Ken Ukaoha, the president, National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) says Nigeria’s involvement in the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) has brought improved market access for locally produced goods.
Ukaoha, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, noted that it had also increased productivity in the private sector, saying the scheme was the main tool for promoting West Africa as a free trade area.
According to Ukaoha, the scheme protects West African economic operators from undue competition and strengthens intra-regional trade.
He said Nigeria was the greatest beneficiary of the scheme both in terms of number of companies and products, adding that it represented 39 percent of the entire benefits.
Ukaoha called on the National Assembly to seek ways to consolidate these benefits and do everything within their legislative powers to protect its continuity and full implementation.
“Arising from the above facts, Nigeria may not therefore contemplate withdrawing from the scheme. Rather, efforts must be made at identifying and addressing the challenges and strengthening the implementation of the scheme.
“The parliament should also put in place credible and viable domestic economic policies that will foster the realization and maximization of ETLS benefits to Nigeria,’’ he said.
He said there was the need to sensitise Nigerians about the scheme and related protocols in order to facilitate informed monitoring and oversight as part of their constitutional responsibility.
He also noted that there was the need to relocate the National Approval Committee (NAC) of ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) to the Ministry of Industry from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ukaoha said ETLS was a highly technical trade matter and must therefore be domiciled in the appropriate ministry as was obtainable in many other ECOWAS countries.
He also called on ECOWAS to develop and set up a dedicated portal for ETLS and CET to facilitate access to information.
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