Export council preps exporters in Plateau for AfCFTA

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has educated stakeholders in the non-oil export sector in Plateau State on the strategies to penetrate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market through product development. The capacity-building workshop, which was held at the Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos, was convened by the Nigerian Export Promotion […]

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has educated stakeholders in the non-oil export sector in Plateau State on the strategies to penetrate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market through product development.

The capacity-building workshop, which was held at the Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos, was convened by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, North Central Regional Office, Jos, on “Positioning Nigerian Products for AfCFTA”.

The NEPC’s North Central Regional Coordinator, Mr Samson Idowu, said the exercise was a flagship project of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, aimed at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiation.

Nigeria keyed into AfCFTA after signing the agreement in July 2019 and ratifying its membership on November 11, 2020.

He said, “Suffice it to say that given the huge size of the Nation’s MSMEs, the creativity and versatility of Nigerians coupled with the country’s huge population, Nigeria has already tended towards an advantageous position to harvest huge benefits from her membership of AfCFTA.”

The Plateau State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Idris Gambo, described the event as a welcome development.

Represented by Mr Sambo Zimchang, a director, he said the workshop was a golden opportunity for the people of the state and called on exporters to take advantage of it to improve their businesses.