Director-general of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation (NOTN), Yonov Agah, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s disadvantaged position in foreign trade, saying the largest African economy is held up in anti-trade bias engineered by bad government policies.
Agah who is Nigeria’s chief trade negotiator said there is need for national conversations on how the nation can get rid of the anti-export challenges.
“Unfortunately, for us in Nigeria, we have been caught in the anti-export bias,” Agah said when he received a delegation of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) on courtesy visit to his office on Wednesday. “When government policies are not government oriented, they create rents. And businesses like rents because it’s cheap money.”
The visit was to seek the support, guidance, collaboration and participation of NOTN on how to shape conversations around the proposed summit with the theme: ‘Trade and Non-oil Export: Changing the Narratives for National Development.’ Special focus is on the AfCFTA to have a truly engaging and definitive 2-day summit.
African Development Bank President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina would be the keynote speaker at the event, among other speakers. There will also be high level discussions at the summit.
“We believe that the policy recommendation that can come out from the summit will be helpful to share with the incoming federal government.
options for you to consider even as we all try to navigate the country to the trajectory of growth,” said NECA DG and leader of the delegation, Adewale Smart Oyerinde said.
According to Agah, Nigeria faces a key challenge of lack of understanding of what trade is about. The cited the experience of China, Germany, Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia that rebuilt their economies and jumpstarted industrialization within a short period, while faulting Nigeria’s failure to purposefully position herself for export.
The NOTN DG said part of what the AfCFTA can do for Nigerian manufacturers is to create a trade diversion effect.
He said the agency is trying to open market access for Nigerian products.
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