BusinessDay reported that Warmate Jones Idikio urged four Nigerian states to form a council for investment coordination under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), while three already belong to the BRACED Commission.
The four states, collectively known as BAAR, are Bayelsa, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers. BusinessDay said Idikio made the appeal at a 2026 small-business conference in Yenagoa. Idikio is director-general of YECCIMA. The report said he called for coordinated planning around production, processing and exports. “AfCFTA is not the opportunity. AfCFTA is the platform,” Idikio said, according to BusinessDay.
BusinessDay described the proposal as connecting the states’ energy, marine, port, manufacturing and small-business sectors. Idikio presented higher investment, production, exports and employment as potential gains, the outlet reported. He also cited the European Union, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as examples of regional economic cooperation, according to BusinessDay.
Three BAAR states—Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom—are on the BRACED Commission’s six-member list, according to the Edo State Government. Cross River, Edo and Delta are the other members. Abia is not on the six-state list. The state government also describes a BRACED Business Council intended to promote investment and cooperation among members.
The African Union says the AfCFTA covers 55 countries and more than 1.3 billion people, whose economies together have GDP of about US$3.4 trillion. Trading began Jan. 1, 2021. The Union estimates intra-African trade at 16% to 18% of the continent’s total trade.
For regional value chains to work across borders, the African Union points to transport, power and digital connections, while identifying trade barriers and differing regulations as continuing obstacles.
