The Federal Government has commenced the recalibration of Nigeria’s trade negotiation architecture to strengthen the country’s negotiating position in bilateral, regional, continental and multilateral trade engagements.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the Stakeholders Engagement on Nigeria’s Trade and Investment Negotiation Architecture, saying the reform was aimed at ensuring that Nigeria’s trade policy supports industrial development, expands non-oil exports, enhances competitiveness and creates jobs.
Oduwole said the Enlarged National Focal Point (ENFP) on Trade Matters would now operate as the Nigeria Trade Negotiation Architecture (NTNA), with the Trade Department and the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) serving as Co-Technical Leads.
She said the new framework would introduce monthly reporting, quarterly stakeholder engagements and designated focal officers from participating institutions to improve coordination, institutional continuity and accountability.
The Minister stressed that an effective negotiation system must go beyond institutional structures to include rigorous preparation, reliable data and meaningful consultation.
She therefore called on the private sector, labour, academia, MSMEs and other stakeholders to provide concrete information on market opportunities, trade barriers, competitive advantages and potential vulnerabilities to enable government negotiators develop positions that reflect Nigeria’s economic realities and priorities.
Oduwole also announced plans to strengthen the Commercial Officer cadre to provide market intelligence, trade-policy analysis and support for Nigerian businesses operating in international markets.
She clarified that investment negotiations under the International Investment Agreement Negotiation Team would remain a distinct track, while the broader objective was to establish a coordinated, evidence-led, commercially informed and accountable system capable of protecting Nigeria’s interests and positioning Nigerian businesses to compete effectively in regional and global markets.
Providing the background to the reform, officials said the Enlarged National Focal Point for the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 2001 as a national consultation mechanism within the then Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry to coordinate Nigeria’s trade-related engagements.
The ENFP brought together government institutions, private-sector organisations, academia, professional bodies and other stakeholders to provide technical advice, facilitate consultations, harmonise negotiating positions and support Nigeria’s bilateral, regional, continental and multilateral trade engagements.
However, its operations were affected over the years by challenges including a large and dispersed membership, irregular meetings, changes in institutional representation, weak follow-up and record-keeping, as well as overlaps with other trade-related institutions.
The recalibration is designed to retain the inclusive character of the former ENFP while introducing clearer technical leadership, reporting lines, institutional responsibilities and accountability.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Director of Trade would chair the architecture, while relevant departments would provide technical leadership and the designated Secretariat would maintain the negotiation portfolio, institutional records and action reports.
The Commercial Officer function would also be strengthened to support policy analysis, negotiation preparation, stakeholder coordination, reporting and institutional knowledge management.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, represented by the Head of Special Duties Department, Mr. Simon Omo-Ezomo, welcomed stakeholders to the engagement and conveyed the Minister’s directive providing the basis for developing the proposed Nigeria Trade and Investment Negotiation Architecture.
He said the framework was expected to comprise the National Trade Coordination Platform and the National International Investment Agreement Negotiation Team, with a designated Secretariat responsible for coordination.
Isokpunwu said the engagement was convened to examine how the proposed mechanism would operate in practice, with presentations and discussions focusing on membership, responsibilities, terms of reference and the status of ongoing negotiations.
He urged participating institutions to make concise and practical contributions, identify areas of overlap or uncertainty and indicate the technical support they could provide.
Each participating institution is expected to nominate two focal officers to improve continuity, strengthen information exchange and support the quality and timeliness of Nigeria’s trade negotiations.
He added that the Trade Negotiation Department would document the deliberations and develop an action matrix assigning responsibilities and timelines.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mrs. Patience Okala, provided an update on the AfCFTA Category B and C classification led by the ECOWAS Commission.
Okala said negotiations on the three tariff categories had reached an advanced stage, with the ECOWAS Commission proceeding with the transmission of the agreed Category B and C lists to the AfCFTA authorities.
She recalled that, following the October 30, 2020 ECOWAS memorandum, the ECOWAS Commission was mandated to finalise the draft ECOWAS Common Schedule of Tariff Concessions, incorporating the 73 tariff lines agreed by the Ministerial Committee on Tariff Concessions comprising Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria and the ECOWAS Commission.
She explained that Category A covers 90 per cent of tariff lines, while Category B covers sensitive products and Category C covers products on the exclusion list.
According to her, while Category A was initially required during the early phase of AfCFTA implementation, the implementation process now requires the full complement of Categories A, B and C.
Okala said the ECOWAS Commission had finalised the Category B and C listings following the directive of the ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry at their meeting in Accra, Ghana, and in line with decisions of the 18th AfCFTA Council of Ministers.
The development, she noted, represents an important step towards completing the tariff concession process and advancing implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Federal Government said the stakeholder engagement would ultimately strengthen the institutional framework through which Nigeria develops, coordinates and advances its trade negotiating positions, with the country’s expanding participation in regional and global trade supported by evidence, technical expertise, stakeholder input and clear institutional accountability.
