President Muhammadu Buhari has called on executives of banking institutions in West Africa to forge a closer collaboration to tackle economic challenges confronting the sub-region.
The president made the call when he received a delegation from the West African Bankers Association (WABA), led by its President, Thierno Seydou Nourou Sy, at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The president noted that the sub-region must find a common understanding to address low access to financial services and recovery from post-COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the association, founded in 1981, brings together over 250 commercial banks and 15 institutions from across West Africa. For many centuries, African countries have traded with one another without a formalized and structured system.
However, he noted that global trade had become more complex and organized over time.
The Nigerian leader expressed confidence that the rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area would be a turning-point in how African countries trade with one other.
”More importantly, we will turn the page in ensuring that we deepen and expand our industrial capabilities by making sure we export less of what we have been endowed with in primary or raw form, and convert larger portions of these resources into finished materials.
”That will allow us to benefit from the revenue earned from the added value of exporting a finished product,” he said.
