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Davos: Africa boosts free trade while global barriers go up
A new Aican free trade area could be just weeks away as the last few countries ratify an agreement signed last year. The plan to boost intra-African trade by half is gaining much attention in Davos this year.
When you ask Tony Elumelu if Africa would profit from free trade, the Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist does not have to think long. “If we look at other parts of the world, intra-regional trade helped significantly. For us to develop in Africa, we must embrace this,” he told DW at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We need to develop and broaden the market. We need to integrate Africa by trade also.”
He might not have to wait much longer for this to happen. Last year, 49 African countries signed the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement, which is supposed to do away with tariffs on most goods and other trade barriers.
The agreement will come into force once 22 countries have ratified it. With only seven more to go, it might only be a matter of weeks. So in times when others are erecting trade barriers once again, leaders on the continent are edging closer towards establishing the largest free trade area since the World Trade Organization’s inception.
It would create a market with a combined GDP of around three trillion dollars and, according to the African Union (AU), boost intra-African trade by 52 percent. As enterprises will get the chance to enter new markets, unemployment is predicted to fall and economic output to go up. And the effects in the long-run could be even more substantial.
Create value, attract investors
“Those nations who trade in raw materials are the ones that are poor. Those that actually trade in value-added products are the ones that are rich,” Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, explained. But as African economies will be able to cooperate more closely, he hopes companies will create more elaborate value chains to produce higher-quality goods.
Also, he considers the CFTA a big chance to attract investors. “Africa is open for business, the opportunities are there,” he said. “When people look at Africa, think of the population, think of the middle-class, think of the huge opportunities to invest across borders.”
Investments would come at a crucial time when it is estimated Africa lacks up to $100 billion (€88 billion) for infrastructure projects alone.
Making it work for the 99 percent
But as rosy as the economic future may seem, there are, of course, also challenges that governments will have to overcome. Winifred Byanyima, the head of Oxfam International, warned leaders of what freewheeling globalization can lead to.
“We have richer countries, richer companies, richer people gaining from trade liberalization and many others left behind,” she said. Whether Africans with lower incomes will also benefit from the CFTA would depend on what measures of success those in charge apply. “The most important measure is the good quality jobs that will be produced for our young people and for women.”
A new era — also for Nigeria?
Despite these words of caution, euphoria for the CFTA is high. Before Africa lies the beginning of a new economic era; and some regard it as only that, a start. Bernard Gautier of French investment company Wendel, for example, has already called for even deeper integration by means of common currencies.
And Tony Elumelu advocates to not only let goods flow freely. “We need to carry common passports or at least simplify the border entrance so that people can move freely intra-Africa. People who move freely can trade – and not otherwise,” the billionaire said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visit France President (yesterday
The two nations struck the deal during a “production lunch” at Élysée Palace by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President Emmanuel Macron.
President Tinubu, who is on a 10-day working vacation in Europe made this agreement known through his verified X Handle @officialABAT.
He wrote: “Had a productive lunch with President Emmanuel Macron today(yesterday) at the Élysée Palace. We reviewed key areas of cooperation between Nigeria and France and agreed to deepen our partnership for mutual prosperity and global stability.”
The meeting underscores Tinubu’s continued diplomatic outreach during his time away from Abuja, with an emphasis on consolidating Nigeria’s strategic partnerships with France, one of its longstanding allies in trade, security, and development.
The Élysée Palace meeting adds to a growing record of high-level engagements between the two countries, which have in recent years broadened cooperation in energy, counterterrorism, climate action and investment promotion.
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$2 billion Fraud : Kyari, being probed over funding of the repair work on refineries, others, Says EFCC
Ex-GCEO: I have nothing to hide
Former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kolo Kyari, is being probed over funding of the repair work on refineries.
He was taken before investigators at the Abuja Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday.
As of 8:30pm, he had not been allowed to go, raising suspicion whether or not he was detained.
Under investigation, according to sources at the anti-graft agency, are:
•How the over $2 billion meant for Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) was spent: The money, it was learnt, was made available, thus: $1.55 billion to the Port Harcourt Refinery; $740.6 million (Kaduna Refinery) and $656.9 million (Warri Refinery).
