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AfCFTA: Why Nigeria may lose out in agro-export to 1.2 billion consumers – Okakpu

Captain John T Okakpu,

Eyewitness reporter

The African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty and end food insecurity on the Continent, but Nigeria has not been positioned as the ‘real’ stakeholder for agro-export under this agreement.

Captain John T Okakpu, MD/CEO, abx world Limited, dropped the hint over the weekend, stressing that the country’s participation and gain from AfCFTA, in the agricultural value chain, depends on the effectiveness and implementation of government policies, especially in the agricultural sector.

He said that AfCFTA will form a 3.4 trillion dollars economic bloc, which Nigeria cannot afford to be out.

Available reports show that trade between African nations in agricultural products as a percentage of Africa’s total agricultural trade remains below 20 percent long, one of the lowest in any region.

Total trade between African nations was only 2 percent in the period 2015–2017, compared with 67 percent in trade between European countries, 61 percent in Asian countries, and 47 percent in the Americas, according to UN trade agency UNCTAD.

“Now, AfCFTA intends to change the narrative. It has created the world’s largest free trade area, representing the 1.2 billion consumer market, and mandates states to remove tariffs and non-tariff in order to boost shipments and services between nations, and boost economic growth in doing so”

“If you look at the trend, Africa exports agricultural products such as tomatoes, onions, vegetables,  cocoa, coffee, cotton, yam tobacco, and spices to the nations of the world to earn significant foreign exchange.

” But the continent imports important foods such as cereals, vegetable oils, dairy products and meat in large quantities. Now, our neighbouring countries have positioned themselves to benefit from AfCFTA by building robust logistics and cost-effective export systems.

“So, looking at it critically, our logistics cost cemented our losses on AfCFTA unless we address it now”, Capt. Okakpu said.

Capt. Okakpu, who chairs a 28-member Nigeria Agro Set-Up Committee inaugurated by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), with a mandate to reinvigorate broad national agricultural activities across the country, added that capacity building for farmers, regulators and top government officials is another major factor that must be considered for the country to get her acts together.

He said that the most basic of agro-export requirements is the knowledge of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) which is completely missing in Nigeria.

“In addition to other benefits, it teaches and equips farmers on standard Farming Bookkeeping which helps farmers know, track and compare total costs of farm inputs and inflows from sales and in so doing help to maximize their profitability.

“As it is now, we will continue exporting our products to the world market through another country and definitely will get worse under AfCFTA.

“For every N1 we are going to make, those countries our products are transiting will be making N10. There’s no shortcut here or lobbying, it’s a grass-root, that grassroot is the farmers with Certifications/Traceability of their farms and products.

“That notwithstanding, knowledge of GAP enables farmers to increase their yields per hectare by employing the latest, world-class and more efficient farming techniques.

“Similarly, farmers who have Global GAP certifications and training are automatically linked to off-takers who buy off their agricultural farm produce right from the farm gate at international market rates, thus saving most farmers from losses derived from low sales and prices that ultimately lead to loan defaults.

“The regulators and other government officials also need to be informed on why cost should be reduced; on why farmers deserve cost-effective interest loans; why the logistics value chain must be rejigged if we are going to benefit from AfCFTA,” he said.

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Business

National Single Window goes live in March, 2026 

– as FG launches phase 1 of the project for trade facilitation 
Funso OLOJO
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the commencement of Phase 1 of the National Single Window (NSW) Project, scheduled to launch on March 27, 2026.
The launch marks a decisive step toward reforming Nigeria’s trade ecosystem through technology, transparency, and smarter regulation.
The National Single Window is a centralised digital platform designed to simplify and harmonise trade procedures by enabling traders to submit trade-related information once,
through a single interface, while relevant government agencies access, process, and approve the required documentation seamlessly.
 The initiative is expected to significantly reduce delays, eliminate duplication, curb inefficiencies, and lower the cost of doing business at Nigeria’s ports and borders.
Speaking on the transformative potential of the project during the inauguration of the project on the 16th of April 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described the National Single Window as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s trade and economic reform agenda.
“The National Single Window will change the way trade is done in Nigeria. It will replace fragmentation with coordination, opacity with transparency, and delay with efficiency,” says Presidency.
The President added that the NSW aligns with the administration’s commitment to
economic diversification, non-oil export growth, and improved ease of doing business, noting that efficient trade systems are critical to national development.
Also speaking on the initiative, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, described the National Single Window as a game-changer that will simplify and
democratize trade in Nigeria.
Dr. Oduwole explained that the platform will streamline trade documentation through a unified window, enabling greater transparency, improved transaction tracking, and
increased trade volumes.
 She added that experienced traders, in particular, would benefit from the efficiency gains offered by the system.
Providing insight into the implementation strategy, Mr. Tola Fakolade, Director of National Single Window Project, explained that the Federal Government has deliberately adopted a phased rollout approach, beginning with Phase 1, which will focus primarily on statutory permits and manifests.
“The National Single Window will be rolled out in phases, starting with Phase 1, which concentrates on statutory permits and cargo manifests,” Mr. Fakolade stated.
“This allows us to stabilise the system, build confidence among stakeholders, and deliver immediate value where bottlenecks are most pronounced.”
According to Mr. Fakolade, the decision to phase the launch reflects lessons learned from previous large-scale technology initiatives that adopted a “big bang” approach.
“We have learned from the flaws of past big bang technological rollouts, where attempting to do everything at once created avoidable disruptions,” he noted.
 “Phasing the National
Single Window is a deliberate and strategic choice—one that prioritises sustainability, user adoption, and continuous improvement over speed for speed’s sake.”
He further emphasized that subsequent phases will gradually expand the scope of the platform, onboard additional agencies, and deepen integration across the trade value chain, ensuring a resilient and scalable system.
“This approach ensures that the National Single Window grows with the ecosystem, guided by real data, user feedback, and operational realities,” Mr. Fakolade added.
As Phase 1 goes live, the Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with the private sector, development partners, and trade stakeholders to ensure a smooth
transition and shared ownership of the reform.
“By simplifying trade processes and leveraging digital innovation, we are unlocking faster movement of goods, strengthening revenue assurance, and creating a more competitive
environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive locally and globally.” Mr. Fakolade added.
With the launch of the National Single Window, Nigeria takes a bold and pragmatic step towards modern trade governance—one that places efficiency, transparency, and learning at the heart of national progress.
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Business

