NBA-SBL Chairman Appointed as Member of Committee to Assess Nigeria’s Readiness for AfCFTA
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section of Business Law (NBA-SBL), Mr. Seni Adio, SAN, was among other stakeholders, who were inaugurated last week into the Presidential Committee for Impact and Readiness Assessment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Committee, is charged with the responsibility of addressing risks associated with signing the agreement. Its terms of reference include, the assessment of the potential costs and impact of the AfCFTA for Nigeria in relation to the benefits, identify the short, medium and long-term measures to prepare Nigerian businesses for the take-off of the AfCFTA trading bloc, a back-up plan that covers selected scenarios, and review the trade remedy options to safeguard the Nigerian economy from predatory and other unfair trade practices
The scope of its impact assessment would include, inter alia, the potential impact on government revenue (for weighted and non-trade weighted revenue), coherence between fiscal policy, structural and monetary policies. The assessment would also include, impact on Nigerian businesses, domestically and regionally, for both trade in goods and trade in services.
The Committees inaugurated by the President, include the Steering committee and the Support Technical Committee work group. There was a seven months period of preparation to the event, culminating in the Committee’s inauguration.
In his remarks during the inauguration which held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Buhari said for too long, Nigeria’s domestic productive capabilities were neglected in favour of imports.
According to him, Nigeria was using its hard-earned oil revenues to create jobs offshore, instead of developing the manufacturing potential of very vibrant, young and dynamic population.
President Buhari charged the Committee members, to address issues raised by the nationwide sensitisation committee set up to advice government on Nigeria’s membership of the AFCFTA.
It would be recalled that, the recent Annual Business Law Conference of the NBA-SBL, provided a platform for stakeholder consultation on the endorsement of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The Conference had touched on the potential of accelerated economic growth of Africa, in the light of the march towards continental free trade, and the role that the legal profession can play in this.
The Conference resolved that, Bar Associations and large law firms in Africa, with the support of their governments, must position the legal profession to maximise the benefits of free trade, by seizing the initiative to reorganise the profession and guide the inevitable disruption to the profession that will be enabled by the AfCFTA, artificial intelligence and local competition by global law firms.