By Naomi Uzor

The Federal Government said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement can increase Nigeria’s total exports by 8.0 per cent.

Prof. Osinbajo

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this yesterday at the Institute of Directors (IoD) 2019 Annual Directors’ Conference in Abuja, adding that with an intra-African trade surplus at $3.8 billion for goods and $13.2 billion trade deficit for services, AfCFTA presents both opportunities and threats for the Nigerian market.

He said: “AfCFTA can transform Nigeria from a “target economy” to the “Africa Gateway Economy”, boosting job creation through increased intra-African trade, and spurring growth through enhanced economic welfare; with an estimated 8 per cent increase in Nigeria’s total exports.”

Osinbajo explained that the implementation of AfCFTA rests on four key pillars: trade capacity (production capacity and quality infrastructure); trade infrastructure (power, road, rail, ports and aviation); trade environment (trade facilitation, ease of doing business and fiscal and monetary policies); and trade enforcement.

He stated: “Nigeria is not protectionist and defensive, rather, we are actively confidently, blazing the trail towards an open, modern and integrationist economy.  With our internal market size, Nigeria is well placed to tap into the natural gravitational pull for investment attraction, to promote retention and consolidate Nigeria’s participation in regional and global value chains.”

Also read: AfCFTA: TUC to engage FG on infrastructure, others —president

Osinbajo, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the president on Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said the Presidential Committee on AfCFTA report proposes policies, programmes, projects and interventions, which adequately position Nigeria to engage in further AfCFTA negotiations.

He noted that many Nigerian companies have already developed capacity across various sectors, and have long-desired to expand to the rest of Africa, but had been constrained by trade barriers which AfCFTA is expected to remove by making African trade more attractive and competitive.

“AfCFTA will also promote a vibrant and competitive industrial sector that is central to job creation and income growth. This will improve the human capital base of the economy. Enlarged regional markets will also provide a platform for cooperation on infrastructure development, technology transfer and innovation,” he added.

The vice president noted that in spite of the fact that Nigeria only recently signed the AfCFTA, in terms of readiness Nigeria is not at ground zero.

“At $35.45 billion, Nigeria’s manufacturing value-added, a measure of a productive capacity to produce and export semi and fully finished goods, is about 7 times more than the current average for the top 20 African countries. This suggests Nigeria’s productive capacity is at a higher level than that of most African countries. However, as an Administration, we are well aware that there remains a lot to be done,” he stressed.

Vanguard