₦airaland Forum

- Chief Ayo Adebanjo said Obasanjo is now aware of why they were critical of President Buhari

- The Afenifere leader said the group was not in support of the former president

- It however said it would agree with him if his message aligned with their own

Chief Ayo Adebanjo who is an elder statesman and Afenifere chieftain has said that the group is not supporting Chief Olusegun Obasanjo following the latter’s meeting with them.

Daily Independent reports that the Afenifiere chieftain said the former president was now supporting them.


Obasanjo had visited the group asking for their support in removing President Muhammadu Buhari from office.

He said: “Our priority is now one, if we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.”

Adebanjo said Obasanjo was the one that has now realised his errors especially on their critical position about Buhari.

He said: “ It is not Afenifere that is supporting Obasanjo. It is Obasanjo that is supporting Afenifere. What Obasanjo is saying about Buhari now, Afenifere has been saying it even before the 2015 general election”.

“We warned Nigerians including Obasanjo then, but they refused to listen. If he now realises his mistake and decided to align with us, he is welcome. We are not supporting him; he is the one supporting us. The media should stop turning it around by saying Afenifere is supporting Obasanjo”.

“I have nothing to do with Obasanjo. That doesn’t mean that if he supports what I do, I should ignore him. We should consider the message and not the messenger. If he says anything good, I support. If he says anything negative, I condemn him.”


It will b recalled that former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday, May 21, paid a visit to the leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, at the residence of the leader of the group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo state.

The Punch reports that the meeting, which lasted for almost 30 minutes, had the former president calling for the cooperation of the group to save Nigeria from collapsing.

Blue3k:
Currency swap is good since it provides liquidity to International investors. Basically since you no longer have to get dollars it makes it easier to trade. The other benefit is lowering exchange rate risk. I thought this program started years ago but it was in negotiations.

Nigeria should seek more bilateral agreements like this one. UK seems to be similar mood since its leaving EU. Lastly the banned list isn't useful since it doesnt address funmebtal issues with producing those items.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the Nigeria-China currency swap deal would not cover the importation of the 41 items banned in its 2015 circular on items not valid for foreign exchange.
CBN’s acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.


According to him, this will ensure the currency deal does not stifle local companies and make Nigeria a dumping ground for Chinese goods.
Mr Okorafor said the CBN had already taken adequate measures to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“The fear is unfounded and I’ll give you reasons why.
“The first one is that we are going to focus on exports to China. Also, remember that we already export cassava products to China as well as leather, hides and skin to China amongst others.
“So this deal will open further the export market to China.
“Also, I want Nigerians to know that the items that will come in are not necessarily finished goods, so the issue of Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for China does not arise.
“This is because the 41 items that had initially been banned from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market will still not qualify under the deal,” he said.


The CBN recently signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the People’s Republic of China worth about N720 billion.
On June 23, 2015, the CBN placed a ban on accessing foreign exchange in the official foreign exchange market for the importation of some goods and services.
The aim was to encourage local production of these items, conserve foreign reserves, resuscitate domestic industries and improve employment.
Some of the items banned were rice, cement, poultry, tinned fish, furniture, toothpicks, kitchen utensils, table wares, textiles, clothes, tomato pastes, soap and cosmetics.
Also banned were private jets, roofing sheets, metal boxes, wire rods, steel nails, security and razor nails, ceramic tiles, glasswares, cellophane, plastic and rubber products.
Mr Okorafor said with the Nigeria-China currency swap deal, the Naira was expected to appreciate against the US dollars as the demand for dollars eases.
“China accounts for a quarter or more of imports into Nigeria.


