FG Urges Nigerian Business Community To Explore ECOWAS Liberal Trade Policies
FeaturedNigeria August 13, 2015 Dianabasi Effiong
Amb Bulus Lolo
From: Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
The Federal Government has appealed to Nigerian business community to explore the various business opportunities that abound in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The call was made on Thursday in Calabar by Ambassador Bulus Lolo, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the sensitisation workshop on ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).
According to Lolo, business stakeholders in Nigeria can benefit immensely if they explore the benefit of promoting intra-community goods offered by ETLS within the ECOWAS Sub-region.
Represented at the occasion by Ambassador Okon Etuknwa, Lolo said that ETLS’s benefits included the removal of import duties, prohibition and restrictions on goods from any ECOWAS member state.
He said the scheme will make goods cheaper and more competitive than goods outside the community, create jobs, boost local production and regional integration.
“The overall intended outcome will be to boost local industrial development, create wealth and job opportunities and foster regional integration,” Lolo said.
He said the scheme would also facilitate private sector development in Nigeria, an important player in ETLS’s implementation, by virtue of its capacity and resources within ECOWAS.
He said that relative low awareness among Nigerian business community and negative consequences associated with smuggling of goods made outside ECOWAS were some of the challenges for ETLS implementation in Nigeria.
He said that Nigeria Business and Investment Community required regular awareness campaign on ETLS because many Nigerian products were not yet enjoying opportunities inherent in the scheme.
Lolo said that goods covered in ETLS included unprocessed goods, traditional handicrafts and industrial products.
He said that the sensitisation workshop would offer measures to curtail difficulties in enlisting Nigerian products into the scheme.
In his address, Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River, said that the implementation of the scheme would no doubt be enhanced by the construction of Trans-African Highway which traverses the state to the Republic of Cameroon.
The Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Tina Agbo, said his administration initiated projects to complement the Federal Government’s desire to encourage industrialisation and emphasis on local production and services.
Dianabasi Effiong
