President Muhammadu Buhari says
he is a “very slow” reader, saying this could be as a result of being an
ex-soldier.
Buhari said this during a joint
briefing with South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was speaking on the
Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which Nigeria is yet to become a
signatory to.
He said he is still studying the
agreement and will soon sign it.
The president said: “I am very
careful about what I sign whether it is my cheque book or agreements especially
when it involves nations and states. As your president has said, we are so
populated and have so many young unemployed citizens and our industries are
just coming up.
“So, in trying to guarantee
employment, goods and services in our country, we have to be careful with
agreements that will compete maybe successfully against our upcoming
industries.
“I was presented with the
document; I am a very slow reader maybe, because I am an ex- soldier. I didn’t
read it fast enough before my officials saw that it was all right for
signature. I kept it on my table. I will soon sign it.”
What is the CFTA?
The CFTA is an agreement which 44
African countries recently signed to form a $2.5 trillion continental
free-trade zone,
The free-trade zone is the
largest in the world since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995
The CFTA is expected to “create a
single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of
business persons and investments”.
The agreement is also expected to
boost the level of intra-Africa trade from the current 14 percent to over 52
percent by 2022.
Nigeria was missing under controversial
circumstances when the 44 countries signed the agreement.
Following criticisms that trailed
this, Buhari had explained: “We are widening and deepening domestic
consultations on the CFTA, to ensure that all concerns are respectfully
addressed.
“Any African Free trade agreement
must Fairly and Equitably represent the interest of Nigeria, and indeed, her
African brothers and sisters.”
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