'I am a very slow reader' - President Buhari confesses

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday described himself as a very slow reader. The president made this description of himself during a joint press briefing with visiting South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Speaking on why he is yet to sign the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), 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.”

The CFTA is an agreement which 44 African countries have aggreed to sign so as to form a $2.5 trillion continental free-trade zone, with a view of helping the continent “create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments”.