Nigeria on Thursday ratified the country's membership of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) ahead of the Dec 5 deadline set for all countries to ratify their membership of the intra-Africa trade deal.

According to Adeniyi Adebayo, Nigeria's minister of industry, trade and investment, the government's ratification of the agreement demonstrates Nigeria's economic leadership position on the continent.

"With the approval of the agreement, Nigeria joins other African nations who have already ratified the agreement to become a state party to the agreement. With this ratification, Nigeria is on course to participate in trading under the AfCFTA region. This is a huge step forward for the nation, and further demonstrates to the world, Nigeria's economic leadership position on the African continent," Adebayo said.

AfCFTA was created as a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments within the African region. Its implementation is expected to form a $3.4 trillion economic bloc with 1.3 billion people across the continent and is expected to double intra-Africa trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade.

Disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic forced a delay of the implementation of the agreement initially set for the beginning of July. As a result, the first commercial deal under the AfCFTA is expected to take place on January 1, 2021.

According to Adebayo, the instrument of ratification will be presented by the attorney general for President Muhammadu Buhari's approval before it is passed on to the African Union.