The African
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the largest free-trade project on the
continent since the Organization of African Unity. Preferential trading has
begun. Intra-African trade has risen modestly. Nigeria, Africa’s largest
economy, remains central to the agreement’s success. This paper examines
barriers to effective implementation of the AfCFTA Protocols in Nigeria from
2020 to 2026. The study uses qualitative documentary analysis of official
texts, media reports, and stakeholder communications. It identifies political
interference, public-sector capture, underfunding, and weak human resources as
core constraints. These factors limit the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office
and keep the private sector at the margins. The dairy sector illustrates the
gap between formal preferences and actual trade. The paper argues for
structural reform that places private firms at the center of protocol delivery.
It recommends statutory autonomy for the Coordination Office, accelerated
ratification of Phase II protocols, ring-fenced funding, and clear metrics of
preference utilization.
Keywords: AfCFTA,
Nigeria, trade protocols, public-sector capture, private-sector participation,
intra-African trade, coordination office, dairy sector.
