The National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has asked the Federal Government to reject pressures from certain quarters in the industry to endorse the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
MAN President, Mr Mansur Ahmed told journalists in Lagos yesterday that the government should not sign the (AfCFTA) framework agreement until wide reaching sensitisation and proper assessment are conducted on its impact on the economy and the manufacturing sector.
Government, he said, needs to do proper assessment of the impact to ascertain how beneficial AfCFTA would be to the country, and provide necessary adjustment costs as well as competitiveness enhancing infrastructure before deciding whether to sign or not
Ahmed added that the group has also initiated policies and programmes that will help in positioning the association to play a leading role in the emerging integration aspiration of the West African region and the continent of Africa.
MAN, Ahmed said, is working tirelessly to expand the scope of strategic partnership with relevant organisations within the country, West Africa, Africa and across the globe to boost trade.
While assuring members that the association will continue promote a more inclusive economy among all categories of companies in the membership of MAN through the establishment of structured and mutually beneficial linkages between the large corporations group and Small & Medium Industries, Ahmed promised to enhance the association’s influence on the modulation of economic, industrial, trade and other policies that are germane to the survival of the manufacturing sector in country.
MAN, he said, is determined to improve substantially, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the Gross Domestic Product from the current paltry 9.5 per cent.
“It is important to inform you that the association is already making contributions at the continental level. As you may be aware, MAN has been given a leading role in the establishment of African Manufacturers Association (AMA). This was a fallout of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) held recently in Cairo, Egypt.
“Preparatory meeting towards the emergence of AMA, I was appointed the Chairman of the interim Committee saddled with the responsibility of birthing this Pan-African body that would provide the platform for African manufacturers to collectively address the challenges confronting sustainable industrialisation of Africa and trade among ourselves.
“Our advocacy on AfCFTA is yielding desired results. As you are aware, Nigeria is yet to sign the Framework Agreement, Government has conducted sensitization programmes nationwide and President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has set up a Presidential Committee on Impact and Readiness of Nigeria for AfCTA. MAN is a functional member of this committee that is billed to submit its report to PMB early February 2019.
“In addition, MAN being a proactive organisation that strongly believe in evidence-based advocacy commissioned a sector specific study on AfCFTA. We have shared the study, full report and fact sheets on the highlights of findings with the Presidential Committee on AfCFTA.
“We are confident that the eventual position of Nigeria on the AfCFTA Framework Agreement would be well articulated in a fresh National Negotiation Mandate that is in the best interest of the manufacturing sector and indeed the Nigerian economy while paying utmost attention to emerging issues on AfCFTA and ensure that the industrial aspiration of the country is not compromised on the platter of free trade.
