By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is working towards improving its road infrastructure in order to reap the many benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Transportation, Mrs Gbemisola Saraki, on Wednesday at the virtual National African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation Engagement Series for the road sub-sector of transportation.
According to the Minister, represented by Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the road network is easily accessible and most widely used for the movement of people, trade and services.
“To ensure we reap benefits of AfCFTA through the road, the Federal Ministry of Transportation have established a vehicle transit under the public-private partnership arrangement which will be across the nation: Ogun, Anambra, Kaduna, Enugu, Edo and others.
“The borders and state highways will be regulated; we will also facilitate the creation of trade offices in Oyo, Katsina, Ogun, Bornu and others.
“Also, some of the road works are completed or at an advanced stage,” Mrs Saraki said.
Principal Highway Engineer, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Anthony Uruaka called for a regional integration that would boost the road sub-sector, and aid the country in benefiting from AfCFTA.
Mr Uruaka urged the country to address relevant issues such as governance, finance, different vehicle standards, permissible limit for vehicle axle load, standard types of weight bridges used across the road network.
He suggested ways forward including the harmonising of the regulatory instrument and regime, adopting a permit system, instituting a standard operating procedure for law enforcement, and capacity building in public institutions.
He noted that opportunities for the country included enhancement of the contribution to the gross domestic product, investment prospect, employment, reduction in sectoral cost and gateway to developing other sectors.
On his part, Mr Francis Anatogu, Secretary of AfCFTA National Action Committee noted that as far as trade was concerned, there must be a key imperative the country needed to adopt in order to succeed with AfCFTA.
Mr Anatogu said that Nigeria needed to produce what it would export, adding that a nationwide campaign had been embarked upon to sensitise states on the benefits of AfCFTA.
“Each state should identify either products or services that they will project, the country cannot rely just on the removal of tariffs, we need to be far more competitive and this is where the road sub-sector comes in.
“We need to get the road sub-sector right, improve on infrastructure, reduce the focus on oil by expanding to agriculture and these will ensure we gain the objectives of AfCFTA,” he said.
He noted that AfCFTA would catalyse the age-long ambition for Nigeria to be more diversified in export, not just for Africa but beyond Africa.
