African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) team expected in Lagos next Monday
By Funmilola Gboteku
An African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) team will visit Lagos on Monday to sensitise stakeholders in Fintech and other professional associations on the initiative.
Francis Anatogu, Secretary, National Action Committee on AfCFTA, made this known in a statement on Friday.
The AfCFTA official said that the team would also visit Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and stakeholders in the manufacturing, media, trade and financial services sector.
Anatogu said: “We believe that for AfCFTA to be successful, Lagos State as Africa’s commercial hub of Nigeria and a megacity needs to key into this transformational programme.
He said the mandate of the committee was to coordinate the activities of private and public sectors, regarding AfCFTA implementation at federal and sub-national levels.
Also, that Lagos State was a critical stakeholder in advancing the mission toward taking advantage of the single market opportunity for Nigeria.
” We will work with Lagos State and other states based on areas of their competitive advantages and priorities to build up our national export market,” Anatogu said.
Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Chairman, National Action Committee on AfCFTA had said that AfCFTA would help deepen economic integration for Africa.
“It promotes a single market for goods, services, and free movement of persons within the African continent.
“With over 1.27 billion consumers and an aggregate GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars which AfCFTA is expected to help deliver, we are convinced that this will be a game-changer for the African business community, which Lagos state and Nigeria currently plays a leading role.
“We, therefore, encourage Nigerians to take advantage of this initiative,” Adebayo said.
NAN
