AfCFTA: Nigeria to benefit from $900bn global shipping business

*SOAN would diversify as many of their ships have been moving oil to other parts of the world, says Dr. Mark George Onyung, President of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria

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As deliberations and ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) continues, Dr. Mark George Onyung, President of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), has said that Nigeria will benefit from over $900 billion daily global shipping business.

Dr. Onyung, who disclosed this at the weekend in Lagos during a meeting with the visiting Secretary General of AfCFTA, said that SOAN would diversify as many of their ships have been moving oil to other parts of the world, reports Leadership.

The SOAN President said: “Apapa Wharf has turned into a slump; wharf has no business in the city.
“There is so much congestion in Apapa; the wharf is right in Ajegunle.

“The fastest way to move container out from the wharf is through barges, and just one barge would put 71 trucks off the roads, thereby reducing accident on our roads as well as saving money and time. We can take container to anywhere in Africa.”

Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, in his remarks, noted that Africa is a large market with GDP of over $2 billion.

According to Akinwuntan, Ecobank was created primarily for the economic integration and the development of Africa.

Earlier, Mene Wamkel, Secretary-General of AfCFTA, disclosed that he was glad to hear that Nigeria is ready to deposit the instrument of ratification of the AfCFTA, hence, looking forward to Nigeria’s leadership in AfCFTA.

Wamkele stated that, for a long time, the African continent had focused on security and political issues, adding that, focus is now being shifted towards trade and investment related matters.

He said: “Whatever decision we take at the secretariat would be informed by what Africa wants, we will put up any design that will not support what Africa wants.

“We would implore digitisation, and fintech will drive financial inclusion. We would drive trade inclusion through fintech that would be affordable, accessible and available.

“Border closure and xenophobic issues have to be addressed according to the rules of the trade agreement, foreigners have to be protected by the agreement and we have to ratify.

All the foreign entities must be treated like the domestic players. There is no discrimination that will be tolerated,” stated the AfCFTA Secretary-General.