This year alone, the Federal Government has paid a community levy of US$100,324,011.33 to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
This was revealed during the Nigerian delegation’s presentation of the country report at the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
The leader of Nigeria’s delegation of parliamentarians to ECOWAS Parliament, Ahmed Wase, said Nigeria has, so far in 2022, remitted the amount to the ECOWAS Commission.
He added that the government is committed to fulfilling her financial obligations to ECOWAS, and is making arrangements to pay up the balance for the year.
He said: “Nigeria’s commitment to the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Goods is completely unwavering.
“In a bid to gain full realisation of the protocol, the Federal Government has introduced the Visa on Arrival (VoA) policy to expedite movement of ECOWAS members through Nigeria’s borders.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has signed the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
“Nigeria has equally demonstrated commitment to a gradual removal of import duties and other non-tariff barriers on imports within the African continent.
“To show the Federal Government’s commitment, the Nigerian Ports Authority has commissioned the first Export Processing Terminal (EPT) in the country.
“This is geared at enabling export-bound cargoes access to the Lagos Seaports without a glitch, in line with AfCFTA objectives.
“With this move, we believe we will encourage intra-African trade and boost regional development.”