By Waziri Isa Adam (Group Editor-in-chief)
The Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office has briefed the Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, on its 2024 activities and presented proposals for 2025-2029 that includes AfCFTA Readiness Programme Implementation
The proposal which was contained in a document, dubbed, ‘The AfCFTA Readiness Programme’ was presented to the Minister by the AfCFTA National Coordinator, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, in her office today in company of top management staff of the AfCFTA.
The Coordinator also gave the minister update on Nigeria’s commencement of trade with five African countries on products by 10 Nigerian companies that participated in July 2024 at Apapa, Lagos
Mr Awolowo who told the Minister that the AfCFTA Readiness Programme which was developed to establish the structures and environment for Nigeria’s successful participation in AfCFTA, consists of six Pillars.
Mr Awolowo said the First, Second and Third Pillars aim at harnessing areas of opportunity in competitive production and exports, mainstreaming AfCFTA into Nigeria’s Trade Policy framework and achieving best in class time and cost of intra-Africa trade through Nigeria’s borders respectively.
“Pillars Four, Five and Six, aim at deploying trade infrastructure critical for attaining competitiveness, bridging the gap in trade information which has signifiied yield and value in businesses and improving the mobility of factors of production across Africa respectively”, Mr Awolowo stressed
While shedding more light to the minister on legal issues regarding the office, legal expert and Adiviser on Technical Services on AfCFTA – Nigeria Implementation, Professor Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan, focussed on the institutional draft bill for the AfCFTA Coordination office.
According to the legal expert, the Bill seeks to establish the Nigeria African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement Office as an institution that will coordinate, administer and facilitate the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and its Protocols.
The Bill has five Parts, 31 sections and a Schedule. Part 1 provides for the objective, establishment, functions and powers of the Office. Part 2 creates the organisational structure and staff of the Office.
Part 3 provides for the establishment and special provisions of technical committees of the AfCFTA Agreement and its Protocols. Part 4 prescribes financial provisions of the Office while Part 5 prescribes miscellaneous provisions with ancillary details necessary to give effect to the substantive matters in the Bill.
The Schedule provides supplementary procedure to regulate the National Steering Committee of the Office. The Professor also highlighted the need for domestication of the AfCFTA Agreement with its 8 Protocols on trade in goods and services, DSM, investment, IPR, digital trade, women and youth in trade.
This requires a draft domestication bill using any of the 4 core methods/practice of the NASS Law Audit. An inventory of relevant trade, investment, competition, IPR, AfCFTA related laws, policies and regulations updated up to 2024 is also necessary.
The inventory aims to identify laws that either hinder or enhance the AfCFTA Agreement and its 8 Protocols, and will be updated and reviewed in 2025 for compatibility or otherwise with the AfCFTA Agreement and its 8 Protocols.
A work plan for NASS dialogue and advocacy from December 2024 to 2025 was also outlined. This includes advocacy visits to NASS leadership and committee chairpersons, sensitization of NASS selected committees, and capacity building of NASS committee clerks and legislative aides.
The work plan aims to promote effective implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and its Protocols in Nigeria.