The standard flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, was in Lagos recently to interact with leading businessmen as well as members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, about his campaign anifesto.The presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party , Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is campaigning on how he would manage the nation’s critical economic and polarised political system.
While Atiku believes that the breakup and sale of the NNPC are inevitable and that it would bring competitiveness and better management of the nation’s economy, he, however exposed a negative flaw – loyalty to friends and business partners as he suggested that there is nothing wrong if the corporation is sold to friends and cronies. “My friends deserved to be rich also,” he quipped when asked about this.
Specifically, he said he would encourage increased private sector investment to stimulate economic activities, promote job creation, and give attention to poverty alleviation. The PDP candidate said his first job, as president if elected, would be restructuring the nation’s political and structural system. He restated his commitment to ensuring that necessary constitutional amendments that would cause a transfer of more powers and resources to other tiers of government would become activated from his first day in office.
“Even though PDP won overwhelmingly in 1999, we still included members of the opposition parties in a government of national unity and with that, we were able to ensure unity,” he said. “Most successful economies allow the private sector to play its role and we saw prosperity during Obasanjo’s administration,” he said.
Atiku stressed that he had been an apostle of resource control, devolution of power, and restructuring, even when the north was not favourably disposed to them. He, however, pointed out that it was unfortunate that a section of the media chose to misinterpret his comments at a session with the Lagos Business School Alumni Association last Tuesday.
“Let me tell you that I will start work on the implementation of that report from my very first day in office if I am elected president next year.” ”You should never allow political slogans to take the place of development plans. Political propaganda on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is never a substitute for proper socio-economic and political agenda.”According to National Bureau of Statistics data, the public sector accounts for only 7.5 percent and the private sector, 78.9 percent of national consumption expenditure.