President Muhammadu Buhari canceled his scheduled next Tuesday’s trip to Kigali, Rwanda, to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area to allow for more consultations with stakeholders in Nigeria over the trade agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
The spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tope Elias-Fatile, in a statement issued on Sunday said,
“President Muhammadu Buhari has canceled his trip to Kigali, Rwanda to attend an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union on Tuesday, March 21, to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“This is to allow more time for input from Nigerian stakeholders,” he wrote.
Sources at the Presidency revealed to journalists that the President would not be attending the event but reasons for the cancellation was not disclosed.
The Continental Free Trade Agreement which would open the shores of the country to other African countries has generated diverse reaction with stakeholders standing for and against the free trade agreement the country is to enter into.
The Nigeria Labour Congress had in a statement issued early last said that the agreement will lead to a collapse of the Nigerian manufacturing sector and loss of jobs.
However, the Federal Executive Council headed by the Vice President had on Wednesday, March 13, 2018, approved that Nigeria signs the agreement with fellow African countries.
