∆ Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment
The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has urged the Federal Government to address the critical challenges confronting local manufacturers, exporters, freight forwarders, logistics operators and small-scale businesses before committing $1 billion to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Credit Facility.
The National President of APFFLON, Frank Ogunojemite, made the call noting that while AfCFTA presents enormous opportunities for economic growth and regional integration, Nigeria’s ability to maximise the benefits depends largely on the competitiveness of its domestic industries and the efficiency of its trade facilitation systems.
He emphasised that several factors that hindered the success of previous African trade initiatives and treaties remain unresolved.
” The bottlenecks include foreign exchange (FX) constraints, excessive port charges, cumbersome export procedures and regulatory bottlenecks that continue to frustrate businesses engaged in international trade,” he said.
“While access to finance is important, funding alone cannot solve the fundamental challenges affecting Nigerian businesses.
“Before providing large-scale AfCFTA credit support, the government must first create an enabling environment that allows local industries to compete effectively with their counterparts across Africa,” he noted.
