AfCFTA: Promoting non-oil revenue will maximize agreement for Nigeria – NESG

NESG says promoting non-oil exports will become imperative if Nigeria is to benefit maximally from AfCFTA

The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has stated that the Federal Government needs to prioritize the promotion of non-oil revenue to maximize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

By William Ukpe

The NESG also added that the Nigerian economy would rebound by 7.5% by 2025.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the group, Mr. Asue Igohdalo,  during the virtual launch of the

NESG report titled  “NESG Macro-Economic outlook 2021,” on Wednesday.

The NESG boss warned that Nigeria cannot approach the agreement casually as doing so will lead to job losses and called for a focus on the non-oil economy.

“Nigeria is at a crossroads and cannot afford the business-as-usual approach which will only lead to further job losses, pull millions of citizens into poverty and worsen an already fragile economy,” he said.

“Promoting non-oil exports will become an imperative if Nigeria is to benefit maximally from AfCFTA.

“Unlike developed countries where economic performance was adversely affected by lockdowns rather than commodity prices, the recovery of the Nigerian economy will hinge not only on easing lockdowns but also on the performance and the health of the global oil market” he added.

Igohdalo added that Nigeria’s economy needs a high, robust, and sustained growth that will deliver a significant reduction in unemployment and poverty.

The NESG said it expects Nigeria’s economy to bounce back by 7.5% by 2025 and expects the Nigerian economy to exit recession with a growth rate of 2.9 %.

“We anticipate that the economy will become strong and resilient in 2025 by posting a 7.5 %  growth.

“Premised on the assumptions of the rapid increase in the oil price (above 50 dollars per annum) and domestic crude oil production, as well as rapid increase in government capital expenditure, we expect the Nigerian economy to exit recession with a growth rate of 2.9%.

The NESG Chairman said that Nigeria must prioritize investment for a post Covid recovery which is an important component of aggregate demand and will play a crucial role.

“Nonetheless, the size of the sectors receiving these investments matter.

“We, therefore, propose a theory of change that highlights four key priority areas that are important in attracting significant investments and, in turn, improving Nigeria’s socio-economic outcomes over the short term to medium term.

“These priority areas are macroeconomic stability, policy and regulatory consistency, sector reforms, and human capital development,” he said.

What you should know

• The FG has announced plans to place some of Nigeria’s non-oil economic assets at the forefront of the AfCFTA. Nairametrics reported last month that the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) is well-positioned to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), through the implementations of several measures to ensure smooth export operations of Nigerian Commodities including the establishment of a  network of 20 warehouses across major production areas in the six geo-political zones of the country for efficient receipt and storage of agro-commodities to be traded on the exchange.