Politics
African Leaders Join Nigeria to Reject European Economic Agreement
Haram continued, “Let us be realistic and look at our statistics. The population of Africa is growing very rapidly. Statistics shows that more than 50 percent of our population are between 18 and 30 years. If we sign the EPA, how do we create the jobs that we require for our growing population; how do we stop the illegal migration of our youths to developed countries?”
Similarly, the Minister of Trade and Private Sector Promotion, Republic of Niger, Mr. Alma Oumarou, said there was the need for African countries to realistically evaluate the impact of EPA before signing. Oumarou then said, “We support the position of Nigeria on EPA and should also take a cue from what they have done in terms of carrying out a study on the impact assessment of the implications of signing the EPA.”
Aganga, however, stressed that it was also very important not to do anything that would undermine Africa’s regional integration.
“Whilst it is important to look into the October 1, 2014, deadline for the signing of EPA, we should also fully examine the impact of the withdrawal of market access by EU after this deadline. If it is necessary, Africa should look at ways of compensating member countries that will suffer losses as a result of this withdrawal. We must not be in a hurry to sign an EPA if it will not be in the overall best interest of the continent,” he said.
Source: This Day Live
