UNIZIK inaugurates Afreximbank-backed trade research centre to advance AfCFTA

The Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, has inaugurated the Prof. Ngozi Egbuna International Centre for Regional Integration and Trade Research, an Afreximbank-backed facility established to promote trade policy research, regional integration and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The university said the centre would serve as a hub for research, innovation, capacity development and policy engagement aimed at strengthening intra-African trade and supporting the continent’s economic transformation.
Speaking during the inauguration, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Ugochukwu Bond Stanley Anyaehie, described the centre as a strategic investment that positions the university as a key player in research on trade policy, industrial development, digital trade and regional integration.

He said the facility would provide a platform for collaboration among researchers, policymakers, governments and the private sector to develop evidence-based solutions to Africa’s economic challenges.

According to him, the value of the centre lies not only in its infrastructure but in its capacity to generate ideas and research that will shape public policy and drive sustainable development across the continent.

Anyaehie commended Afreximbank for funding the project and acknowledged the roles played by former Vice-Chancellors, Prof. Charles Esimone, Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu and Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi, in sustaining the initiative through successive administrations.

Founder of the centre, Prof. Ngozi Egbuna, said the project was conceived to strengthen scholarship on regional integration and trade while producing practical solutions to Africa’s development challenges.

She noted that the centre would focus on high-quality research, policy advocacy and the development of future leaders capable of advancing Africa’s integration agenda.

The inauguration comes on the heels of another international recognition for Egbuna after the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, featured her book, ECOWAS Regional Integration: The West African Monetary Zone Experience, in a post on X, describing Egbuna and another WTO Academic Chairs Programme member as outstanding women trade experts. The recognition further underscores Egbuna’s contributions to trade scholarship, regional integration and policy research.

Egbuna, Nigeria’s first WTO Chair under the WTO Chairs Programme and former Director-General of the West African Monetary Institute, also appreciated Afreximbank, the university management and other stakeholders whose support ensured the successful completion of the project.

In a goodwill message, Afreximbank’s Manager, Client Relations, Anglophone West African Region, Mrs. Obioma Iweka, described the centre as a strategic investment in knowledge creation and capacity building.

She said the bank remained committed to supporting institutions that produce the research, innovation and skilled workforce required to deepen intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Iweka added that Afreximbank would deepen its partnership with the university through collaborative research, internship opportunities, faculty exchange programmes, capacity-building initiatives and an annual lecture series focused on trade and regional integration.

The Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the university, Barr. Olugbenga Kukoyi, said the centre would promote policy research, innovation and strategic collaboration, expressing confidence that it would make significant contributions to Africa’s economic growth and regional integration.