•The contracts awarded during his tenure:
Kyari, before submitting himself to interrogation, had always insisted he had nothing to hide.
In a statement on his invitation, titled: “Hard questions, honest answers”, Kyari said: “I have done my part; the EFCC must do theirs. When each of us does our duty – without fear of favor, with honour, respect and commitment – Nigeria moves forward.”
On arrival at the EFCC headquarters, his international passport was seized.
The four state-run refineries are: Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) (2); Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
They have installed capacity to produce 445,000 barrels per day (bpd)
The two Port Harcourt refineries have a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd), Warri has a capacity of 125,000 bpd and Kaduna has 110,000 bpd.
But the refineries remained non-functional for years despite several attempts to refurbish them.
About $18 billion has been sunk into TAM since 2010 but the refineries were still in poor state.
According to an EFCC source, Kyari was asked to “state how much was voted for TAM during his tenure, what was expended and the balance, if any.
“Detectives were also curious to know how N4.8 trillion was incurred as operating costs on the refineries when they weren’t working.
“The most crucial aspect of the investigation is why the refineries broke down shortly after repairs.
“Some of his former top officials have refunded money to the EFCC from TAM cash. Kyari is to explain what he knew about how the slush funds came about.”
The source said: “After the probe of TAM, Kyari will proceed to the second phase of the investigation, which is about the humongous contracts awarded during his tenure.
“So far, we have seized his international passport to limit his movement to the country in the course of investigation.”
TAM has been a major money pit of NNPC in the last three years, in particular.
On June 24, 2022, the Federal Executive Council awarded Maintenance Services for Quick Fix Repairs of Warri Refinery to Daewoo Engineering and Construction Limited at $497, 328, 500.
The contract was different from the 2017 job award to Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited for Tech Plant Survey of Warri and Kaduna Refineries at 2, 025, 000.32 Euros.
The rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company (KRPC) had, in the past 10 years, gulped N2.26 billion.
The NNPCL approved a renovation deal with Daewoo Engineering and Construction Limited to renovate Kaduna Refinery in February 2023 to restore the refinery to production of 110,000 barrels of petrol per day and at least 60 per cent capacity by early last year.
Kyari was appointed NNPCL GCEO in 2019 and served till April 2, when his appointment was terminated.
On August 28, Kyari’s successor, Bayo Ojulari, said Nigeria lost between $300 million and $500 million monthly while the Port Harcourt Refinery was operating.
He said: “When I resumed, one of the first priorities I focused on was the refinery. I did a quick review to see if we could quickly fix it. What I found is that we were losing between $300 million to $500 million on a monthly basis in the refinery.
“We were pumping about 50,000 barrels of crude to go into the refinery. What was coming out was less than 40 per cent equivalent of what was coming in.”
Ojulari spoke in his Abuja office when he met with the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
After years of being in comatose, the NNPCL restarted the Port Harcourt Refinery in November, 2024. Kyari announced the reopening of the facility to a huge applause by Nigerians, but the operation was halted in May, barely one month after Ojulari’s resumption.
Ojulari said he halted the operation of the refinery to prevent further losses, and work towards a sustainable arrangement.
Ojulari explained: “The first thing we said was rather than continue to lose, let’s quickly stop and look for a way to put this refinery into a sustainably profitable venture.”
He said the NNPCL was working to revive the moribund refineries to operate at full capacity by adopting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model (Public, Private, Partnership), which PENGASSAN advocated during the meeting.
The NNPCL chief said talks were on to find a viable solution to the refining crisis, ensuring the refineries become a sustainably profitable venture.
He said the national oil company had concluded a technical review for the three refineries, pointing out that the long term neglect and lack of maintenance were major reasons behind the huge losses recorded monthly, despite the huge investments to make them work.
The NNPCL chief, who explained that a lot of money has been spent on the refineries, admitted that it has been challenging to translate those funds into profitability.
He likened the situation of the refineries to parking an old car for some time without any greasing and oiling. He added that the Port Harcourt Refinery has been difficult to put back because of years of neglect and it’s been difficult: when you fix one thing, the other thing is still there.
President Bola Tinubu, with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, during a working private lunch at the Elysee Palace, Paris. Wednesday, September 10, 2025
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