The movement, promoted by Omoyele Sowore, in a release on Thursday, said it was disappointing that Nigeria was absent when African nations gathered to sign the ACFTA on March 21.
It said Nigeria which is Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy should have taken a key role in shaping the negotiations because it would have been beneficial to the country’s economic and security interests.
The movement said, “Instead of providing leadership, the Muhammadu Buhari government has exported its shambolic approach to governance at home to the continental stage.
“Just days after the Federal Executive Council approved Nigeria’s participation in the agreement; the Buhari government announced it would no longer be participating because some key stakeholders were not consulted.”
The movement lamented that it is unconscionable that it is at this late stage in the process that the Buhari government is realising that it ought to have engaged with stakeholders.
It stated that the movement believes that the economy of a nation as large as Nigeria, and decisions that impact the lives of almost 200 million people should not be taken lightly or on the whims of one man.
The movement assured Nigerians that it will move swiftly to make sure that the country’s leadership on the global stage continues as well as join a continental free trade agreement that would affirm the following principles; promotes the economic well being of Nigeria’s people, prevents the dumping of goods into Nigeria, ensures a rapid and sustainable growth of the Nigerian economy, assures reciprocity in access to markets among others.
The movement also assured Nigerians from all walks of life that they would be carried along in its deliberation. It said the opinion on Nigerians will not be considered at the dying minute as it has become the norm in Buhari’s administration.
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