West African Legislators Move For Effective Implementation Of AfCFTA

West African lawmakers have intensified efforts for the effective implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in order to add value to the commodities of the member-states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in its quest for industrialisation and global competitiveness.

This was the thrust of the First Seminar and First Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament that opened in Abuja on Monday with the theme “Deepening Regional Integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Opportunities and Challenges for the Expansion of Intra-Community Trade within the ECOWAS Region.”

Declaring the event open, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, called for decisive, measurable action to transform West Africa into a competitive economic bloc, warning that regional integration must move from declarations to delivery.

She said for AfCFTA to deliver, parliamentarians must act decisively in harmonising legal frameworks, dismantling non-tariff barriers, overseeing community resources and ensuring inclusive participation of women, youth and private sector actors.

She declared that the Parliament’s mandate goes beyond representation, adding that parliamentarians must respond to the expectations of over 400 million West Africans seeking peace, security and shared prosperity.

She described AfCFTA as a historic instrument capable of reshaping the region’s economic destiny but only if fully embraced and effectively executed.

“The AfCFTA has entered its operational phase. Our responsibility is clear: to make it a lever for structural transformation in West Africa,” she said.

Ibrahima stressed that with nearly five decades of integration experience, ECOWAS must not merely follow continental reforms but lead and harmonise them, particularly as the region hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat.

However, she acknowledged the challenges confronting the bloc such as intra-regional trade that remains below 10 per cent of total trade, weak industrial capacity as most member-states continued exporting raw commodities such as cocoa, cotton, palm oil and timber with minimal value addition.

“Our economies often compete rather than complement each other,” she noted, adding that delayed ratifications and the absence of clear national strategies in some member-states was capable of slowing coordinated implementation.

She, however, highlighted key strengths such as harmonised macroeconomic framework, a Common External Tariff, ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), innovative trade facilitation tools like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and a youthful population representing nearly one-third of Africa’s total demographic strength.

President of the Nigerian Senate, Godwill Akpabio, in his reaction, challenged the lawmakers to confront the uncomfortable truth that trade agreements without legislative alignment, infrastructure readiness and security guarantees remainedsymbolic.

Represented by the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Jibrin Barau, Akpabio said parliaments across the bloc must harmonise national laws with regional commitments, dismantle regulatory contradictions and invest in infrastructure that physically and digitally connects markets.

“Without such coherence, he warned, West Africa risks remaining a supplier of raw materials while importing finished dependency,” he said.

He said further that AfCFTA must move from conference halls into factories, ports, farms and fintech platforms. It must empower small traders, protect cross-border commerce from corruption and unlock value-added production within West Africa.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in her remarks tasked West African states to accelerate regional economic integration and strengthen institutional cooperation to confront emerging political, economic and security challenges across the sub-region.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was represented by the Head ECOWAS National Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Nonyelum Afoekelu, during the session, said that regional leaders should use the platform to recommit to the future of integration and shared prosperity.

She described the seminar as a strategic platform for reflection, renewed commitment and practical policy dialogue aimed at deepening regional cooperation, harmonizing legislation and accelerating the realisation of ECOWAS objectives.

She decried that declining regional trade has been aggravated by insecurity, unconstitutional changes of government, climate change impacts and other transnational threats that continue to disrupt cross-border commerce.

However, she emphasized that the African Continental Free Trade Area presents a historic opportunity for West Africa to expand trade, attract investment and strengthen regional value chains.

She explained that the ETLS provides a tested institutional and legal framework that can be harmonised with continental trade structures to accelerate economic integration across Africa.

By leveraging existing regulatory instruments and dispute resolution mechanisms, she said ECOWAS can become a continental leader in operationalising AfCFTA and improving the global competitiveness of West African businesses.

She, however, emphasised that the ECOWAS Parliament must play a central role in translating regional agreements into domestic policies.