Shehu Sani Replies Obasanjo, Says Buhari Right Not To Sign Africa Trade Deal

The federal lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to former President Olusegun Obasnjo’s criticism of President Muhmmadu Buhari over his refusal to sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

Obasanjo had at a forum in Indonesia at the weekend, renewed his criticism of Buhari for not signing the agreement. The former president suggested that Buhari’s hands were “too weak” to sign the trade agreement.

He expressed confidence that the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will sign the deal if he eventually becomes president.

“We will have a president who will be able to sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, not the one whose hands is too weak to sign,” the former President said at the Babacar N’daiye Lecture that held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF/ World bank meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Obasanjo had previously expressed disappointment at President Buhari for not signing the deal.

He had said in July, “That President Buhari didn’t sign the free trade agreement in Kigali is disappointing; I hope he signs it before it is too late”.

Apparently reacting to Obasanjo’s renewed attack on Buhari at the forum organised by the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Senator Sani applauded the President for not assenting to the deal, saying it would open the the country’s economy to imports.

He said, “African continental free trade is a great idea if African states are locally producing and not importing goods from US, Europe and Asia. The President is right for refusing to sign a trade deal that will only open our country to imports.”

The AFCTA, which was meant to be signed by 55 African countries in Kigali, Rwanda, in July, was expected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 per cent from about 19 per cent.

But President Buhari refused to sign the trade deal even after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved it in March.

In trying to explain why he didn’t sign the deal, the President had said: “One clear message has emerged which is that any agreement must be both free and fair,” adding that he had “directed the relevant agencies to conduct intensive and extensive consultations across the nation on the Continental Free Trade Agreement.” But as of when this report was filed, the president was yet to sign the deal.