Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has set an agenda for the next president of Nigeria: he must tackle the challenges that fuel subsidy and foreign exchange have posed to the country and its economy.
This is as he asserted that the chances of the next president getting a second term would be very slim, if not non-existent, if he takes the necessary but tough decisions that would propel the nation from one with potential to a developed economy.
El-Rufai stated this yesterday in Abuja during a panel discussion at the launch of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update and Country Economic Memorandum.
The Kaduna State governor, whilst answering questions on the removal of fuel subsidy, said, "The next president of Nigeria must be willing to do just one term if necessary but reverse this trend."
LEADERSHIP Friday reports that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had earlier planned to remove fuel subsidy this year but shifted the implementation to mid-2023 after he has left office. However, El-Rufai noted that the state governments and the private sector have agreed that hard decisions must be taken.
"I think that Nigeria's next president must be willing to take very difficult, immediate, and urgent decisions that will make the country go through maybe three to five years of pain, and reverse this trajectory. I am proud to be a member of the Obasanjo administration during that decade of growth. We were in that government and we knew what we had to do.
"We know what President Obasanjo had to do. The next president of Nigeria must be willing to do just one term if necessary but reverse this trend. The consensus is there. If 95 per cent of jobs are from the private sector, 90 per cent of GDP is from the private sector.
"The private sector agrees that these things must be done. The state governments have agreed that these things must be done. The two big elephants are fuel subsidy and the exchange rate and those at the receiving end of this are the private sectors and the sub nationals.
"We have agreed. What we need is a president willing to expend political capital and take risks to reverse the trajectory of this country on a permanent basis even if it costs him the election because the results may not begin to show until after three to five years."
The Kaduna State governor expressed concern even if the right policies are put in place tomorrow, it will take time to turn things around "but the country will remove the word potential from Nigeria's vocabulary and will finally be the country we deserve to be."
In her address, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who was represented by the director general, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, said Nigeria's growth prospects had improved, but that pre-crisis challenges threaten post-crisis recovery, highlighting the need to depart from business-as-usual policies.
Fiscal pressures have mounted due to lower-than-expected revenues and the rising cost of subsidy on the premium motor spirit, she said.
Regarding the oil sector, she said, "Oil production is expected to increase to 1.6 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2023 as efforts intensify to improve oil production infrastructure and reduce theft. We currently project an average crude oil production of about 1.9 million barrels condensate inclusive by 2024. We expect to complete the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery before the end of 2023. We have also signed the memorandum of understanding with Daewoo Operation for $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Kaduna and Warri refineries.
She further said the importation of petroleum products would significantly decline in 2023 as the Dangote refinery is expected to begin operation in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the finance minister, the expected improvement in oil production numbers are also attributable to the increase in collaboration between the government, security agencies, private security outfits, host communities and deployment of technology to curb the menace of crude oil theft.
I'll Reflect Diversity In My Key Appointments - Atiku
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the coming 2023 general election, former Vice -president Atiku Abubakar has promised that his presidency will guarantee that Igbo nation produces the next president of Nigeria.
Speaking in a town hall meeting in Awka, Anambra State capital after flagging off his campaign in the state yesterday, Atiku also promised that under his presidency the first six highest political offices in the country namely: president, vice-president, Senate president, Speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation and secretary to the government of the federation, will be distributed among the six geo-political zones as a mark of equity and unification of the nation.
He also pledged that the National Assembly will be totally independent of the Executive arm and will be guided by its rules.
Atiku further asserted that having owned and managed a university, he knows the bottlenecks that create room for restiveness in tertiary institutions such as strike by academic and non-academic staff, and promised that under his presidency such restiveness will not be experienced "because I will remove the bottlenecks."
He also promised that his administration will give 30 percent political offices to the youth, adding that the welfare of students will be given priority.
Atiku, who was accompanied by his running-mate, Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa, emphasised that it is because of his interest in Igbo political partnership that informed his choice of Igbo person as a running-mate each time he is contesting for the presidency of the country.
He pledged that even under his presidency, an Igbo man will have the opportunity of presiding as president of Nigeria because whenever he will be on leave or travels out of the country, his vice-president, Ifeanyi Okowa will preside as president.
"My running-mate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, is an Igbo man," he said.
Atiku also promised that his administration will restructure the country through devolution of power.
