The Nigerian federal government has disclosed that by taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria has the capacity to export US $3Bn worth of derivatives from cocoa and US $300m from the sale of the raw unprocessed commodity.
According to local media reports, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Sector Matters, Mr. Francis Anatogu, who is also the Secretary of the National Action Committee (NAC) for Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation said that during the recession of 2016, not only did revenue from oil drop, but the tax revenue also decreased. With AfCFTA, Anatogu stated that compliance would be critical because there are some risks that if all stakeholders don’t comply, there will be issues.
Anatogu, argued that though there are issues to be resolved, it still does not take away the objectives and the opportunities that the AfCFTA holds. He emphasised that coordination remains an area for improvement for the AfCFTA, between MDAs, the private sector and the public sector as well as coordination between federal and state governments.
The president’s aide explained that there are efforts being made in that direction to improve coordination and joint planning, saying that the process would get better as the country moves towards export orientation and non-oil growth. He added that individuals and businesses are already taking advantage and moving into Africa.
He said that stakeholders such as the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) were carrying out training and development programmes on how Nigerians can take advantage of the programme.
Anatogu had said being successful with the AfCFTA would mean achieving a diversified and sustainable Nigerian economy with strong linkages with neighbours and the top economies in Africa as well as a globally accepted country brand.
