By Kolawole Ojebisi
The African Union (AU) has officially named Nigeria, the most populous African nation as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) digital trade champion.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga confirmed this in a statement issued on Monday.
According to the statement, the endorsement follows the federal government’s impressive record in promoting digital trade.
Onanuga said the AU assembly of heads of state and government acknowledged Nigeria’s role in fostering digital enterprise and innovation during its 38th ordinary session, which concluded on Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He added that the assembly recognised Nigeria’s contributions to advancing the digital trade protocol, which was adopted in February 2024.
Onanuga explained that the protocol includes an agenda to develop eight annexes covering key areas such as rules of origin, digital identities, cross-border data transfers, legitimate and legal public interest reasons for disclosing source code, online safety and security, emerging and advanced technologies, and financial technology.
Mahamadou Issoufou, former president of Niger Republic and AU AfCFTA champion, presented his annual report on the AfCFTA’s digital trade protocol at the assembly.
Issoufou praised Nigeria’s leadership for hosting the Digital Economy Roundtable in January, emphasising that the gathering played a crucial role in advancing the digital trade agenda.
”No organisation, region, or continent has negotiated or adopted such a comprehensive legal instrument on digital trade, positioning the African continent to benefit from the digital economy for innovation and job creation,” Issoufou said.
He also highlighted that young Africans are leading in digital innovation, particularly in mobile banking and other digitally enabled services.
”The AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade will establish a conducive environment for these young people to fully participate in Africa’s digital economy,” the former president added.
Speaking in a similar vein, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Jumoke Oduwole said Africa has demonstrated global leadership by pioneering the first-of-its-kind AfCFTA protocol on digital trade, which establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework.
“The Assembly of Heads of State and Government has officially designated Nigeria as AfCFTA Digital Trade Champion,” Oduwole said.
