Nigeria did not join the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement signed in Kigali last week because it needed to engage in more domestic consultation before committing to such a deal, the foreign minister said on Wednesday, according to the presidency’s Twitter feed.
Minister of Foreign Affairs: The decision for President @MBuhari to not attend the #AfCFTA signing ceremony was taken because we realized more inclusive (domestic) consultations needed to take place before Nigeria signs. #NigeriaAfCFTA
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 27, 2018
Forty-four countries in Africa on Wednesday signed the historic trade agreement that aimed at enabling free cross-border trade on the continent.
The CFTA agreement will create a market for over a billion people, with a GDP of approximately US$2.6 trillion.
The decision to establish the CFTA was initially arrived at in the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in January 2012, with a tentative launch date of 2017.
Nigeria was among some nations that did not sign the agreement, though did not give an immediate reason for not doing so.
According to the Nigerian presidency’s Twitter feed, ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade Investment were among other ministers who met to deliberate on the CFTA deal in Abuja on Tuesday.
#AfCFTA Consultations about to commence, in Abuja. Ministers of @TradeInvestNG Foreign Affairs, @FMICNigeria, Science and Tech in attendance. @nassnigeria, @CustomsNG @NepcCeo Immigration and Organized Private Sector (NESG, MAN, NBA, etc) all in attendance#NigeriaAfCFTA pic.twitter.com/4PTyZkIRHs
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 27, 2018
It said the meeting was meant to ensure the country speaks one language before any decisions were made.
