Its president, Mr Mansur Ahmed, restated the position of the association at the 2019 edition of the MAN Annual Media Luncheon for Commerce and Industry Correspondents in Lagos.
Ahmed urged the government to withhold its assent to the agreement pending the completion of the ongoing assessment to determine its likely impact on the manufacturing sector and the economy at large.
AfCFTA is a free trade area being outlined in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by 49 out of the 55 nations on the continent.
If the agreement is ratified, the free-trade area will be the largest in the world in terms of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organisation.
The agreement was brokered by the African Union (AU) and was signed on March 21, 2018 by 44 out of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda.
Nigeria is yet to sign the agreement.
Ahmed said: “The position of the association is that government should not sign the framework agreement until wide reaching sensitisation and proper assessment are conducted on its impact on the economy and the manufacturing sector.
“Our advocacy on AfCFTA is yielding desired results and as you are aware, Nigeria is yet to sign the framework agreement”.