The Nigerian Government has remitted about $100m to the ECOWAS Commission as its community levy.
Presenting Nigeria’s country report to the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, the First Deputy Speaker and leader of the Nigerian delegation, Idris Wase said the sum of US$100,324,011.33 was remitted as community levy for 2022 to the Commission.
He said the Nigerian Government is committed to fulfilling its financial obligations to ECOWAS as such, it is making arrangements to pay up the balance for the year.
“Nigeria’s commitment to the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Goods is completely unwavering.
“In a bid to gain full realisation of the protocol, the Federal Government has introduced the Visa on Arrival (VoA) policy to expedite movement of ECOWAS members through Nigeria’s borders.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has signed the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
“Nigeria has equally demonstrated commitment to a gradual removal of import duties and other non-tariff barriers on imports within the African continent.
“To show the Federal Government’s commitment, the Nigerian Ports Authority has commissioned the first Export Processing Terminal (EPT) in the country.
“This is geared at enabling export-bound cargoes access to the Lagos Seaports without a glitch, in line with AfCFTA objectives.
“With this move, we believe we will encourage intra-African trade and boost regional development,” he said.
Speaking on the security situation especially as Nigeria prepares for the 2023 general elections, the first Deputy Speaker said Nigeria is currently stable, as data for third quarter shows a decline in insecurity.
Hon. Wase while noting that despite the improvement in security, the largest black African nation is charged-up with electioneering activities as the election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assured of free, fair and credible elections.
The Leader of the Nigerian Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament also has this to say.
“The economy is slowly recovering from the combined impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine war, insecurity, and natural disasters.
“Despite the challenges, the Nigerian economy recorded a 3.54% growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.
“This is a 0.43% increase from Q2 of 2021 where we had a 3.11% growth and a higher showing, compared to the initial market forecasts of 2.60% growth.
“The current growth we see in the economy is driven by the non-oil sector with key sectors being – finance and insurance; transportation; agriculture and manufacturing; information and communication sectors.
“The oil sector, which has been the economic driver and core revenue generator for the country, has shrunken by 12%. Oil production declined to 1.43 million barrels per day in Q2 of 2022, compared with 1.49 million barrels in Q1.
“The loss in production is largely attributable to oil bunkering and as a result, Nigeria has been unable to meet her OPEC+ quota this year”, he said.
He further pointed out that for Nigeria to cushion the impact of its troubled economy, the Government leveraged on its international partnerships.
“However, the country’s oil production is set to improve through the Federal Government’s collaboration with some major stakeholders in the industry to clamp down on oil theft.
“Thus, improving production and guarantying efficient export operations by the end of November 2022,” he said.
