Nigeria ready for AfCFTA -FG

 

Amid its large technical and infrastructural challenges, the Federal Government on Monday, stated it was once wholly set to play its ordinary leadership role at the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) which kicked off January 1, this year.

Speaking in Lagos at a briefing on Nigeria’s preparedness to compete in the world largest single monetary bloc for Made in Africa goods and services, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Public Sector Matters and Secretary, National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Mr Francis Anatogu, stated the u . s . was once geared up to take African market via storm.

“AfCFTA is Africa’s Nation’s Cup in Trade because every time Nigeria plays at the African Nations’ Cup, there is no tribe, no religion, no political party and no ethnicity, as everybody is a Nigerian and so in the AfCFTA, every state in Nigeria must identify at least on product where it can be number one in Africa” He said.

He said that no matter the challenges of infrastructure and a struggling manufacturing base, Nigeria as the biggest financial system in Africa, will hit the market with an array of capabilities such as financial services, transportation, and the Information Communications Technology (ICT) among others where it has demonstrated sizeable potential over the years, while government would regularly invest to amplify production capacity, funding for manufacturers, human ability improvement and infrastructure upgrade.

Anatogu also cited the nation’s rising ICT area as another region of its core competence that would assist the u . s . a . occupy a commanding peak in comity of AfCFTA states as different countries leverage this conceivable to grow and continue to be aggressive in the emerging economic order.

To further broaden the scope of the nation’s manufacturing sector, the presidential aide said his committee made up of about 200 experts from the public and personal sectors has already commenced full-size consultations with quite a number stakeholders inclusive of state governors to mobilise them into pushing ahead goods and services out of over 5516 products lines being packaged for ninety percentage customs and tariff rebates over the next 10 years, where they should perchance be the high-quality on the continent. He stated his committee used to be also working with countless Federal Government companies which includes the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the NEXIMBANK, and the Bank of Industry among others to help mobilise neighborhood producers to extend their capability in readiness for the continental African economic bloc. This is also in addition to the small and medium companies aggregation module which would facilitate the formalisation of operators in the informal sector to enable them enjoy tax rebate accessible for participants in the AfCFTA

To remedy the country’s nagging electricity task plaguing manufacturers in each the Small and Medium Enterprises and the large, Anatogu said the Government used to be certainly working on the combine of solar panels and mini grid options to meet the energy wishes of organizations producing for AfCFTA’s 1.3 billion consumer base.