The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has unfolded his plans to make Nigeria work again if he is elected as the next president of the country.
He also promised to lift no fewer than 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2025 besides other things he outlined to tackle other ills plaguing Nigeria, nay Nigerians.
These are some of the key points in the policy document released by the PDP flagbearer which details a seven-year timeline in which he intends to deliver on his campaign promises, among other things.
Giving an insight into the rate of unemployment in the country, the former Vice President revealed that close to 16 million people are unemployed, nine million more than in 2014.
Continuing, Atiku said: “Over two million new entrants join the labour force each year meaning the unemployed share of the labour force more than tripled in less than a decade: from 5.1 percent in 2010 to 18.8 percent in 2017. Unemployment for women and young people is at 33 percent, 70 percent of unemployed youths are uneducated and unskilled. Creating jobs and economic opportunities for these people will be vital both for reducing the pool of easy recruits for violent groups and reducing underlying grievances that feed the conflict”.
Apparently aware that not a few would wonder how he would actualise his promise, Atiku said his government if elected in the 2019 presidential election will “launch a new, more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable national Entrepreneurship Development and Job Creation Programme.
His words: “Target the creation of up to three million self and wage-paying employment opportunities in the private sector annually. Target all categories of youth, including graduates, early school leavers as well as the massive numbers of uneducated youth who are currently not in schools, employment or training. Create incubation centres, clusters and industrial/commercial hubs to provide a marketplace for MSMEs and SMPs. Champion the repositioning and streamlining the activities of the existing Federal and State Government Job Creation Agencies”.
Besides job creation, content of Atiku’s plan for the country also enumerated three other areas of priority namely infrastructure development, human capital development and poverty eradication. He also promised the construction of 5,000 kilometres of roads and 5,000 kilometres of modern railway.
Apparently aware that he cannot do it alone, the PDP presidential flagbearer said: “However, I am not here to tell you how Iwill get Nigeria working again. Instead I would like to tell you how we will get Nigeria working again together. I am strongly of the view that I am just one Nigerian and one Nigerian cannot be as wise as all Nigerians. That is why I will offer an inclusive leadership”.
Continuing, he said: “Atiku Abubakar is 100 percent for 100% of Nigerians, 100 percent of the time. Too often, Nigerians have been promised better governance by those seeking their votes. Such individuals have preyed on the legitimate desires of our people for their conditions to be improved, that they make all sorts of promises. But it is one thing to promise and another thing to deliver. I am not one for making grandiose promises. Rather than promises, I believe in policies. A promise is an indication to do a future action. A policy is a plan to achieve future goals. I believe in setting goals and coming up with realistic plans and policies to achieving those goals. To me, leadership is having the discipline to commit to one’s goals until they are a reality. I have succeeded in running my private enterprises which now employ 50,000 Nigerians because I believe in policies and I have the discipline to stay with them until they become reality”.
