The Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS, Prof. Abubakar O.Sulaiman has described the African Continental Free Trade Area, AFCTA, as a huge potential for African economic transformation.
The former Minister of National Planning made this known during a dissemination workshop on the impact of AFCTA on the Nigerian economy recently.
Prof. Sulaiman said various governments had talked about economic diversification, alternative to the major sources of income, agrarian revolution, green revolution but not much was achieved.
He said, “Today the country is not at a crossroad, we have gone beyond the crossroads; when you look at the foreign exchange earnings, forex, the dwindling fortune of the naira and unemployment across the globe especially as it relates to Nigeria.
“It is now time for us to put up our thinking cap; how do we harness resources and our markets, how do we ensure domestication of AfCFTA and take advantage as done by other countries.
“How do we take advantage of the market hub, the free trade liberal policies as enshrined in the various protocols; it is the right time for us to think and to act.
“The leadership of the National Assembly is ready to support, they are ready to do the needful in terms of legislation, oversight, presentations, and domestication of the various conventions.
“The National Assembly cannot do it alone, they will need the support of the State Assemblies and critical stakeholders,” he said.
He added that the Institute is committed to harnessing available technical and non-technical resources to promote an avenue for discussion and dialogue on critical socio-economic issues.
