By 
The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), is planning a broad policy and data overhaul to deepen Nigeria’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with a focus on regulatory alignment and improved tracking of women and youth participation in intra-African trade.
According to a policy document, the agenda forms part of Nigeria’s AfCFTA work programme for 2026 and is aimed at strengthening institutions, deepening implementation, and positioning the country to fully leverage opportunities under the continental trade framework.
The ministry said it would lead efforts to align Nigeria’s policy and regulatory systems with the AfCFTA Agreement and its Protocols, noting that greater regulatory clarity and legal certainty would boost business confidence, competitiveness, and sustainable economic growth.
On trade data and monitoring, FMITI said it would collaborate with the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee (CCC) to upgrade Nigeria’s trade data systems to capture AfCFTA-specific flows. The enhanced systems, it said, would include disaggregated data on trade in goods and services, as well as metrics to measure the participation of Nigerian women and youth in AfCFTA trade.
The ministry also plans to intensify stakeholder engagement to improve understanding of the AfCFTA. It said FMITI and the CCC would publish a series of explanatory briefs to demystify the architecture and implementation modalities of the agreement.
Under this initiative, the AfCFTA ABC Series will provide guidance to the private sector on key protocols, including trade in goods, trade in services, digital trade, investment, and women and youth in trade. In addition, the AfCFTA Understanding Series will outline compliance obligations for businesses.
To strengthen coordination and accountability, the ministry said the CCC would introduce an AfCFTA Institutional Barometer to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation across public institutions. A complementary certification and awards framework would recognise high-performing and responsive agencies.
Looking to boost export readiness nationwide, FMITI said it would work with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and state governments to mobilise AfCFTA-ready production. The plan includes identifying at least one exportable product from each Local Government Area for the AfCFTA market.
The ministry added that investment mobilisation efforts would prioritise expanding productive capacity in strategic sectors, positioning Nigeria as an innovation, production, and distribution hub within the AfCFTA market.
As part of a national market strategy, FMITI said it would develop a trade intelligence platform to provide Nigerian businesses with market insights across Africa, helping them navigate opportunities and demand patterns on the continent.
Nigeria will also continue to provide regional and global advocacy for the AfCFTA and offer technical assistance to other state parties where requested, the ministry said.
On implementation milestones, the document recalled that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, inaugurated the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee in March 2025 to strengthen whole-of-economy coordination. It noted that Nigeria became the first AfCFTA state party to complete and publish a five-year implementation review in July 2025, describing the exercise as an objective self-assessment that shaped subsequent policy actions.
The ministry further noted that the CCC convened a Public Sector, Private Sector and Press Summit in November 2025, which launched a nationwide AfCFTA sensitisation and consultation campaign.
At the continental level, the document highlighted Nigeria’s growing influence, citing its selection to host Creative Africa Nexus 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair 2027, Africa’s largest marketplace. It also recalled that President Bola Tinubu was appointed co-champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade in February 2025, after which Nigeria secured hosting rights for the second AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum.
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