty commenced in June 2015 during
the 26th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and
Government in Johannesburg, South Africa.

After several
years, the draft agreement was finally signed on March 21, 2018 during
the 18th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and
Governments in Kigali, Rwanda.

But President
Buhari yesterday explained that he was always careful when it comes to
signing agreements, especially when such would not augur well for the
upcoming industries in Nigeria.

“I am very careful about what I sign, whether it is my checkbook or agreements, especially when it involves nation, states.

“We are so populated and have so many young unemployed citizens and our industries are just coming up.

So, in trying to
guarantee employment, goods and services in our country, we have to be
careful with agreements that will compete maybe successfully against our
upcoming industries.

“I was presented
with the document, I am a very slow reader, maybe because I am an ex-
soldier. I didn’t read it fast enough before my officials saw that it
was all right for signature. I kept it on my table. I will soon sign
it.”

President Ramaphosa said they discussed ways of strengthening economic and politics tiers between the two countries.

The South African
leader used the opportunity to describe the xenophobic attack against
Nigerians in his country as criminality by some bad elements in South
Africa.

He said South Africans did not nurture any hatred against Nigerians resident in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Nigeria,
Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, among others, have become the early beneficiaries
of the $25 billion intra-African trade strategy of the African
Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The five-year
initiative, created to drive value-added products and promote trade
among the continent’s economies, is riding on three pillars – Create,
Connect and Deliver, and currently has disbursed $8 billion across the
continent.

President of
Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, who spoke yesterday at the opening of
the bank’s yearly meeting and 25th anniversary in Abuja, said in
Nigeria, there was the development of testing and inspection centres
across the country in collaboration with the Standards Organisation of
Nigeria; Côte d’Ivoire has industrial park, and letters of credit and
financing towards the growth of Intra-African trade have been provided
for many countries.

Oramah said about
$9 billion intervention to various economies, including Nigeria, to
stabilise the economies had been repaid to $1.5 billion as at December
2017.