The federal government has challenged micro, small and medium enterprises operating in Kano state to leverage on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market in order to enhance their revenue and create jobs through active export of manufactured goods and services to other African countries.
In a press statement in Kano, secretary National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Francis Anatogu, made the call in Kano during a sensitisation seminar for the organised private sector players, business owners and other stakeholders to take maximum advantage of the world’s largest single market.
Anatogu, who was represented by the lead expert, Trade Enablement at the secretariat of the National Action Committee, Mr. Olusegun Olutayo, said the time was ripe for the private sector players to collaborate with federal and state governments to increase job creation and revenue generation through export of processed good and services, especially with the dwindling oil revenue.
He told captains of industry and other participants at the event held Tuesday to shelve their fears that under the AfCFTA, Nigeria would become a dumping ground of finished goods and other sharp trade practices, saying that effective and efficient trade remedy and dispute resolution instruments were in place to checkmate undue advantage among the member states.
Anatogu challenged Kano traders to justify their pride of leadership in commerce by taking a lead in the export of manufactured and processed goods and services to the AfCFTA market, adding that not only the traders’ revenue will increase but more jobs will be created for the teaming youth population and consequently insecurity and crime rate will reduce drastically.
He said: “The revenue accruing to the federal government on annual bases would never surpass the profits to be extracted from AFCFTA.
“The federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari has put in effort to see that our local products are flourishing not only in Nigeria but, in the entire African continent,” he added.
Speaking, Kano state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Barrister Ibrahim Mukhtar, commended the National Action Committee on the AfCFTA for the nationwide sensitisation and tour to Kano with a view to enlighten business owners and the state government officials on the benefits of economic integration of African market and what it means for Kano traders.
