Nigeria has officially gazetted and transmitted its ECOWAS schedule of tariff offers for goods traded in Africa to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat, marking a critical milestone in its commitment to intra-African trade.
The move was announced on Monday, April 14, by Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The gazetting of trade commitments is a formal declaration that ensures transparency and informs businesses, organisations, and citizens of new trade regulations. It also confirms that Nigeria will provide preferential tariff treatment to eligible imports in accordance with the AfCFTA agreement.
According to Oduwole, the formal submission was made at the AfCFTA Council of Ministers meeting in Kinshasa, where Nigeria signed and presented the ECOWAS tariff offer, establishing zero duties on 90 percent of goods traded within Africa. She said the development reflects Nigeria’s readiness to fully participate in the AfCFTA framework and signals progress in the country’s implementation of the agreement.
“As Nigeria commences its implementation review of five years of AfCFTA, we have been reflective on the journey so far,” Oduwole said. “What is clear is that Nigerian entrepreneurs are more than ready to take on the challenge to move across borders and we celebrate that feat by supporting them as a government, including through the implementation of the tariff gazetting for our AfCFTA schedules.”
Describing the move as a “landmark achievement,” she congratulated President Bola Tinubu and Nigerian entrepreneurs for their perseverance and encouraged more businesses to embrace the opportunities within the continental free trade area.
“We welcome other businesses and entrepreneurs into our one market, and we also look forward to gracing the shores of many other countries with our proudly Nigerian products,” she added.
Oduwole also highlighted the broader implications of the agreement, particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and for youth- and women-led businesses. She noted that AfCFTA opens up opportunities for Nigerian entrepreneurs to export their products across the continent, boosting foreign exchange earnings and fostering economic growth.
“What does AfCFTA mean to the Nigerian economy? It’s an opportunity for our hardworking entrepreneurs to take their goods out of Nigeria and earn much-needed foreign exchange,” she said. “It’s an economy to expand businesses. It is a market of 1.4 billion people with a value of $3.4 trillion — the largest free trade area in the world.”
She emphasized that Nigeria will continue to lead in digital trade frameworks and further strengthen its position in both services and goods trade across Africa.
“We continue to harness and keep value within our continent to ensure prosperity for African people. It’s a partnership. Everybody has something to gain,” Oduwole stated.
With this development, Nigeria becomes the 23rd AfCFTA state party to officially gazette its provisional schedule of tariff concessions.
