President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted to being a very slow reader,
\nsaying this is \u201cmaybe\u201d because he is an ex-soldier.<\/p>\n
The President said this when he addressed why Nigeria had not yet signed
\nthe $3 trillion African Free-Trade Agreement, during a joint press
\nconference with the visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n
Nigeria refused to join a continental free-trade zone established in
\nMarch, on the grounds that it wishes to defend its own businesses and
\nindustry, but the Federal Government later said it wanted more time to
\nconsult business leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very careful about what I sign, whether it is my cheque book or
\nagreements, especially when it involves nations and states. As your
\nPresident has said, we are so populated and have so many young unemployed
\ncitizens and our industries are just coming up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, in trying to guarantee employment, goods and services in our country,
\nwe have to be careful with agreements that will compete, maybe
\nsuccessfully, against our upcoming industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was presented with the document; I am a very slow reader maybe because
\nI am an ex-soldier. I didn\u2019t read it fast enough before my officials saw
\nthat it was all right for signature. I kept it on my table. I will soon
\nsign it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa also spoke on the frequent killings of Nigerians in South
\nAfrica, explaining them as acts of criminality that his administration is
\ndetermined to end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been quite a number of incidences in our country where foreign
\nnationals some of whom are Nigerians have lost their lives and are being
\nattacked,\u201d he said. \u201cI will like to say here and now that has been as a
\nresult of criminal activity among our own people which we are focusing on
\nfrom a criminal element point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n
In March, 44 countries joined the continental free-trade zone, which
\nencompasses 1.2 billion people. South Africa signed up earlier this month,
\nbut six countries, including Nigeria, are yet to sign the agreement.<\/p>\n
African Union officials said countries that have signed the agreement will
\nneed to submit a schedule of tariffs by December, adding that they expect
\nintra-African trade to double over the next four years once tariffs are
\nreduced.<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted to being a very slow reader, saying this is \u201cmaybe\u201d because he is an ex-soldier. The President said this when he addressed why Nigeria had…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n