Why we delay signing trade agreement - Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has explained the delay by Nigeria in signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

He who spoke during the quarterly meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) yesterday, at the State House, Abuja.

Osinbajo said government has embarked on consultations with relevant stakeholders on the agreement.

“With respect to the ACFTA, there are clearly huge advantages for us no question about it at all. The rest of Africa sees the enormous advantage of Nigeria’s participation, everybody is waiting for us naturally and that is because they see a huge market, there are advantages of our being there, but we must ensure to get the best possible terms for Nigerian commerce.

“Our experiences with dooming and other injurious practices make it obvious to us that our market could be a real target, our local manufacturing could become unprofitable, our agricultural advantage could be reverse.

“Consequently, we have embarked on an extensive consultations with trade groups, manufacturers and organized labour in all the six geo-political zones in other to get a clear sense of concerns as we navigate the process of signing the treaty,” he said.

The vice president said the general resolve favours engagement but that, the concerns remain around improving the domestic environment for greater competitiveness, concerns of power supply and investment in infrastructure. trade and