Nigeria has officially shelved signing the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, ACFTA, following protests by major labour unions, which warned that the deal would harm the local economy.
The country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement that President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled his trip to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where African Heads of state were scheduled to sign the agreement last Wednesday. According to the statement, “This is to allow more time for input from Nigerian stakeholders”.
Last week, the country’s federal executive cabinet approved the signing of the deal, which it said would boost the country’s export, “spur growth and boost job creation as well as eliminate barriers against Nigeria’s products. It also said the agreement would provide a Dispute Settlement Mechanism for stopping the hostile and discriminatory treatment directed against Nigerian natural and corporate business persons in other African countries.”
The latest development remains confusing because Nigeria is one of the staunchest supporters of the ACFTA, a brainchild of the African Union aimed at deepening regional integration since January 2012. However, local labour unions and big corporations have always been against it.
Last week, Nigeria’s Trade and Investment Minister, Okechukwu Enelamah, acknowledged the continuous opposition to the deal, but he enthused that efforts were being made to get the approval of all the stakeholders before the signing.
