Intra-Africa trade tops discussions at 12th annual NBA-SBL business law conference

The workability or otherwise of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the role of lawyers in the emergent new dispensation will form the crux of discussions at the 12th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL).

Scheduled to hold June 27-29 at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, with the theme ‘Bringing Down the Barriers – The Law as a Vehicle for Intra-Africa Trade’, the conference will also serve as a platform for continued engagement on whether or not Nigeria should sign the AfCFTA agreement.

At a press briefing in Lagos to announce this year’s conference, Olumide Akpata, chairman, NBA Section on Business Law, said the theme of the conference was agreed at a time the signing of AfCFTA by the African Union (AU) member-countries was imminent.

“And so we thought that we needed to begin to imagine what doing business on the continent would be post signing of that agreement. What we did not contemplate was that Nigeria would not sign. Nigeria has not signed, but the door is not closed on that yet,” Akpata said at the press briefing, Thursday.

It will be recalled that during the 10th Ordinary Session of African Union Heads of State summit in Kigali, Rwanda, 44 African countries on March 21, 2018 signed up to AfCFTA, a European Union-like agreement aimed at paving the way for a liberalised market for goods and services across the continent. Nigeria made a last-minute withdrawal and did not sign the agreement.

Akpata said though Nigeria has not signed, the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, with President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval, was still holding consultations across the regions to get the buy-in of Nigerians to determine whether or not to sign that agreement. As such, the issue was still topical and it was germane to continue the conversation.

“The whole idea is to weave a conversation around that agreement to find out how workable it is. Basically, Africa will be transformed to EU-like setting and so we want to find out whether or not we have the infrastructure that is necessary to make that a reality. That is from a general perspective, but also important will be us as lawyers checking whether we are ready for that eventuality of Africa as one trading bloc and the fact that we need to re-imagine our law firms in the new dispensation,” he said.

Okey Egbuchu, chairman, 2018 Conference Planning Committee, said platforms have been provided at the conference for the Federal Government, the AU, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and other African countries to dialogue with stakeholders on the AfCFTA and other issues arising therefrom.

“Africa does more business with other continents than within, thereby limiting her potential. Fears have been expressed by stakeholders not only in Nigeria but other countries in respect of the AfCFTA regarding issues of dumping, limitation of the ability to manage tariffs, loss of revenue, influx of persons and so on. In fact, Nigeria tactically withdrew from signing the AfCFTA due to the concerns expressed by stakeholders like organised labour and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria,” Egbuchu said.

“The Federal Government is currently engaging stakeholders and we have provided platforms at our conference for the Federal Government, the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and other African countries to dialogue with stakeholders on the AfCFTA and more,” he said.

He informed that conference speakers and panellists from all over the world, sourced from the governments, corporates, the regional bodies like ECOWAS, the law firms and law societies and other professions, would do justice to the many topics spanning 12 sessions.

The speakers, he said, include George Lipimile, czar of the COMESA Competition Commission; Chiedu Osakwe, Nigeria’s chief trade negotiator; Stephen Karingi, director, regional integration and trade division, UNECA; Samallie Kiyingi, general counsel, Africa Export-Import Bank; Yemi Candide-Johnson (SAN), president, Lagos Court of Arbitration; Linus Gitali, executive chairman, Tropikal Brands (Africa) Limited; Chidi Ajaegbu, founder and chairman, Chisco Transport Limited; Haresh Aswani, managing director, Tolaram Group Nigeria, among others.

A breakdown of the sessions shows that session 1, themed ‘Bringing Down the Barriers: The Law as a Vehicle for Intra-Africa Trade’, will examine the raison d’etre for the agreement establishing the AfCFTA; session 2A, ‘Financing Intra-African Trade and Development’, will examine how key stakeholders intend to rise to the demands of financing the expansion of intra-African trade, while session 2B, ‘Continental Trade and the Imperative of Unimpeded Movement of Goods, Labour and Services’, will consider the concerns of various stakeholders and the mitigating safeguards.

“This is a lawyers’ conference, and expectedly we have a special plenary session for the profession with the topic, ‘Law Practice in the Time of the African Continental Free Trade Area: Reimagining African Lawyers’,” Egbuchu said.

“We the lawyers will examine the opportunities available for us when the AfCFTA takes effect. Many African Law Societies have been invited to join us in the discussion,” he said.

Other themes to be discussed at the sessions include ‘Enhancing Transport Connectively in Africa’; ‘Marching in Lockstep – Building Sub-National Competitiveness for Global Investment’; ‘AfCFTA and Transformative Industrialization in Nigeria’, ‘Standardizing Continental Regulations on Consumer Protection and Competition Law’; ‘Enabling eCommerce across the African Continent’; ‘Institutionalizing Reforms in the Ease of Doing Business in Africa’, and ‘Establishing a Framework for Resolving Intra-African Commercial Disputes’.

In keeping with its tradition, the conference will also be spiced up with a debate session. The topics for the session include ‘Should Nigeria accede to the African Continental Free Trade Area?’; ‘Should Lawyers continue to self-regulate?’; ‘Pupillage in Law: Should it be mandatory?’, and ‘Should there be ‘Ladies’ at the Bar?’.

The SBL, a special arm of the Nigerian Bar Association which engenders the development of commercial law and specialised commercial law practice in Nigeria, uses its annual conference to seek to create an environment for business lawyers within and outside Nigeria to network and engage on issues relevant to their fields as well as to establish a thriving relationship between the business community and government institutions. And the results have been commendable.

Speaking on this, Seni Adio (SAN), vice chair, NBA-SBL, said the annual NBA-SBL Business Law Conference, now in its 12th edition, has not been a mere talk-shop but has always ensured that there are tangible outcomes.

Adio said the SBL was working with the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER), which is a collaboration between the Senate, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the NBA-SBL, as well as the Presidential Council on Ease of Doing Business (PEBEC), to improve Nigeria’s business environment. He added that through its joint committee with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the body was also working to improve operations of the CAC, adding that the new CAMA Bill recently passed by the Senate was an outcome of that engagement.

Corroborating Adio, Egbuchu said the NBA-SBL was in partnership with the executive arm of the Nigerian government through PEBEC and the National Assembly through NASSBER in the ongoing review of the country’s laws, regulations and procedures to enhance the ease of doing business.

“The results have led to the improved ranking of Nigeria in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business index. We expect to also engage government and stakeholders to position Nigeria to benefit from the AfCFTA,” he said.

CHUKS OLUIGBO

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