A
s the African Continental Free Trade Areas Agreement (AfCFTA) among the 54 participating countries commences today, January 1, 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted that it will sustain its foreign exchange (forex) restriction for 42 import items it had prohibited earlier.
The commencement of the pact is coming barely two weeks after the federal government reopened the land borders shut for over one year.
The AfCTA agreement allows participating countries to trade about 90 per cent of goods without any duty payment. However, each African country reserves the right to restrict importation of 10 per cent of goods that it has local capacity to produce.
Introduction
The evolution of the Internet has changed the world in many
ways. Physical (traditional) operations and daily interactions have
over time been supplemented, overshadowed or totally supplanted by
online versions riding on the back of developments in information
and communication technology (ICT), and consequent migration into
cyberspace. ICT has become, within a very short time, one of the
basic building blocks of modern society, forcing and creating a
culture of dependence on innovative technology.
1 The Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR) is characterised by a fusion of
technologies and they have blurred the lines between the physical,
digital, and biological spheres.
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Nigerians yesterday lamented the poor state of the economy and spike in food prices, which have created what can be termed the most unusual Christmas in decades.
Across the length and breath of the country, the usual razzmatazz of the season is missing.
Similarly, airfares across local airlines have remained high, as all routes sold for an average of N60, 000 per economy seat. The spike notwithstanding, air traffic and patronage remained high with air travellers making last-minute trips for the festive season.
Chiemelie Ezeobi, Chinedu Eze, Rebecca Ejifoma, Chiamaka Ozulumba and Oluwabunmi Fache
Nigerians thronged shopping malls, markets and motor parks yesterday in last-minute preparations to celebrate Christmas today with the rest of the global community.
THISDAY checks showed that they were undeterred by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and high costs of goods, occasioned by rising inflation, in their quest to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
THISDAY checks revealed that traders, transporters, including airlines, cashed in on the occasion to hike prices with the cost of airfare for economy class overshooting the N100,000 mark in some cases.
In Lagos, visits to different markets across the state showed the influx of shoppers who huddled together as they bargained for clothes, shoes, foodstuffs and poultry.