Ede Dafinone Thanks Buhari, Says His Appointment Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without Him

By Stephanie Ikanone Odiete Sapele

Former Delta Central Senatorial aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Ede Dafinone, has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve on the board of the Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) bank, adding that in spite of his huge contribution to the export line in the last twenty years, his appointment wouldn’t have been possible without him.

Dafinone who was answering questions on his appointment alongside Mr Kabiru Hassan as the bank board member on Friday April 16, 2021, at his Sapele country home, also posited that as exporters of crumb rubbers for the past twenty years, who has been a supporting pillar under the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group, (MANG ), his appointment was a round peg in a round hole.

“When the last chairman of MANG died about four years ago, the members asked me if I would take over the position, so for the last four years I have been representing manufacturers in export to lobby government and express their concern and see how we can improve non oil export for the manufacturing sector and generally the Nigerian economy, so the position of the NEXIM board is actually for the private sector representing private export concern and that is why my qualification made it appropriate for me to have that seat on the board which I have to use this opportunity again to thank Mr President because merit is not always everything.”

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The founder of the famous Dafinone Foundation also noted that the bank’s clear focus is to export, encourage and support SMEs, manufacturers in order for them to increase their volume of production either increasing export or making export easier for Nigeria companies or SMEs.

Dafinone also said oil consumption, and production is quickly dropping in the world.

“Norway announced about a week or so that in another ten years time the number of electric operated cars in their country will outnumber that of fuel and gas, and other countries are doing same which will mean that very soon, within our lifetime hopeful there will be a fall in the demand for oil and any oil based economy that has not diversified its economy by that time will be in trouble in case of resources,” he said.