The Federal Government on Wednesday declared 2026 as a decisive year for delivering measurable outcomes under the African Continental Free Trade Area, as it moved to consolidate Nigeria’s continental leadership ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation.
Speaking at the First Quarter 2026 meeting of the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said Nigeria must transition from frameworks and concept notes to disciplined execution.
Oduwole, represented by her Special Adviser, Patience Okala, described the meeting as pivotal, noting that Nigeria’s performance under AfCFTA would significantly shape its bargaining strength at the WTO ministerial conference scheduled to hold in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
She stated, “This meeting comes at a pivotal moment when we consolidate Nigeria’s leadership under the AfCFTA and strategically position our country ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation. AfCFTA implementation must be coordinated, measurable, simplified, and driven by institutional accountability.
“2026 is not a year for concept notes or reports. It is a year for measurable outcomes. The Institutional Performance Barometer must function. The National Action Plan must deliver economic transformation. Subnational integration must deepen and unlock opportunities for Nigerian producers. With this framework in place, 2026 must now be the year of disciplined execution.”
The minister recalled the momentum generated at the AfCFTA Public–Private–Press Summit held in November 2025, where the CCC National Action Plan was unveiled.
“That engagement reinforced a critical principle: AfCFTA implementation must be coordinated, measurable, simplified and driven by institutional accountability,” she said.
She explained that the National Action Plan rests on five pillars, governance and coordination; situational analysis and assessment; policy and legal alignment; private, regional and continental engagement; and monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
“With this framework in place, 2026 must now be the year of disciplined execution,” Oduwole added.
She disclosed that Volume One of the AfCFTA “ABC Simplified Tools” would be presented at the meeting to help businesses better understand and utilise AfCFTA provisions.
“This tool features easy-to-read processes and clear guidance on how Nigerian businesses can engage with the constituent members of the AfCFTA CCC and leverage the agreement for business growth, investment and regional market access,” she said.
In a shift from federal-level coordination, the minister emphasised that AfCFTA implementation must now penetrate subnational structures.
“The AfCFTA must move beyond federal-level coordination into our states, industrial clusters, special economic zones and export corridors.
“Over the past months, we have intensified engagements with state governments, state investment promotion agencies, MSME networks and productive clusters to ensure that export readiness, standards compliance and logistics capacity are aligned with continental market opportunities. Our productive base must reflect continental ambition,” she said.
On global trade negotiations, Oduwole said Nigeria had played an active role in shaping Africa’s common position ahead of the WTO Ministerial Conference.
She noted that African trade ministers recently met in Maputo to harmonise priorities, including WTO reform, agriculture, digital trade discussions, adoption of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and securing permanent observer status for the African Union at the WTO.
“Africa must negotiate multilaterally from a position of continental consolidation,” she said. “Regional coherence strengthens Africa’s negotiating leverage. We must ensure that industrial policy space, digital transformation priorities and value-chain development remain protected.”
According to her, Nigeria would intensify technical consultations to ensure that its MC14 positions are evidence-based and aligned with its diversification agenda.
“We are determined to ensure that our success in the AfCFTA is preserved and respected at the global level,” she said.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Abba Rimi, represented by the Director of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, Naziru Abbas Mohammed, described the CCC as Nigeria’s central platform for trade policy alignment and inter-agency coordination.
“Your agencies are at the forefront of trade facilitation, standards enforcement, export promotion, industrial development, customs modernisation and investment mobilisation.
“AfCFTA is not just a trade agreement; it is a transformative economic framework that must deliver tangible results for Nigerian businesses and citizens,” he said.
He urged members to adopt a solution-oriented approach, stressing that “implementation, discipline and accountability will determine our success.”
Providing an overview, Okala further detailed efforts to demystify AfCFTA protocols for businesses and the public.
She recalled that at the 2025 P3 Summit, stakeholders examined five key protocols, trade in goods, trade in services, investment, digital trade, and women and youth in trade, before breaking into sectoral sessions.
“One of the most important outcomes was the decision to simplify the AfCFTA framework,” she said.
“Many people still do not understand what AfCFTA is. We tasked ourselves with breaking down AfCFTA-related services and regulations in simplified language so we can guide the private sector to access our services and scale under the agreement.”
She unveiled the “AfCFTA Simplified: The ABCs of Doing Business under AfCFTA in Nigeria, Volume One,” translated into Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin and Arabic.
