· I started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets, he averred
By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Presidential flag bearer in 2019 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Monday unveiled his plan to get Nigeria working again with a pledge that he will double the size of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to $900 billion by 2025.
Atiku made the disclosure in Abuja while unveiling the party’s strategies and promises which he hopes will get give him an edge to win the presidential election.
He said: “While I will be pro-active in attracting investments and supporting the 50 million small and medium-scale enterprises across Nigeria for the purpose of doubling the size of our GDP to $900 billion by 2025.
According to Atiku, the most important question in the forthcoming election is whether Nigerians are better off than they were 4 years ago or they are richer or poorer, stressing: ‘that is why our primary focus is to get Nigeria working again.’
If elected President, he said he will offer an inclusive leadership, stressing that Atiku Abubakar is 100 percent for 100 percent 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.
“It is my desire to run for the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, not because I have a bag full of promises, but because I am prepared to lead.” he said.
Atiku asked, without jobs, where is the hope for a better life and a better future? Explaining, today we will begin the process of sharing our policies that form my plan to create jobs, restructure the polity, and get Nigeria working again.
He said: “These investments will create a minimum of 2. 5 million jobs annually and lift at least 50 million people from poverty in the first 2 years.
“My team and I will also help create jobs by innovating flagship programmes such as the national open apprenticeship programme through which we shall enhance the capacity of master-craftsmen and women to train one-million new apprentices every year.
“Our national innovation fund and SMS venture capital fund initiatives will provide stable and sustainable long-term support to aspiring entrepreneurs.
“My plan to restructure Nigeria will lead to a vast increase in the internally generated revenue, both for the federal government and the states via the matching grants that we will provide to state governments that increase their own revenue.”
On how he started from a humble beginning, he said started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets of Jada in Adamawa, but God, through the Nigerian state, invested in me and here I am today.
“If Nigeria worked for me, I owe it as my duty to make sure that Nigeria also works for you, your family and your friends. It is time to get Nigeria working again, and these are the plans and policies I have for achieving that.
“I appeal to you to join me on this journey towards a better life for all Nigerians.” he said.