Earlier, while playing host to the PDP presidential hopeful at the Governor's Lodge, Amawbia, Anambra state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo emphasised that issues about building Nigeria occupy the priority in any political engagement and urged Atiku and his party to put issues of the nation above politics.
He also urged that the Igbo nation be accorded its rightful place in the country for the country to move forward.
I'm Not Championing Sectional Interest - Obi
On his part, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has reiterated that he is not championing sectional interest, adding that his church visits are consistent with his ways, and not prompted by his candidacy.
A statement issued by the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation said Obi's candidacy is driven solely by a patriotic determination to birth a new Nigeria, adding that it is not by any sectional or religious considerations.
The clarification from the Obi-Datti Media Office issued via a statement yesterday and signed by Diran Onifade, head of the office, came in the wake of attempts in the media to label Peter Obi as a champion of sectional interests in a bid to douse his current popular standing as the obvious choice of the majority of Nigerians.
The statement noted that previous efforts by detractors to tag Peter Obi as a mere social media candidate without structure had failed.
"Having seen their previous attempts at whittling down Obi's popularity among Nigerians flounder in the most spectacular manner, they are currently embarking on another miserable attempt at derailing what is obviously a fast-moving train. Their mission now is to label Obi as a jingoist of religion and tribe in a bid to curry favour with other religious or ethnic interests," the statement said.
The statement noted as Obi is a frontrunner in the presidential race, his movements - whether private or public - are more trailed now than before.
According to the statement, it is because of Obi's high visibility that mischievous people see his frequent appearances at churches or secular programmes as religious adventures with political undertones but said anyone knowledgeable about the LP flag bearer's past knows that he has always been a regular sight at church services irrespective of the denomination.
"Even as governor, Obi has always been involved in religious issues whether Christianity or Islam. He always seeks prayers for himself from those around him, including subordinates because he sees himself as a child of God's abundant grace and therefore needs constant supplications.
"As governor, Obi sponsored Muslims to Mecca for Hajj and always urged them to pray for him. Obi, although a Catholic, has not limited himself to his faith even before becoming a presidential candidate. We recall vividly that when Pastor Adeboye visited Anambra State to dedicate a church built by one of the top Anambra citizens in Nnewi, Obi was physically there with the reverend pastor. These instances are verifiable to buttress the fact that the LP presidential flag bearer has been consistent in his way of life as it relates to his faith, prayers and relationship with his maker", the statement said.
The Obi-Datti Media Office said Obi's visits to churches are for prayers not for campaign, and only to solicit prayers for his candidacy from worshippers.
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"There is nowhere he gave a kobo to any church or pastor. We also understand the frustration of Obi's opponents who lack the physical and mental strength to go round seeking God's face in his project and have chosen the easy way, which is blackmail and slander," the statement said.
The Media Office pointed out that Obi has said repeatedly that he should not be voted for because he is a Christian or Igbo but because he is coming to the table with solutions to the problems facing the country.
According to the statement, Obi's antecedents, backed by an unimpeachable character of high moral standing, competence, and capacity make him a natural fit for the job of being Nigeria's president.
"While Obi is making frantic efforts to market himself to the Nigerian people with issue-driven campaigns, his detractors are busy trying hard to tag him as a candidate of one faith. But the plain and irreducible truth is that Obi's candidacy cuts across every divide", the statement said.
The Obi-Datti media team said Obi has refrained from joining issues with those who malign him because he sees these variables as instruments used in the past to deceive and misrule Nigerians.
"Our candidate cannot be distracted by these agents no matter the provocation since to do so is to fall into the trap of his competitors who have nothing to sell in the country's political markets and have thus chosen to distract and divert attention. Obi's message of taking Nigeria from consumption to production has resonated with millions of Nigerians who have risen in unison to reject the reactionary politics of the past and have opted for a more pragmatic approach to governance, which Obi represents.
"We believe that those struggling to tar Obi with the sectional brush will fail because as conveyors of falsehood in the past, the people will not trust them. For us here and to many, Obi is a solution provider, representing a brighter tomorrow, hence the admiration of the youth and other sections of the Nigerian populace.
"Obi has antecedents, which show that he can be trusted and we urge discerning minds to disregard the mischief makers and agents of a decaying order bent on holding Nigerians down in perpetual servitude," the statement said.
