Expert urges African Union free movement protocol to boost AfCFTA

 A Professor of Regional Economic Integration and Law in Africa, Mohammed Ladan, has called for the urgent ratification and implementation of the African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, saying it is essential to unlocking the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its 1.4 billion-person market.

Professor Ladan made the call in Lagos while delivering a presentation at the 20th anniversary of SSK Law Firm.

Speaking on trade mobility, economic integration under AfCFTA and law in Africa, he said the 2018 African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence and Establishment was not merely an addendum to the continental trade agreement.

The professor, who is also the AfCFTA Coordinator at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Abuja, described the protocol as the operational catalyst for the successful implementation of AfCFTA.

He said evidence showed that where the movement of people is unduly restricted, informal trade is pushed into vulnerable channels marked by extortion, corporate supply chains become fragmented and the economic benefits of AfCFTA are reduced.

Professor Ladan cited Rwanda, Kenya and Ghana as examples of countries that have removed mobility barriers through automated identity systems, digital single-window platforms and integrated payment systems, creating safer and more efficient environments for trade and investment.