Nigeria has stepped into a pivotal continental leadership role, assuming the chairmanship of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade as Africa enters the implementation phase of its historic single market.
The decision was reached at the Council’s 18th Meeting in Abuja, hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, which brought together trade ministers to review progress on the AfCFTA and chart the next phase of its rollout.
At the session, Nigeria assumed the rotating leadership from the Arab Republic of Egypt, signalling a new phase in which one of Africa’s largest economies will help steer the bloc’s trade agenda.
The development positions Nigeria to help shape policies that turn years of negotiations into real economic opportunities for businesses, industries and millions of consumers across the continent.
READ ALSO: Reforms: Nigeria To Launch Key Digital Platform Friday — Trade Minister Oduwole
With most of the Agreement’s legal architecture now substantially in place, ministers agreed that the focus must move decisively from negotiating texts to operationalising them.
The emphasis, they said, is now on implementation and on delivering measurable benefits for African businesses, workers and consumers through increased intra‑African trade, industrialisation and value addition.
The Abuja meeting also built on decisions taken at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2026, where leaders adopted key Annexes to the Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights, marking a major step forward in the Phase II agenda.
Only a limited number of legal instruments remain outstanding – including one Annex to the Investment Protocol and another to the Intellectual Property Rights Protocol – which State Parties are working to finalise to complete the core rulebook for the continent‑wide market.
Members of the Nigerian delegation included the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, and the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh.
Oduwole, who assumed the chairpersonship, set out a results-oriented agenda, anchored on four priorities: accelerating implementation and moving decisively from commitments to action; strengthening regional value chains so that Africa trades more of what it produces; unlocking the transformative potential of digital trade; and expanding access to finance, particularly for women-led enterprises, youth entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
“Let us move from ambition to execution; from commitments to measurable outcomes; and from fragmented markets to one integrated and prosperous African market,” she was quoted as saying by AfCFTA on its website.
Earlier, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, described the task ahead as one of conversion, transforming a formidable legal architecture into commercial reality for African enterprises and citizens.
“We have therefore entered a new phase of the Agreement, where the emphasis shifts from negotiating legal frameworks to accelerating implementation,” he said.
He noted that implementation was already gathering momentum, including more than 12,000 Certificates of Origin issued under the Agreement and notified to the Secretariat as of March 2026, and a gradual but significant shift in African trade towards manufactured and agri-food products, away from primary commodities.
As outgoing Chair of the Bureau, Mohamed Farid Saleh, said, “The success of the Agreement can no longer be measured solely by the number of protocols adopted or legal frameworks established. Rather, it must be measured by our collective ability to translate these achievements into tangible economic realities.”
