REFLECTIONS ON NIGERIA’S ENDORSEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA: QUANDARIES AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

The Nigerian government took a significant step by signing the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It is envisaged that Nigeria’s commitment to the AfCTA) would engender a robust inter-African trade. This article seeks to examine salient features of the treaty and to ascertain the quandaries regarding its implementation in Nigeria. The article adopts the doctrinal research methodology for information. The article finds that the implementation of AfCTA in Nigeria is patently attenuated by the fact that the country merely signed the treaty. It is yet to ratify same and the country is therefore not bound by its provisions under trite principles of international law. The article recommends that the country ought to ratify the treaty and domesticate it as required by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended. The country is also implored to ram up critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and rail way across the country and beyond its borders to facilitate unfettered movement of goods and services. It is contended that the full implementation of this momentous treaty will galvanise the realization of Nigeria’s quest for socioeconomic development.