By Munachimso Obienyi
Nigeria’s President,Muhammadu Buhari, has said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) can only succeed if African countries demonstrate a higher commitment that trumped the various regulatory and political trade barriers slowing free trade among countries.
Buhari, spoke at the second African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network Conference organised by the African Export-Import Bank in collaboration with the secretariat of AFCFTA and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, at the State House, Abuja yesterday.
Buhari, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, lamented the meager volume of intra-regional trade in Africa, said only the right collaborative action would bring a much stronger pace of transformation.
According to him,”if this new drive towards a continental free trade area was to succeed, the affected countries must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to tackling the slow pace of physical integration due to geographic and political fragmentations”.
‘’As leaders, we must all be concerned that we are not trading enough amongst ourselves. It is a bitter reality that intra-regional trade still accounts for a very tiny fraction of total trade in Africa. We have to understand that if this new drive towards a continental free trade area is to succeed, we must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to tackling the slow pace of physical integration due to geographic and political fragmentations, the pace of political cooperation, and difficult tariff and non-tariff barriers that inhibit business integration.
I am firmly convinced that with the right collaborative action, we will be able to record a much stronger pace of transformation. Through shared knowledge, innovation and creativity, we will be better able to cater to the needs of the African continent’s population of over 1.4 billion people.”, Buhari said.
Speaking further, he urged the conference to use the network and support provided by pan-African institutions as a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and skills.
Buhari also commended the organisers of the conference for demonstrating innovative thinking by taking the AfCFTA to the grassroots, lauding the President of Afreximbank, Prof Benedict Oramah, and his team for committing US$250 million as seed capital towards the establishment of the AFSNET.
