The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday ratified Nigeria’s membership of African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCTA).
The meeting was chaired by President Muhammed Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Minister of Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told journalists at the end of the meeting of the Council that with Wednesday’s ratification, Nigeria has been able to beat 5th of December, 2020 deadline set for all countries to ratify their membership of the African Free Trade zone.
According to Mohammed, “the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment presented a memo today asking the Federal Executive Council to ratify Nigeria’s membership of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
“You remember that on the 7th of July, 2019, Nigeria signed the AfCTA agreement in Niamey during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU). The effective date ought to have been July 2020.
“But as a result of the pandemic, it was postponed to the 1st of January 2021. And all member-States were given up to the 5th of December to ratify the agreement.
“That is precisely what Nigeria did today. The Federal Executive Council approved the ratification of the membership of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. It was ratified and as such, we beat the deadline of the 5th of December. Effectively, we hope that by 1st of January 2021, the agreement will come into force.”
