The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, called on Nigerians not to give power to the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Atiku stated this while speaking at The Summit House during an engagement with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The former vice president had stormed Nigeria’s commercial capital city Lagos on Sunday evening after paying a visit to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) to commiserate with PDP members involved in a fatal truck accident in Plateau State.
Atiku described Tinubu as “a greenhorn or the national leader of the same party that brought us to this very sorry situation.”
The PDP presidential candidate added that the task ahead cannot be downplayed and only him has the requisite knowledge to rescue Nigeria.
“As head of the economic management team while I was Vice President, I was instrumental in designing a private sector revival strategy and advocated for the opening of the economy for private sector investments in several sectors. And we made tremendous progress.
“I’m sure you still remember the good old days of rapid economic growth with stable interest and exchange rates, low inflation, low unemployment rates, and low poverty headcount. We paid off nearly all of our foreign debt which was crippling the country.
“It will be dangerous for Nigeria to relinquish its future to a greenhorn or the national leader of the same party that brought us to this very sorry situation,” Atiku stated.
He continued, “Capital has taken a flight alongside policy incoherence which continues to cause an impediment to economic growth. The failure of the APC-led government is staring every Nigerian in the face.
“We will review government procurement processes to ensure value for money.
“Our government will tackle the deficit in infrastructure financing and fast-track infrastructure development in the country.
“We will create a strong partnership with the private sector to create jobs, grow our infrastructure, and fight poverty.
“We will support the private sector to drive growth. We have done it before, and you know we can do it again.
“No one should downplay the enormity of the task ahead. I have a good knowledge of the challenges facing Nigeria. I will come prepared and experienced.” (Leadership)