We never agreed to Nigeria’s ratification of African free trade agreement—MAN warns
Ahead of any possibility of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approving the controversial the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has dissociated self from any form of understanding or agreement to sign the document.
The group said its rejection of the deal remains just the way and manner it has distanced itself from the outcome of the consultations being presented for Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval.
MAN made it clear in an interactive session with senior journalists that the issues raised by major stakeholders, including those expressed by manufacturers, still remained unattended to by the federal government and as such it remains resolute in its total rejection of the AfCFTA.
Nigeria is seriously being expected to sign the document before the end of the 180 days deadline set by African Union (AU) for member-countries, after the deal was signed on March 21, 2018.
There are earlier indications that yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting will consider the AfCTFA, but sources say government avoided the matter based on rising discordant voices especially from MAN.
The source also revealed that Nigeria’s Chief Negotiator for AfCFTA, Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe and technical drafting group set up by the Federal Government submitted the outcome of the consultations for presidential approval this week.
Key issues of the manufacturers including asking government to provide details of how concerns bordering on the tariff lines and product lines (categorised using HS codes) that have been agreed for liberalisation, as well as the exclusion and sensitive lists, implementation of market access without negotiating the rules of origin and other safeguard measures, would be addressed once the AfCFTA is ratified.
In concrete terms, MAN noted that the draft of the consultations, held with the private sector, remains shrouded in secrecy as no technical paper was presented for validation by the affected stakeholders before presentation to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval and ratification of the trade agreement.
The presidential committee on AfCFTA had last week met to discuss findings from the consultations held with stakeholders across the country’s six geo-political zones, with a draft report expected to be presented this week.
Business Hilights recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari had assured that his administration would not enter into any agreement that would make the country a dumping ground and jeopardise its security architecture following concerns expressed by MAN and other private sector players.
In his arguments, MAN President, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said the Nigerian Office of Trade Negotiations’ (NOTN) version of the outcome of the stakeholders’ engagements and sensitisation did not adequately reflect the overall proceedings and factual expressions at those meetings, hence, we are not party to any document being presented to the presidency for signing on AfCFTA.
