THE FIVE POINT AGENDA FOR A POST-OIL NIGERIA ECONOMY

MY COVENANT WITH NIGERIANS: MAJ.GEN.GBOR

THE FIVE POINT AGENDA FOR A POST-OIL NIGERIA ECONOMY

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen, my APGA-led government will work to bring together all Nigerians irrespective of gender, belief system and ethnic nationality into a solid block to build a nation where no one will be left behind. Nigeria shall be united. The government that I will have the privilege to lead will work deliberately for the prosperity of all Nigerians. We will work to provide employment opportunities to our youths; eradicate hunger and poverty from the land; and to restore the citizen’s loss of faith and confidence in our dear nation. The slogan of my campaign and the governance of Nigeria shall always be: “NO ONE AND NO PLACE IS LEFT BEHIND”.

To achieve this, I hereby announce my five point agenda which shall constitute my irrevocable covenant with Nigerians:

1. True federalism based on fiscal restructuring

2. Security

3. Economic reconstruction driven by private enterprise

4. Social Agenda 

5. New Nigeria driven by Youth and Women Empowerment

TRUE FEDERALISM

In line with APGA’s commitment to restructuring, my administration will vigorously pursue the entrenchment of true federalism which promotes productivity and competitiveness among the federating units. Thus, instead of the present misguided emphasis on cake sharing which accounts for high level of corruption, the APGA-led Federal Government, under my leadership, will promote the emergence of viable, competitive and sustainable economic entities that will unleash the creative potentials of Nigerians. The end result of such competitive entities will be wealth creation, job opportunities, social harmony and national security.

The devolution of power envisaged under our restructuring template will empower the federating units to exploit the natural resources within their respective domains to develop their economies for the wellbeing of their people. The fiscal restructuring also demands that we engage in an honest conversation on resource control with a view to determining what the federating units must now contribute to the centre. 

Let me say, at this point, that those who sow the fear into Nigerians that restructuring will lead to disintegration are being dishonest. The truth is that fiscal federalism and national unity are not mutually exclusive. What a restructured Nigeria will achieve is that, we shall move away from the cake sharing formula which breeds laziness and rent-seekers to cake baking which unleashes the creative energies of Nigerians especially our youth. 

We no longer have the benefit of a choice; with the oil economy predicted to collapse within the next ten years, architecting the post-oil economy is no longer a matter of choice; it is mandatory. Here are the disturbing facts: 

Eight years from now, the price and demand for crude oil which accounts for over 85% of our foreign exchange will collapse because by then all land transport will be powered by electrification. Worse still, according to the World Bank, by 2050 Nigerian population will be over 400, 000, 000. This will make Nigeria the fourth most populous country in the world. If we do not restructure now to allow the emergence of economic entities that are viable, sustainable and competitive for a post-oil economy, how can we cope with a population of 400, 000, 000 people in just a couple of years from now? We must devolve powers from the centre to allow the federating units to manage themselves. These also include the judiciary, electric power supply and local security.  

A key and immediate component of restructuring will be my government’s commitment to immediately reducing the cost of governance. The huge cost of governance both at the federal and state levels must be reduced. We can no longer afford to run recurrent and capital budgets where the bulk of the financing is borrowed. At the moment Nigeria’s external debt stands at $23 billion while internal debts stand at N22 trillion. What this means is that everybody should be prepared to make some sacrifice. The good news is that savings from this will be ploughed into social investment programs aimed at alleviating poverty in the land.

My APGA-led Government will immediately push forward all aspects of fiscal restructuring that will be implemented immediately and then consult with Nigerians on those aspects that require Constitutional Amendment. 

SECURITY

The primary responsibility of a responsible government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Therefore, I want to make it clear that with me as the President of our dear country, all lives matter. The so called herdsmen-farmers clashes resulting to killings of fellow citizens must stop. Any where Nigerians live, within our Nigerian territory or abroad, Nigerian’s life matters. The EAGLE will descend swiftly to their rescue. No longer will anyone attack or kill a Nigerian without severe consequences. The Nigerian life is precious and must be defended.

