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By Daniel Kanu
British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria has commended the efforts of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in advancing the cause of manufacturers in Nigeria as well as emergence of a more competitive industry.
The tobacco giant said the time had come for African countries work more closely together to fine-tune arrangements for the take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to remove trade barriers.
Speaking on the sideline of MAN’s 50th anniversary celebration, the Director of External Affairs, BAT West and Central Africa, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, said that “the Annual Adeola Odutola Lecture titled “Overcoming Binding Constraints to Competitive Manufacturing for Intra-Regional Trade,” was timely considering the context of events in the past 18 months.”
She further said: “At a time when African countries should be working even more closely together to fine tune arrangements for take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, we are beginning to see a resurgence in non-tariff trade barriers and other measures that negatively impact exports within the region.
“We (BAT Nigeria) currently export to 14 countries in West and Central Africa and it is from these operations that we generate approximately US$ 119 million in foreign exchange each year.
“BAT Nigeria is consistently one of the top 5 non-oil exporters each month, thereby contributing significantly to the Federal Government’s objective of diversifying Nigeria’s export revenue base.
Making his presentation at the Annual Odeola Odutola Lecture, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, noted that the low level of industrial manufacturing is at the core of the slow structural transformation of African economies, with dominance of primary sectors.
