The Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, has called on the country’s industrialists to take advantage of the opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) commencing on January 1, 2021 to promote Made-in-Nigeria goods.
In a statement by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Ifedayo Sayo, Mr Adebayo said Nigeria cannot afford to be left out of the emerging African economic bloc, stating that the AfCTA will form a 3.4 trillion-dollar economic bloc, in which Nigeria must play a leading role.
According to the Minister, “The journey started on July 7, 2019 when Nigeria became the 53rd African country to sign the AfCFTA treaty. Long before then, it had always been the dream of Nigeria and Africa’s founding fathers to unite the continent in one, shared prosperity.
“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria not only partake as a signatory in name, but become a major trade and economic power house, even more than we have been within the ECOWAS region.”
The Secretary, National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Mr Francis Anatogu, who spoke on the readiness and measures taken by government towards the effective implementation of AfCFTA, said plans are being made with all critical stakeholders to ensure a smooth playing field for Nigerian traders and business men to explore the vast markets that will be opened up come January 1st, 2021.
“We are set to commence a major communication campaign and have tagged January 2021 as AfCFTA Awareness and Sensitization month, which would take place across the six geopolitical zones, and would involve various stakeholder groups in public, private and civil society sectors, as well as other critical traditional institutions,” he said.
The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) established in May 30, 2018, has been signed by 54 AU member countries and ratified by 31 AU member countries, including Nigeria in July 2019 and November 2020 respectively.
AfCFTA, which will commence on January 1, 2021, is expected to help expand Nigeria’s inter-trade portfolio, boost competitiveness and increase GDP.
