Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos State, has strongly given his support for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), saying that the free trade deal will help to drive exports from the country.
Ambode made the assertion during the technical committee meeting on the 2nd National Committee on Export Promotion held in Lagos recently.
The governor said that the country must seek ways to improve its balance of trade, adding that international trade has been the basis for the wealth of any nation.
“I support that Nigeria should sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The whole of Africa is waiting for Nigeria and the cornerstone of Nigeria’s export policy should be Africa because Africa must sell to Africa,” Ambode said.
“The export policy strategy is one of the ways to draw Nigeria on the world map. Wealthy nations export more than they import and usually have multiple export products. So, for Nigeria to achieve the status of a wealthy nation, it is obvious and imperative that we grow our export.
“We must put in place the infrastructure and the framework to support the industries,” he said.
Speaking on what Lagos is doing to grow the country’s export, Ambode said that the state has focused on coconut, fish and vegetable production to develop for export and support the Federal Government’s zero oil economy.
He added that the state has developed the Lekki Free Trade Zone to create a one-stop export zone, saying that the state has made progress in that area.
The AfFTA is targeted at removing barriers to free trade on the continent. Nigeria is yet to sign, while South Africa, which initially did not sign in Kigali in March, has agreed to the treaty.
Chiedu Osakwe, chief negotiator, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), while giving an update on AfTCA, said that across the country there is a significant and strong support for the treaty.
Osakwe, who was appointed to lead the team to widen and deepen domestic consultations to ensure all concerns were addressed, said that the team has had meetings with 28 dedicated meetings with various industries and 1,900 persons involved in business.
He stated that it is not an option for the country to stay out of the agreement, while noting that Nigerians and businesses have urged the government to improve the business environment, provide predictable cost effective power supply, provide effective boarder policy, deal with dumping and smuggling, organise the domestic markets and establish a coordinated and implementation business mechanism before signing the trade agreement.
Also speaking, Segun Awolowo, CEO and executive director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said that the nation is gradually coming into acceptance of the diversification programme of the Federal Government based on the Industrial Revolution Plan, Zero Oil Plan and now the Economic Recovery Growth.
Awolowo noted that the establishment of such plans is the right way to go but the country must now scale it up by raising productivity across all sectors. He stated that the Federal Government, the states, agencies, and business operators will harmonise to drive them together.
“The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) still has its concern on the AfTCA, but we would continue to sensitise more. A trade agreement itself has remedies, if all these do not work. This is what MAN is calling for, to work it out,” he said.
“Not that there is a rejection of it but there are concerns,” Awolowo added.
