The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has expressed concern over the continued exclusion of Nigerian stakeholders in the transport, maritime and trade sectors from key discussions and developments surrounding the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation.
In a bulletin released yesterday and signed by the centre’s Head of Research, Dr Eugene Nweke, SEREC decried the lack of transparency and poor information dissemination regarding AfCFTA activities by the Implementation Secretariat and called for the inclusion of Nigeria’s key sectors in the ongoing integration process.
SEREC’s concerns are based on the outcomes of a recent meeting of the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure and Energy.
According to the centre, resolutions made during the high-level ministerial meeting have far-reaching implications for implementing AfCFTA. Yet, it lamented, Nigerian stakeholders are largely uninformed and uninvolved.
The centre said the ministers acknowledged that the pace of infrastructure development has fallen behind growing demand, hampering Africa’s ability to benefit fully from free trade integration and competitiveness in the global trade arena.
SEREC said with the current inadequacies contributing to high logistics costs and limited competitiveness in global markets, the ministers projected the development of between 60,000 and 100,000 kilometers of new roads by 2030 to enable seamless intercontinental connectivity.
SEREC also drew attention to the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa – Priority Action Plan 2 (PIDA-PAP2), which includes 69 large-scale projects valued at over $160 billion over the next decade.
According to SEREC’s review, the first phase of the PIDA-PAP1 fell short of expectations, with 50 per cent of projects never reaching the construction stage and 30 per cent stalling at the feasibility stage.
SEREC sought the Federal Government’s clarity on the country’s strategic involvement in PIDA-PAP1 and PIDA-PAP2 projects, seeking an explanation on frameworks to support private sector participation and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
The centre identified a range of persistent impediments to universal infrastructure access across Africa, including weak policy frameworks, regulatory and financial bottlenecks, technical constraints and limited institutional capacity.
SEREC urged Nigerian stakeholders to demand greater transparency and inclusion in information dissemination from the AfCFTA Implementation Secretariat and to pressure the Federal Government into accelerating its infrastructure and trade-related commitments.
The centre advocated for the harmonisation of national strategies, urging policymakers to ratify and domesticate key African Union protocols, including the Road Safety Charter, the Maritime Transport Charter and the Luxembourg Protocol on Railway Rolling Stocks and renewed investment in building institutional capacity.
It recommended that the Federal Government designate a national correspondence desk to oversee AfCFTA affairs, initiate enabling policy frameworks to attract private sector participation and scale up investment in urban and rural transport infrastructure.
Notably, SEREC called for concrete plans to establish “freight places” and specialised markets, including consolidation, packaging and labeling hubs along Nigeria’s border corridors through PPP arrangements.
“We cannot afford to operate in isolation or ignorance. If Nigeria is to play a leading role in Africa’s economic future, it must ensure that its stakeholders are informed, involved, and ready to lead from the front,” the centre stated.
