By Vivian Emoni, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a strategic effort to leverage Africa’s vast single market to drive economic diversification, industrialisation, job creation and sustainable growth.
The AfCFTA seeks to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, facilitate the free movement of goods and services, and integrate African economies into regional and global value chain.
It also seeks to guard against the continent becoming a dumping ground for finished products.
At full implementation, the agreement is expected to boost intra-African trade, raise incomes, expand manufacturing exports, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and significantly reduce poverty across the continent.
As of early 2025, about 48 of the 55 African Union (AU) member states have ratified the AfCFTA agreement and deposited their instruments of ratification.
While 54 out of 55 countries have signed the agreement with Eritrea being the sole exception, 48 have officially ratified it to become State Parties.
Nigeria’s journey into the AfCFTA followed careful evaluation of its national economic interests.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved Nigeria’s participation in March 2021 after earlier suspending the process for consultations.
Nigeria ratified the agreement on Nov. 4, 2020, deposited its instrument of ratification on Dec. 15, 2020, and became the 34th country to formally join the continental pact.
Trading under the AfCFTA officially commenced on Jan. 1, 2021, creating Africa’s largest free trade area by number of participating countries.
To ensure effective implementation and safeguard national interests, the Federal Government established a National Action Committee (NAC) to coordinate Nigeria’s AfCFTA strategy.
The government also inaugurated the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Market Intelligence Tool (MIT) to strengthen trade leadership and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness within the AfCFTA framework.
The initiative is designed to provide Nigerian businesses with real-time market data, trade insights and access opportunities, while strengthening partnerships with regional carriers, including Uganda Airlines.
Speaking recently, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to fully harnessing the AfCFTA for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Oduwole described the AfCFTA as a critical pillar in the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for economic diversification and accelerated growth.
“Since the entry into force of the AfCFTA and its Phase One protocols on trade in goods, trade in services and dispute settlement, we have witnessed encouraging momentum among member states,” she said.
The minister said that number of AU member states that had ratified the agreement underscored the continent’s growing commitment to deeper economic integration.
According to her, global economic disruptions since 2020 have shown that traditional markets can no longer serve as the sole anchor for national growth.
“Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, stands at a crossroads where it must expand its trade horizons within the continent,” she said.
Oduwole said that the Federal Government was partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen collective efforts toward effective AfCFTA implementation.
She described the agreement as an opportunity to rethink Nigeria’s trade strategy, deepen continental partnerships, expand its export footprint and reduce exposure to global economic shocks.
“It is a priority to increase trade, support new technologies and strengthen AfCFTA-related infrastructure,” she said.
She said that enhanced partnerships with the UNDP, the United States and the European Union (EU) would support the re-engineering of Nigeria’s trade strategy.
Oduwole stressed the need for a deliberate, evidence-based approach to national implementation of the agreement.
She disclosed that the ministry, with UNDP support, had initiated a comprehensive technical assessment of Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation.
According to her, the exercise evaluates Phase One protocols on trade liberalisation and Phase Two protocols covering investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights.
“The assessment maps Nigeria’s obligations across legal, policy, institutional, administrative and technical domains,” she said.
Oduwole acknowledged persistent challenges, including low levels of formal intra-African trade, estimated at about seven per cent.
She identified non-tariff barriers, infrastructure deficits and regulatory inconsistencies as major obstacles to the free flow of goods and services across borders.
She said that recent global disruptions had further highlighted the urgency for African economies to diversify and strengthen industrial bases.
The minister called on stakeholders to work together to position Nigeria as a leader in Africa’s economic and institutional transformation.
The AfCFTA Secretary-General, Mr Wamkele Mene, described the agreement as going beyond a trade pact to a development instrument.
Mene said that effective implementation could lift about 100 million Africans out of poverty, boost investment and create decent jobs.
He said that the agreement could also enhance industrial competitiveness, promote economies of scale, support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and increase intra-African trade by between 35 billion and 40 billion dollars annually.
He called for greater awareness among stakeholders, stronger customs enforcement, development of regional value chains and active participation of women and youth.
The Permanent Secretary, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Nura Rimi, said that stakeholder-engagement would improve policy coherence and coordination.
Rimi said that such engagement would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to meet its obligations under the AfCFTA.
He said that the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda emphasised structural transformation of the economy, particularly shifting exports toward value-added products.
On the role of development partners, the UNDP Coordinator of the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee, Dr Ify Ogo, said that the organisation was supporting Nigeria to unlock investment opportunities under the AfCFTA.
Ogo said that UNDP support included assistance at national, regional and continental levels, training for MSMEs, as well as research and development of trade-enabling technologies.
Also, the UNDP Nigeria Resident Representative, Mrs Elsie Attafuah, described the “Market Intelligence Tool” as a game-changer for Nigerian exporters.
Attafuah said that the initiative was designed to provide businesses with insights needed to access eastern and southern African markets.
She urged stakeholders to support the initiative to ensure effective AfCFTA implementation.
As Nigeria deepens its engagement with the AfCFTA, stakeholders agree that sustained reforms, infrastructure investment and strong coordination will enable the agreement to deliver its promised benefits of diversification, industrial growth and shared prosperity.(NANFeatures)
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