Buhari reveals only condition to sign African free trade agreement

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President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria will be guided by ‘‘national interest’’ in taking any decision on the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He said this on Tuesday while receiving National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) led by its president, Engr. Mansur Ahmed.

Buhari noted that he was ready to receive the report of a committee set up to assess the potential costs and impact of signing the agreement establishing the AfCFTA for Nigeria.

The President recalled that the Presidential Steering Committee on the AfCFTA Impact and Readiness Assessment Committee was inaugurated on October 22, 2018, with the mandate to assess the extent to which Nigeria was ready to join the agreement, and what the impact of doing so would be.

The committee was initially given 12 weeks to conclude its assignment, after holding wide consultations with industry groups and stakeholders, including the MAN.

The President told National Council of MAN the AfCFTA is on the agenda for the upcoming AU Summit in Niamey, Niger Republic, in July.

‘‘I don’t think Nigeria has the capacity to effectively supervise and to ensure that our colleagues in AU don’t allow their countries to be used to dump goods on us to the detriment of our young industries and our capacity to utilize foreign exchange for imported goods,’’ he said.

President Buhari also promised to look into the presentation by MAN highlighting issues of concern to the manufacturing sector, namely the AfCFTA, Export Expansion Grant and other incentives, challenges with the 2019 fiscal policy measures, recent increase in NAFDAC charges, the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) (Amendment) Act, 2019, among others.

‘‘I assure you that I know the enormity of our problems in terms of population growth rate and teeming young people.

‘‘We need to move very fast, and the government will try and encourage you as very much as possible so that the problem of unemployment and the provision of other services relative to our population and state of development can be tolerated,’’ he said.

Earlier in his remarks, the MAN president outlined some credible policies that have driven the economy forward in the first term of President Buhari.