AfCFTA: Strengthen Intra-West Africa Ties Before Looking Outward, Akpoti-Uduaghan Urges ECOWAS

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, on Tuesday called for stronger collaboration among member-states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), saying deeper internal cooperation is critical to unlocking the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She spoke in Abuja during ECOWAS’ first extraordinary session and its maiden 2026 parliamentary seminar, themed: “Deepening Regional Integration through the AfCFTA: Opportunities and Challenges for Expanding Intra-Community Trade within the ECOWAS Region.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan stressed that genuine regional integration must be built on shared research, industrial harmonisation, market linkages and joint product development across West African countries.
According to her, enhanced cooperation in industrial integration, research, innovation and market connectivity would significantly boost trade and commerce within the sub-region.
The lawmaker, however, expressed concern over what she described as the growing preference for partnerships outside West Africa at the expense of internal collaboration among ECOWAS countries.
“In my view, West Africans lack cohesive collaboration among ourselves. How much research and innovation have we conducted jointly? How much of our locally developed technology have we willingly shared with one another?” she queried.
She warned that without a solid foundation of trust and cooperation, the lofty ambitions of AfCFTA could be undermined.
“If we have failed at this foundational level, how can we expect our products to be trusted and patronised across borders within the region?” she asked.
Citing a recent collaboration between Ghana and Germany on vaccine development, the senator said while global partnerships are commendable, intra-regional alliances should take priority.
“It is commendable to partner with Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom or France. But as a region that shares history, heritage and common challenges, we must first look inward,” she said.
She urged West African nations to prioritise joint initiatives in health, agriculture, science and technology, noting that closer cooperation in these sectors would yield shared prosperity.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also advocated the establishment of open research systems, inter-university collaborations and regional innovation platforms to drive transparency and accessibility.
“Let us foster partnerships among our universities. Let us avoid hoarding research outputs. We should build open research portals where innovations from Mali, Gambia, Liberia and other ECOWAS states can be easily accessed,” she said.
The senator further charged parliamentarians within the bloc to facilitate stronger communication among ministries across member-states to promote openness and trust.
“As parliamentarians, we must task our ministries to engage their counterparts across the region and encourage the open exchange of research and innovation. That is the foundation we must not neglect,” she added.
She also highlighted emerging opportunities within the blue economy, referencing discussions by the World Bank on maritime and water-based economic development, and called for joint regional investments to maximise such prospects for the collective benefit of ECOWAS countries.
According to her, coordinated exploitation of maritime resources would significantly increase trade volumes and accelerate economic growth across the sub-region.