STATE governments have been given $1.2 billion export target by the Federal Government as preparations intensify for the take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCTA).
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Sector Matters and Secretary National Action Committee on AfCTA Francis Anatogu disclosed this on Wednesday at the ongoing subnational strategy workshop in Abuja.
Anatogu said Nigeria being Africa’s largest economy with about $500 billion GDP could explore opportunities from abundant resources in the states for wealth creation in the trade deal.
He also called on states to partner with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in order to grow their exporting opportunities.
According to Anatogu, “The $1.2 billion target to states when actualised would serve as a strong hedge to Nigeria’s currency, while also increasing supply of dollar to the economy.”
Speaking at the workshop, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State called on states to work closely with federal regulatory agencies in order to succeed in the AfCFTA.
“When you’re talking about the economies in Nigeria, the truth of the matter is that it is at the subnational level. Theoretically yes, the Nigerian state is a sovereign state, but the Federal Government has no land anywhere. So, if you want to be a key player in agriculture for instance, you have to work with the states to access the opportunities in the value chain,” he said.
Fayemi also observed that the role of the Federal Government in ensuring effective regulations in business is key to the success of the trade agreement.
According to the governor, “Even though the Federal Government does not have much land like the states, it is in charge of several regulatory activities in export.
“So, if you are going to export, you have the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to deal with, you also have National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other notable agencies to deal with.
“There are lots of federal agencies to deal with, however, it is to understand that those agencies help out in trade facilitation over and above revenue generation.”
The governor noted that the whole idea of the AfCTA was to push for a one liberalised market, adding that the states are strategic stakeholders in the deal.
“The Federal Government must not assume that because it seats at the table for negotiations, its role is more important that Lagos, noting that stand alone several states in Nigeria are richer than several African countries,” he added.
Jigawa State Governor and Chairman, National Economic Council Export Promotion Committee Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar said at the workshop that the early inclusion of governors in the inception and design phase would provide sustainability in the long run.
He called on all stakeholders to ensure the continuity of the policy irrespective of a change in administration.
To prevent distortions and discrimination in trade and investment, Badaru noted that tax rights under the AfCFTA, must be mutually beneficial, including cross-jurisdiction income or profit flows such as withholding taxes on payments to non-resident.
It would be noted that Fayemi has earlier raised concerns on how some federal agencies constitute hurdles to trade instead of enhancing trade facilitation.
Analysts say bottlenecks created by unofficial operations at export terminals by some government agencies pose big threat to Nigeria’s export dream.
Managing Director of Flight Logistics Solutions Limited Amos Akpan, at the Aviation and Cargo Conference and Exhibition in Lagos recently said export to import shortfall would keep widening if obstacles to trade are not addressed.
“We need to address hindrances to export and properly situate air cargo export in trade records so we can build a system that will participate in regional, continental, and global trade.
“We need to cut down on the bottlenecks. Too much paperwork, nothing online, and there are too many barriers by too many agencies that have no business in that space. We need to completely sanitise the system,” he said.
Nigeria has a lot of work to do to contain export rejects, analysts say.
It would be recalled that beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish, dried meat, peanut ships, groundnut, palm oil and yam from Nigeria were in the past banned by the European Union (EU) for not meeting required standards.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.