AFCFTA: NAFFAC President General, Adeyinka cautions against multiple checkpoints

Segun Oladipupo.

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The President General of the National Association of Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC), Prince Bakare Adeyinka on Wednesday said for Nigeria to maximise the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Agreement, there is need to the federal government to put an end to the multiple checkpoints along the Lagos-Badagry corridor and other entry points across the six geopolitical zones

He gave the advice at a roundtable discourse with members of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON).

The NAFFAC PG lamented that Nigeria businesses may suffer major setbacks if government fails to resolve the bottlenecks on the movement of goods from the entry points into the country and international frontiers saying that Nigerian goods and services have potentials to compete favourably in the region.

Prince Adeyinka expressed concerns over the multiple checkpoints manned by security agencies and touts, noting that the illegalities would further affect foreign and local investments.

According to him, the association has engaged government at all levels in tackling the illegalities along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor.

He quipped that there are only five checkpoints between Ghana and Benin, noting that Nigeria only has over 30 checkpoints between Seme and Mile 2, manned by operatives of the government which he described as extortion of the highest order.

Bakare who doubles as the Managing Director, De Potter Nigeria Limited told the group of journalists that trade barrier must be eliminated for the country to participate fully in AFCFTA, calling on the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration to reduce the number of checkpoints along the routes to encourage international trade.

The NAFFAC boss explained that Nigeria stand a chance to benefit immensely in the exportation of her commodities to other countries of the continent if well harnessed.

While reiterating the association’s commitment towards encouraging exportation, Bakare expressed that freight forwarding business is beyond import , urging government to look inward to put in place policies to drive export.

He lamented that the poor foreign exchange rates against the Naira has also discourage international trade but expressed optimism that non – export would further grow the economy when government prioritize cargo exportation.

“Government needs to listen to this call because all our export supposed to be on CIF which is Cost Insurance and Freight and not the other way round.

“The issue of multiple checkpoints along the entry points is killing the business and it will affect the AFCFTA. The multiple checkpoints is not limited to Lagos Abidjan corridor alone. It is common in the northern region of the country and government is not doing anything about it”.

Speaking further, he added that “This government should further encourage non-export to tackle the fall of our Naira”.