The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), retired Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday said he would take
practical steps to strengthen Nigeria’s economy if elected. Buhari made the
pledge during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector at the
Lagos State Government House, Marina, in Lagos. Continue..
Reports showed that the meeting, tagged “GMD Means Business”,
was to articulate Buhari’s economic plans for the nation. Apart from leading
businessmen that were at the meeting, top APC chieftains including the National
Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Gov. Babatunde
Fashola of Lagos State, also attended the forum. Others were former Minister of
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and former Ekiti State
governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi. Buhari said he would design economic policies
tailored toward promoting the country’s prosperity and creating jobs. “Our
economic plans will be practical and our policies for implementing our
commitments will be governed by the highest consideration of how they create
jobs,” he said. Giving a breakdown of his plans, the APC candidate said he
would create the enabling environment for industrialisation to thrive. He said
he would revive the textile mills and similar industries that once produced
thousands of jobs for Nigerians. Buhari added that he would invest massively in
infrastructure and open up opportunities through the construction of highways
linking all parts of the country. “Road construction alone will unlock a value
chain of opportunities in the building industry for construction companies,
builders, cement and iron rod production and supply. “The successful opening up
of Nigeria by the construction of new roads and highways will revive road
transportation, trucks manufacturing and others on one hand. “It will also
create a demand for jobs for mechanics, drivers and those engaged in transport
support businesses,” he said. Buhari also said he planned to pursue efforts
that would support the building of local refineries for jobs creation and
economic growth. He said he was in support of the Power Reforms but that he
would do more to improve power generation. “We agree with the privatisation of
the power utilities but we believe it must go further to transmission. “After
the signing and hand-over ceremonies of the power assets, the real work of
producing, transmitting and distributing power is really just beginning. “The
reason why the success seems elusive is that apart from the signing ceremony
and handing over of the power assets, the hard work to connect the various
parts of the power chain, supply gas, install transformers, complete
substations has not been done. “Studies show that we will require no less than
200,000 trained personnel to support the initiative to provide power and light
up Nigeria. “Apart from the inherent direct employment that this will bring,
the reduction in cost of production, it would also reduce the burden of
Nigerians who spend a lot to generate their electricity,” he said. The retired
general said he would promote investment in agriculture to boost food
sufficiency and jobs creation. The APC candidate urged Nigerians to invest
their trust in him, saying he would improve on the country’s economy if
elected.
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