MAN commends FG for dumping AfCFTA,EPA

Frank Udemba Jacobs, outgone president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has, in his farewell speech, commended the Federal Government for not rushing to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The EPA is a free trade agreement between the 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Europe, seeking to enable West African countries access the European market and vice versa, without paying tariffs. Europe is committing £ 6.5 billion every five years beginning from 2015 to 2019, including during the 20-year transition period that will end in 2035.

On the other hand, the AfCFTA is a trade treaty among African countries targeted at removing barriers to trade on the continent.

Jacobs, who has vehemently opposed the EPA and canvassed more time before signing AfCFTA, said Buhari deserved an applause for maintaining the position of most private sector stakeholders by not signing the EPA.

“As has been rightly established, EPA runs counter to our industrial aspirations as a nation, as clearly enshrined in the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and will dismantle the industrialisation headways already made in Nigeria. We hereby recommend that this stance be maintained in the best interest of our economy and the over one hundred and eighty million Nigerians,” he said at the 46th annual general meeting of MAN in Lagos.

Jacobs commended Nigeria’s president for not signing this trade treaty in March 2018 in order to have a wider consultation on issues involved in the AfCFTA.

“With the conclusion of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations nationwide, sensitisation programme on AfCFTA and the ongoing consultations with stakeholders, we are looking forward to a robust study that will empirically reveal the potential impact of the Agreement on the Nigerian economy, guide the negotiating team in the negotiation of the protocols and annexures to the Agreement and generally reveal its compatibility with our industrial aspirations and overall economic development agenda.”

He said that manufacturing challenges still manifest in the form of high inventory of unsold finished products, inadequate electricity supply, frequent increases in electricity tariff in the face of poor services from distribution companies and abnormally high interest rates.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana, who was the keynote speaker, said Africa’s biggest challenge had been its inability to transform the abundant natural resources into opportunities for creation of jobs and wealth.

“The continent boasts of young, determined and highly educated people across all sectors and yet we have not been able to get the right mix of policies to fully unearth and develop the entrepreneurial talents that abound in Nigeria in particular and on the continent,” Akufo-Addo, who was represented by Yaw Osafo-Maafo, senior minister in Ghana, said.

“We need to ensure that we have the capacity to support effective value- addition to enhance our revenues position on the international market. This calls for policy harmonisation, coordination, and effective collaboration between the public and private sectors to drive effective and time tested industrial framework to fully utilise our natural resource to the best of international expectations.”

ODINAKA ANUDU