Nigerian Prez to receive report on AfCFTA signing in Jan

07 Jan '19

2 min read

The Presidential Steering Committee on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Impact and Readiness Assessment will present its recommendations to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari this month. The committee held discussions over 12 weeks with industry groups and stakeholders, including the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

AfCFTA is a pan-African free trade area that will create a single market for goods and services. It also aims to liberalise and facilitate the movement of investment and business people across the continent.

On March 21 last year, 44 of the 55 African nations signed the AfCFTA agreement in Kigali, Rwanda. By December 2018, 49 countries had signed the agreement and 13 had ratified it. The agreement will become binding and implementation can start once 22 states ratify it.

Explaining the reasons for the delay in signing of AfCFTA agreement, presidential assistant on media and publicity Garba Shehu said as opinion is divided in the country on the merits and demerits of joining the AfCFTA, the committee has commissioned a study to shed more light on the public debate on the issue in the aftermath of a recent report published by MAN.

The MAN report noted that if Nigeria ratifies the agreement, import surges will range from 27.6 per cent for textile, apparel and footwear sub-sectors.

The MAN study also shows differing output, employment and investment effects across manufacturing sub-sectors and the need for huge investments in chemical and pharmaceutical products and textile, apparel and footwear sectors.

Therefore, another study was commissioned late last year to address the gaps in the MAN study, Shehu added. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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