By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives has urged the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investments to halt any further signing and implementation of the trade partnership with the United Kingdom.
The lower legislative chamber said the agreement should cease until the terms and conditions governing it were fully examined and ascertained.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by a lawmaker from Rivers State, Mr Kingsley Chinda, at the plenary in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that although the economic and trade partnership between the United Kingdom and Nigeria was aimed at exploring new opportunities in key sectors like energy, legal, and financial services, it appeared to be one-sided.
Recall that a series of trade partnerships was signed with the UK as the once-leading economic power looks to boost its dwindling economy.
The lawmaker said the conditions around trade deals became heightened as the legal aspect appeared lopsided and tilted mainly in favour of the UK to the detriment of qualified Nigerian lawyers.
He added that the agreement sought to allow UK lawyers to enter the Nigerian legal space and practice but not vice versa.
According to him, while the deal seeks to foster collaboration between the film and media industries in the UK and Nigeria, it does not cater for the interests of Nigerian lawyers.
He added that there were no such provisions or opportunities for them to practice their trade in the UK.
He said while it was good for Nigeria to enter into partnership deals with other countries, such deals must be seen to promote, preserve, and protect the interests of the generality of Nigerians.
He said there is an urgent need for the house to investigate the trade deal between the UK and Nigeria to ascertain the terms and conditions.
“Unless immediate steps are taken to investigate the issue, Nigeria may unwittingly be entering into a deal whose terms and conditions may be unfavourable to the country.”
Adopting the motion, the House mandated its Committee on Treaties, Protocols, and Agreements to investigate the matter and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
Modupe Gbadeyanka