Access bank laments cargo glut, financial losses to importers caused by its service glitch

– restores customs transactions on its platform 
Gloria Odion 
Access Bank Plc has  expressed its regret over the accrued demurrages to importers, cargo glut at the port which the temporary disruption of its services on its ACCESS PAY(B’Odogwu) platform has caused majority of importers and their agents.
The bank’s interactive platform with Customs went down for three days between November 10th to 12th, 2025, causing agony and anguish among the freight forwarders who could not conduct transactions on the platform with the Customs, resulting to mounting demurrages and cargo glut at the port.
However in a statement made available to newsmen, the bank confirmed the restoration of its customs transaction services and urged its distraught custom to come forward with their Customs payment.
Access bank further explained that the glitch occured due to a connectivity issue between Access Bank’s network and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) system.
The glitch temporarily hindered the processing of payments and related transactions via the ACCESS PAY (B’ODOGWU) platform.
“The issue was fully resolved on November 12th, 2025, and normal service operations have since been completely restored.
“Customers can now process Customs-related payments and transactions seamlessly through Access Bank channels,” the statement read.
The bank expressed regret over the inconvenience caused, acknowledging that the downtime led to delays and concerns among customers, particularly regarding demurrage charges.
Access Bank assured stakeholders that proactive measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence, reiterating its commitment to service reliability and customer satisfaction.
“Access Bank appreciates the patience and understanding of its customers during the period of disruption and thanks them for their continued trust and partnership,” the statement concluded.
However, despite the service restoration by the bank, its customers are still aggrieved over what they described as unwarranted extra charges in form of accrued demurrages which they were made to incur and which they claimed have added additional costs to the clearing of their trapped cargo at the port.
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Business

Tantita Security  dazzles at OTC, USA

– as Lokpobiri seeks global presence of the company 
Gloria Odion 
The Tantita Security Nigeria Limited has dazzled the participants at the
Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held  in the United States of America (USA) with array of its cutting edge services which it showcased at the annual event.
Curious participants flooded the stand of the security company, obviously impressed by its technology – driven  services.
It could be recalled that the company currently carries out surveillance on the network of oil pipelines in Nigeria which has improved the security at the critical oil infrastructure and boosted the country’s oil production.
An elated Executive Director, Technical and Operations of the security company, Capt. Warredi Enisouh enthused “Nigeria have never been seen in this light here.
” We are currently overwhelmed and swarmed with people who want to hear our story,” he noted.
However, the President of Ijaw Youth Council, Jonathan Lokpobiri, called on Tantita Security to extend its services outside the shores of Nigeria, even as he commended the company for its laudable strides at the global event.
Lokpobiri visited the Tantita Security Nigeria Limited stand at the event and said there was a need for the company to extend its services to the other parts of the globe.
 “This is the stand of Tantita Security Nigeria Limited at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference in America, we want to see Tantita in China, we want to see Tantita in Europe and in other African countries.
“As long as security is concerned, Tantita Security Nigeria Limited should be consulted.
Speaking further he said, “From what I have seen on ground here, all the gadgets, and the slides of how the company carries out its operations, I have no doubts at all of the capacity and capability of the company to deliver, especially when you take into consideration what they have done back in Nigeria.
“They have been able to drastically increase Nigeria’s oil production through effective monitoring and policing the country’s oil pipelines and other oil facilities,” he said.
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