President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved the appointment of Mrs Patience Okala as the National Coordinator of Nigeria's African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Coordination Office, with immediate effect.
Mrs Okala is a seasoned trade and investment expert with extensive experience in international negotiations and economic policy.
Prior to the appointment, she served as Director at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), where she led Nigeria's engagements on bilateral investment treaties and negotiations across platforms including ICSID, UNCITRAL, AfCFTA, UNCTAD, IISD, and the OECD.
She previously served as Expert Advisor to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra (2023-2025) and, as Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, played a key role in strengthening Nigeria's AfCFTA institutional framework, including oversight of the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee and supporting Nigeria's emergence as Co-Champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade.
In her new role, Mrs Okala will oversee the domestic implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement, coordinate national stakeholder engagement, and drive Nigeria's strategic positioning within the continental trade framework.
The appointment, according to a statement by the President's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Ononuga, builds on the legacy of the late Mr Olusegun Awolowo, former head of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, and underscores the Federal Government's commitment to deepening intra-African trade, expanding non-oil exports, and advancing economic diversification under the Renewed Hope Agenda.