Tinubu demands sub-regional action to boost intra-African trade

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for the strengthening of regional economic communities to drive integration and trade ties among African nations in order to deepen democracy and accelerate development across the continent.

President Tinubu, who made the call during the “Summit on the State of Democracy in Africa” on Wednesday in Abuja, called for revitalisation of sub-regional blocs like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) to usher in an era of robust intra-African commerce, economic growth and job creation.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu said, “The immense potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can only be maximally realised when there is concrete economic integration and collaboration at the different sub-regional levels.”

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Delivering the keynote address, Tinubu urged the regional bodies to prioritise minimising trade barriers, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, human capital development, as well as value addition in agriculture and agro-allied sectors.

The president advocated discussions on empowering regional blocs to establish well-funded standby military forces “to help contain military adventurers and the rampaging waves of terrorism and religious extremism.”

He urged African leaders to respect constitutional tenets like term limits and ensure credible elections and autonomous institutions through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to achieve democratic consolidation.

Declaring that Africa can no longer be the “doormat of the world with street beggar economies”, Tinubu called for concrete measures through reinvented regional bodies to boost trade, enhance security and entrench constitutional democracy for development and prosperity.