The Chief Trade Negotiator and Director General Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation
Indications are that all the paper work are being perfected to get ratify the mplementation of Nigerians membership into the African Continental Free Trade Agreement ( AFCTA), The Nation can authoritatively report.
This was disclosed by the Chief Trade Negotiator and Director General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation Amb. Yonov Agah in Abuja, the federal capital territory at the weekend.
While presenting t the Nigeria Regulatory Audit Report for priority sectors under the AFCFTA, Agah stated that this became inevitable as the federal government needed to begin validation for proirity sectors under AFCFTA.
Agah noted that the Federal Executive Council in November 2020 ratified the membership of Nigeria in the AfCFTA and subsequently adopted the template for implementation which is what stakeholders are working on now. “This again points to the arrangement for Nigerian’s final implementation of the agreement.”
Pressed further, Agah said, “This Minisiterial assignment is critical owing to the fact that the federal government and Nigeria as a whole stands hugely to benefit from the agreement once it is fully implemented. We are expected to revisit key sectors and find the ones we should impose restrictions and the ones we should maintain status quo with.
“Nigeria is fully committed to the implementation of the agreement but will however ensure that grey areas are addressed especially in terms of cross border trade and taking into account its commercial implications.”
The meeting had stakeholders in the business, legal and other priority sectors is crucial for all to sit and ratify the audit report on this priority areas.
Culled From The Nation Newspaper
