President Muhammadu Buhari has on Sunday, 7th July, 209 at Niamey, Niger republic signed the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the opening of the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union (AU) Heads of State and Governments.
It was gathered that President Buhari had approved the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on the Impact and Readiness Assessment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, agreement.
In a statement released on Wednesday, 3rd July, 2019 by Garba Shehu, Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity indicated that the president would be signing the Phase-1 of the agreement in the course of his attendance at the Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union and 12th Extraordinary Summit on AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger Republic.
The procedure has it that a country that signs the first level (phase-1) will then go into country-level discussions leading to treaties after safeguards are agreed upon by member countries.
Also, in accepting the reports as submitted, President Buhari made it clear that the Nigerian government will be seeking to include terms that engender the development of policies that promote African production, among other benefits.