“The exchange of currencies between the Nigerian Central Bank and the Chinese Central Bank will make it easier for our entrepreneurs to have direct access to foreign exchange in Renminbi.
“Before now, when importing necessary machineries or merchandise from China, you first exchange Naira for the dollar before changing it again to Renminbi and this puts pressure on the Naira.
“Now what it means is that a large portion of the demand for dollars in Nigeria has been lifted off the back of the Naira and put directly on the Chinese Renminbi.
“And so it is a positive development as it will enhance the value of the Naira and reduce our dependence on the dollar for imports,” he said.
Mr Okorafor explained that the two central banks were still working on the exchange rates between the Naira and Renminbi.
“As we speak, the modalities, the operational manual and the guidelines are being developed.
“But I can assure you that the exchange rate will be such that it will be competitive, fair to all and will not hurt our local producers and importers,” he said.


According to Mr Okorafor, once everything has been fine tuned, Nigerian entrepreneurs will be able to access renminbi through money deposit banks, using similar rules for the dollar.
He, however, stated that a clearing bank would be appointed for the transaction.
He said one of requirements for the appointment was that the bank must have a branch in China, which some Nigerian banks already have.
Mr Okorafor said one of the advantages of the deal was that it would encourage Chinese companies to set up factories in Nigeria, which would lead to industralisation and job creation.
“Chinese investors are interested in setting up shop here. And that is because if they produce here, it will be better for them.

“The cost of transportation, shipping, and all that, will be eliminated. We have a good environment, so a good number of them are interested in setting up production lines here.
“Also, when they do that, they are not going to employ only Chinese workers. A greater portion of the job opportunities in these plants will be filled up by Nigerians.
“So for us, it’s a good deal,” he said. (NAN)

Mofpearl:
Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah

Yaya kake? Been a long time.

Yeah I like breadi but I am avoiding it this time. Had iftar with jollof spaghetti (spicy spagetti?) and peppered gizzard.

Empiree:
Yes, I am

aminusanti:
Lol... ya azumi? Longest time!

Demmzy15:
I actually ate rice, crab and chicken at my aunt's house. Chaiiiii!!!!

AbdelKabir:
wa alaykumus salaam.....eating something new truly.....beans soup....they call it "epela", its actually an egbira soup.....I'm living around egbiras here...vary nice people wallaahi...

Rilwayne001:
Normally, i like rice + beans with stew. So yes that was what i took last night for iftar, but it'll soon get to change as I'll be going back to school next week. then, I'll be eating bread and Akara

Empiree:
Lool, I just go to any masjid at iftar. I don't cook anything. All or most masajid prepare food.

They distribute fruits to break before praying maghrib. After maghrib we are served heavy meal.

Elder001:
Over the years I've come to realize that feminism is a scam.

APCsupporter:
They only want quality when it favours them. They want to get everything on a platter of gold just because they are women but once you bring issues like sharing family expenses they will start biting their tongues. If they need up to 50% of the mans money to take care of the children why not hand them over to the man?

Rilwayne001:

No be me. On a normal day, i hate garri. I can't even abhor the thought of eating it for iftar.

APCsupporter:

oga friendng you are not far from the truth. I just managed moi moi and egg but Alhamdulillah

madridguy:
Bread and tea. I attended two Tafsir and can't cook again.

To marry, na inside ramadan dey hungry me most.

APCsupporter:
how stupid does this sound to you? "Drop your nuclear weapons and get our protection"

If they needed US security they wouldn't have started the project in the first place. If the US could invade Iraq in order to stop their nuclear program(according to them) what's stopimg them from invading NK?

orunto27:
Erdogan-calls-muslim-countries-unite-confront-israel.
This one is mad in the 21st Century. Instead of calling for Peace, Unity and Cooperation, he is calling for war. Shameless mad Devil.

Righteousness89:
This Turkish president has always Thtown Jis Penalty to Throwing!!! The other day He called for a boycott of All Israeli products and Good by the Oic not knowing that even the Technology gadgets he was using are from the Same ISREALITES...

The World knows that even a Combination of all Nations cannot Defeat Isreal..
That's why the highest they can do is talk...

Whoever get mind make him go fight Isreal ??