Africa free trade agreement must be fair – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has offered further explanations on why Nigeria hasn’t signed the Africa Continental Free Trade agreement that has been endorsed by 49 countries.

President Buhari, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 25th annual general meeting of the Afrexim Bank in Abuja ,yesterday, said Nigeria has to ensure that the free trade policy is ‘free and fair” to all parties.

Nigeria has delayed signing the new trade policy that is touted to be capable of facilitating over $3trilion trades across Africa, saying it needed further consultations.

But the president disclosed that the consultations are almost over and Nigeria may likely consider signing on soon.

“Significant progress has been made in these consultations. The team has met key stakeholders across our six geo-political zones. The responses have been diverse as would be expected. However, one clear message has emerged which is that any trade agreement must be both ‘free’ and ‘fair’. This fairness is achievable and we will work towards it,” he said.

He acknowledged that no nation can survive on it’s own in the global trade market but still cautioned on the terms of engagement.

“No nation can survive on its own. Trading is important and the terms of trade are important. Therefore, there is a need to ensure our national interests as well as our regional and international obligations are balanced,” he noted.