ECA, others strengthen Nigeria capacity for AfCFTA implementation

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), in collaboration with the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and with the Contribution of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, has concluded a three day Capacity Building Programme for Legislators, Parliamentary Staff and Legislative Support Staff on “The Role of Lawmakers in the National Implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and its Associated Protocols in Nigeria.”

The workshop was held between March from 3 and 5, 2026 in Abuja, and brought together 150 participants, including Senators, House of Representatives members, parliamentary clerks, legislative drafters, and legislative support staff.

The programme aimed to strengthen the legislative, oversight, and policy support functions of the Nigerian Parliament in relation to the national implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and its Protocols. The AfCFTA, operational since January 2021, represents one of Africa’s most ambitious economic integration initiatives, with significant implications for trade, industrialisation, job creation, and inclusive growth.

Opening the programme, Director General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar O. Sulaiman, underscored the importance of equipping lawmakers and parliamentary staff with the technical knowledge required to translate AfCFTA commitments into effective national legislation and oversight. He emphasised the role of NILDS as a permanent institutional platform for sustained parliamentary engagement on AfCFTA implementation.

In his keynote address, Melaku Desta, representing ECA, highlighted AfCFTA as a transformative framework for Africa’s economic integration, noting that its success ultimately depends on credible domestication, institutional readiness, and coordinated executive–legislature action at the national level.

Goodwill messages delivered during the opening session by senior parliamentary leaders, including the President of the Senate, Senator Mr. Godswill Obot Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Tajudeen Abbas, reaffirmed the central role of the legislature in aligning national laws with continental obligations and exercising oversight over AfCFTA implementation.

Over the three days, participants engaged in a series of plenary sessions covering key AfCFTA implementation themes, including the nature and scope of the AfCFTA Agreement and Nigeria’s historic role in continental integration; ratification and domestication of AfCFTA protocols; implications of AfCFTA for national economies and the continental single market; lessons from the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative; protection of creativity and innovation under the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights; the role of parliamentary clerks and legislative/legal drafters in domestication; executive–legislature relations; and cross border digital payments under the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol.

Discussions highlighted persistent capacity gaps, the need for policy coherence, and the importance of structured collaboration between the executive and legislature to ensure effective AfCFTA implementation.

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants adopted a Call to Action Resolution calling for, among others, accelerated ratification of outstanding AfCFTA Protocols; structured executive–legislature dialogue on domestication of the AfCFTA Agreement; strengthened institutional and budgetary support for key implementing agencies, including NILDS; enhanced stakeholder engagement, particularly with the private sector, women, youth, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs); and rigorous parliamentary oversight of AfCFTA implementation.

In the Call to Action Resolution adopted at the close of the workshop, participants commended the AfCFTA Secretariat, for its valuable technical inputs and sustained engagement throughout the capacity building programme. Participants noted that the Secretariat’s contributions were instrumental in strengthening understanding of the AfCFTA legal framework and its implementation requirements and emphasized the importance of continued collaboration between national parliaments, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and continental institutions to support coherent, effective, and inclusive implementation of the Agreement and its Protocols.

The workshop forms part of ECA’s broader efforts to support Member States in translating AfCFTA commitments into concrete national outcomes, and to strengthen parliamentary capacity as a cornerstone of inclusive, rules based, and people centred continental integration.