• Pledges full financial autonomy for judiciary
• Says no inch of Nigeria’s territory will be ceded to bandits
• APC candidate to El-Rufai: With your support I’m confident of winning
• Atiku promises to restructure Nigeria if elected president
All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday gave an insight into how he intends to rebuild the national economy and deal with the current security challenge in the country.
Top on his agenda is the creation of a vibrant economy targeted at achieving a double-digit growth.
He vowed to fight banditry to a standstill, not yielding an inch of Nigeria’s territory to bandits.
Tinubu spoke at the 7th edition of the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KadInvest 7.0) in Kaduna.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was also in Kaduna yesterday promising to restructure the country if elected in the 2023 election.
The former vice president said he has all it takes to lead Nigeria and argued that what the country needed was a pan-Nigerian President and not a Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba leader.
Tinubu told his audience made up of notable politicians and captains of industries that his administration would put in place “a team of the most talented of Nigerians – men, women and youths – no matter their tribe and affiliations, to reset our nation on a path to achieve double-digit economic growth within a couple of years.”
This, according to him, would be done through a coordinated set of policies in key sectors.
“We will champion an efficient government that will eliminate revenue and expense leakages across all federal government areas, leveraging technology, which will be increasingly embedded into government operations,” he said.
He said priority would also be given to distribution and availability of power to the industries, while in agriculture “we will provide incentives for investments, machinery and equipment, expand and empower commodity boards, enhance our strategic grains reserves, encourage the formation of farm cooperatives and expand the scope and depth of access to finance for our farmers.”
He added: “In housing, we will introduce policies that will make it easier to transfer title and carry out transactions on landed properties. We will work with the private sector to significantly expand mortgage financing and we will provide credits and incentives to encourage real estate developers.
He added: “In housing, we will introduce policies that will make it easier to transfer title and carry out transactions on landed properties. We will work with the private sector to significantly expand mortgage financing and we will provide credits and incentives to encourage real estate developers.
“We will collaborate with key technology partners to develop policies that promote the use and integration of technology across other sectors within the nation. We will work to accelerate the work that is being done with the private sector to train our youth and promote innovation through sponsored incubator hubs and science technology parks.”
He hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for giving maximum support to the private sector to flourish by implementing over 100 initiatives including the Repeal and Re-Enactment of the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, the passage of the Finance Act 2021, to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
But he said he would strive to even do more because “a vibrant private sector is a prerequisite for a functional state, playing a critical role in the mobilisation of capital, expertise and innovation for the creation of economic opportunities and employment.”
He said:”My desire is that the next administration, under my leadership, will continue to drive forward and accelerate on the progress made thus far, taking bold steps and initiatives to encourage investments in new areas typically considered risky, and leading the way by providing the enabling environment to nurture our innate entrepreneurial spirit.
“It is essential that our nation continues to champion the rule of law and sanctity of contracts, for these are the prerequisites for creating a business-friendly economic environment.
“Whilst there must be active engagement between all the arms of government for the rule of law to prevail, it is critical for the judiciary to retain its autonomy and independence.
“Therefore, under my stewardship, the federal government will build on the efforts of the current administration to review, amend and/or enact the relevant laws that will engender the rule of law.
“My administration would ensure that the judiciary has true financial and administrative autonomy and strong disciplinary and integrity monitoring mechanisms.”
On security, Tinubu said priority would be given to the training and retraining of the country’s security forces to ensure a more peaceful country.
His words:”We will be committed to introducing cross-sector initiatives that will address the economic and social constraints that prevent people from advancing or opting for crime.
“Under my leadership, the government will place great emphasis on the use of a counter-insurgency doctrine and strategy by our military. We will continue to train and equip our gallant forces and security personnel with the resources, gear, and equipment that they need to hasten our inevitable march to resounding victory against the enemies of our great nation. Where necessary, we will recruit and train more personnel to bridge any gaps in manpower.
“Furthermore, my administration will prioritise the use of superior aerial technology to deter criminal and terrorist activities, as well as to monitor and protect our critical national infrastructure including our network of pipelines, our power stations, our transmission and distribution networks, our sea and airports, our rail networks and other vital infrastructure.”
He vowed that “no inch of this country will be ceded to banditry. We will fight it to a standstill.”
He was confident of winning the February 2023 presidential election “with the help of Nigerians.”
He also commended Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for raising the bar in attracting investments to the state the same way he did in Lagos over 20 years ago.
He jocularly told the governor not to run away from Nigeria after next year’s elections “because we need your creativity at this critical time”, to which the governor responded in kind: “I promise to stay even on part time basis.”
Tinubu hoped the leadership of the KADIPA and subsequent administrations in Kaduna State “will successfully collaborate with the private sector to usher in the investments in the priority sectors of technology, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and solid minerals. These investments will in turn drive rapid economic growth and prosperity, providing jobs and opportunities for the good people of Kaduna State.”
Kaduna attracts $4.48bn investments in seven years – El-Rufai
Governor El-Rufai said the state has attracted a total investment portfolio of $4.48 billion comprising actualised and announced investments over the last seven years of his administration.
The governor also said that the efforts had resulted in creating 75,750 direct and indirect jobs.
He credited the flow of investments to his administration’s continuous effort of providing conducive environment for the private sector to drive the economy through numerous policy actions and reforms.
The governor did a recap of what his administration achieved since inception and why investors should invest in Kaduna State.
According to him, the state has abundant natural resources, a productive workforce, steady economic growth and serves as the gateway to the northern market.
”Kaduna State is also the most improved state in 2018 Ease of Doing Business Subnational report by the World Bank, and it has a very investor-friendly environment,” he added.
