ECOWAS Urges Trade Overhaul as Regional Commerce Languishes Below 10%

By Linda Ike

West African lawmakers have called for a unified economic front to supercharge the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), slamming the region’s dismal intra-community trade rate of under 10% and overreliance on raw material exports.

Opening the First Extraordinary Session and Parliamentary Seminar for 2026 in Abuja, ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima urged legislators to harmonise legal frameworks, dismantle non-tariff barriers, and craft inclusive policies for women, youth, and SMEs.

“The AfCFTA must serve as a catalyst for structural change and industrial development,” she declared, spotlighting strengths like macroeconomic harmonisation, the Common External Tariff, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, and the ECOWAS Brown Card.

Ibrahima outlined 2026 priorities: consolidating democracy, bolstering peace and security, and advancing women’s leadership.

She thanked host President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government, and people for making Abuja the Parliament’s symbolic home.

In a keynote on behalf of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, First Deputy Speaker and Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin warned that fragmentation risks marginalising West Africa in a cutthroat global economy.

“Deeper integration is critical to secure markets, defend democracy, and safeguard prosperity,” he said, invoking pre-colonial trade networks as a blueprint for revival.

Jibrin pushed for practical AfCFTA steps, harmonised standards, efficient ports, transparent customs, and digital infrastructure while flagging insecurity and instability as key hurdles.

Both leaders commended the region’s youth bulge as a goldmine for jobs in digital commerce, agro-processing, creative industries, and renewables.

The session kicks off deliberations on the 2026 Annual Work Plan, with optimism high for breakthroughs that could forge West Africa into a resilient economic powerhouse serving over 400 million citizens.