My APGA-led government will fix the security of the country so that once more, we shall be a nation where every life matters. Each Nigerian life in all locations in the country will be protected by Government. The military will be equipped to face both external aggression and insurgencies. Equally, the Police will be equipped to discharge their responsibility of ensuring the security of life and property of citizens. 

Families of officers and men who pay the supreme sacrifice will automatically become the responsibility of Government.  

As we are all aware, the key driver of insecurity is the feeling of injustice and the trust deficit between the aggrieved and the government. To solve this problem, my Government will engage all parties to the insurgency with a view to addressing all complaints of injustice wherever they may come from in Nigeria. Having said this, I want to reiterate that, under my watch, the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria and the security of the lives and property of all citizens and residents will never be compromised for any reason. Remember, I speak as a General of the Nigerian Army…once a General, always a General! 

PRIVATE SECTOR DRIVEN ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION

The APGA-led Federal Government, with the support of all Nigerians, will create a functional self-reliant economy driven by the private sector under the restructuring template already enunciated. Our overall economic agenda is premised on the understanding that there is a nexus between hunger and poverty on the one hand and corruption and insecurity on the other. Consequently, we shall strive to eradicate poverty and hunger as a way of checkmating effectively corruption and insecurity. 

Key areas that will receive the concerted attention of Government include power supply, agriculture, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, Industrialization and desert encroachment. Let me state that Government realizes that any country that cannot feed itself is not only vulnerable to other countries but is a candidate for social strife and general insecurity. Therefore, serious steps will be taken to boost employment and food security through mechanized agriculture. However, the major thrust of our economic policy shall rest on preparing the nation for the post oil economy.

SOCIAL AGENDA OF GOVERNMENT 

My APGA-led government, though private sector driven, must be compassionate so that the truly needy Nigerians will also have the opportunity to succeed, and those who have already succeeded, shall make their fair contribution to ensure that the truly needy have the opportunity to succeed. This means the poor, the old and destitute, the unemployed, the homeless and the physically challenged will all have the opportunity to succeed so that NO ONE AND NO PLACE IS LEFT BEHIND.

The APGA-led Federal Government shall invest massively in education, information and communications technology (ICT) to prepare our youths not only for the best paying jobs globally but to equip them for entrepreneurial exploits of their own. Similarly, we shall invest heavily in Research and Development (R&D) to make our tertiary institutions functional incubators of future trail-blazers and achievers. Nigerians are playing the key roles in renowned foreign institutions by creating wealth through Intellectual Property Right (IPR). If our citizens outside the country can generate wealth for foreign Institutions, there is no reason why we cannot do the same here in our home Institutions. My government will support tertiary institutions to partner with Nigerian businesses to harvest innovations and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

In the area of health, our promise is simple: we shall promote a medical care environment functional and effective enough to rule out the need for I, as your President, to travel abroad for medical treatment. I need not say more on this.

WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

We shall take steps to empower the youth and women as agents of social change and economic growth and development. The increased engagement of Nigerian women and youths in production will boost Nigeria’s economy. The steps we will take include: 

(1) Creation of a special youth agency in the Presidency. This is imperative because APGA views youth unemployment as a national emergency which deserves urgent attention of the Federal Government. It is for the same reason that every step will be taken to elevate sports not only to a platform for promoting discipline but as a money spinner in line with global trends. Nigeria is a major victim of the social pandemic surrounding the exodus of young men and women from their home countries, in search of the elusive “greener pasture”. Many have ended tragically in either the deserts or the high seas. Combating the scourge of human trafficking will be accorded top priority by the Youths Agency in the Presidency by ensuring that the Youths Empowerment Program of Government captures this category of Nigerians. 

(2.) Fostering an enabling environment, for micro finance banks and other financial institutions across the country that will support the empowerment of individual women and women cooperative organizations. My APGA-led Government will be very mindful of the wellbeing of our women. 

(3.) Robust investment in the infrastructural development and maintenance. These include roads, bridges, rail lines, airports, sea and dry ports among other areas.