ABUJA — Lawmakers and leaders from West Africa have expressed optimism that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could transform the subregion into a prosperous and integrated economic hub.

During the opening of the Parliamentary Seminar and First Extraordinary Session of 2026 of the ECOWAS Parliament on Monday in Abuja, President of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, said the AfCFTA offers a historic opportunity for West Africa to become an integrated, resilient, and prosperous economic region.

She emphasized that ECOWAS, with nearly fifty years of experience in regional integration, must not only accompany AfCFTA’s implementation but lead and coordinate it.

She said, “The AfCFTA has now entered its operational phase, creating one of the largest markets in the world. Our responsibility is clear: to make this instrument a lever for structural transformation in West Africa.”

Speaking on challenges, she said, “Our industrial base remains underdeveloped, and we continue to export mainly raw materials, cocoa, cotton, palm oil, timber, with little local processing. In global value chains, we largely occupy low value-added segments.”

In his remarks, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, noted that West Africa must unite to remain competitive globally.

He emphasized that AfCFTA is not just a policy instrument, but a civilizational project.

Highlighting Parliament’s responsibility, he warned: “If we fail in legislative coherence, then trade agreements will remain mere parchment. If we neglect oversight, then noble declarations shall dissolve into bureaucratic dust. Our task is not to applaud ambition. It is to enact it.”

He further cautioned that insecurity undermines economic progress.

He concluded with a call for industrialization and economic independence. “Let us cease exporting raw potential and importing finished dependency. Let us refine our minerals here, process our cocoa here, and assemble our machinery here. If we do not industrialize together, we shall remain suppliers of raw hope to the factories of others.”

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said AfCFTA must go beyond being just a trade agreement to become a strategic engine for Africa’s industrial resilience.

He stressed that in today’s global supply chain, Africa must trade with itself to fully harness the benefits of regional integration.

Kalu noted that intra-Africa trade remains low despite the continent’s huge market potential, while trade with countries outside the continent has climbed to $220.3 billion, a 60 percent decrease.

Kalu highlighted the Abidjan-Lagos corridor as a key infrastructure link that remains an unfinished promise. He said administrative delays at borders often negate the benefits of road investments, making even major highways ineffective.

“For me, as a matter of urgency, we must transition from the usual diplomacy of paper integration, just mere paper integration, to tangible impact that is found in functional integration,” he said.

He emphasized focusing on two critical areas: closing the infrastructure and implementation gap and deploying the Pan-African Payment Settlement System (PAPSS) across ECOWAS.

Kalu explained that the digital payment system could offer some of the benefits of a single currency, including instant settlement in local currencies, without compromising national sovereignty. It would also reduce reliance on the dollar, which costs the region about $5 billion annually in transaction fees.

He urged lawmakers to prioritize practical measures over debates on a single currency, connecting central banks to systems that are already operational.

Kalu also called for strategies to make the AfCFTA work for manufacturers and small-scale traders across the region.

Highlighting the principle of reassurance, he said Africa should focus on local beneficiation, adding value to its raw materials before exporting.

Citing instances, he said cocoa could be processed into chocolate domestically and traded regionally, rather than simply exchanging raw cocoa with other African countries.

He gave a similar example with gold, advocating for local processing to enhance value before trade.

Kalu concluded by urging his colleagues to consider how the AfCFTA can promote intra-African trade, strengthen industrial capacity, and reduce dependence on imports from outside the continent.

Director of Commerce at the ECOWAS Commission, Kolawole A. Sofola, highlighted the practical benefits of the AfCFTA for West Africa.

He said the agreement opens access to a market of 1.4 billion people, allowing countries to lower costs, strengthen regional value chains, and encourage cross-border production.

Sofola stressed the need to remove non-tariff barriers, streamline customs procedures, and use technology to ensure goods move efficiently across borders.

He noted that smaller countries benefit from special provisions, technical assistance, and funds for fragile economies.

He emphasized that the agreement is Africa’s own tool for economic resilience, urging parliamentarians to ensure it delivers real benefits for all member states.