Nigeria has become the latest country to join the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the landmark agreement on Saturday at the African Union (AU) Summit which is taking place in Niger.

The West African country’s joinder into the AfCFTA noe leaves Eritrea as the only country not to be part of the trading bloc.

Nigeria had not join the AfCFTA agreement signed in Kigali in March because it needed to engage in more domestic consultation before committing to such a deal, according to its foreign ministry.

The AfCFTA agreement is expected to create a market for over a billion people, with a GDP of approximately US$2.6 trillion.

The decision to establish the AfCFTA was initially arrived at in the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in January 2012, with a tentative launch date of 2017.

The entrance of Nigeria into the continental trade deal is a huge boost for its rollout.

The country is Africa’s biggest economy, whose reluctance to join the bloc had caused concern from various quarters.

With a population of over 180 million, the inclusion of Nigeria into the AfCFTA will give the bloc a stronger negotiating chip with other regional blocs in other parts of the world.

Various leaders have hailed the AfCFTA, terming it a game changer in Africa’s trade sector.

During the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government. AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat lauded the agreement as a “remarkable” and “historic” achievement.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame on his part said it is “a milestone for our Union.”

The AU Summit is set to run until Monday, 8 July.