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…Our candidate will restore nation’s economy, says Okowa
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… PDP has solutions to Nigeria’s problems by Ayu
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has assured that every part of the country would be accommodated and given sense of belonging under his administration, if elected President in the next year’s general election.
Atiku, who gave the assurance on Saturday while addressing the PDP presidential campaign rally in Benin, the Edo State capital, pointed out that as a unifier, he would ensure that nobody is excluded by his government come 2023.
Atiku’s Vice Presidential candidate and Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa pointedly declared that the PDP presidential candidate, without any doubt, has the capacity to restore the nation’s economy and make sure that jobs are created for the teeming youths in the country.
Okowa stressed further that Atiku
understands that all the States in the country need more money and more power and has thus promised to do that and extend same to the local government areas.
In the words of Atiku, “We are going to give each and every part of this country a sense of belonging. You will not be excluded in anything.
“That is why we are being referred to as unifiers of our great nation.
“We promise to restore security.
Whatever it is going to take us to do it, we are going to restore security in this country so that you can travel day and night, so that you can go to your farms, so that you can go to anywhere secured.
“We will put more policemen on the streets. We will equip them; we will fortify them and since we have promised to devolve more powers to the states and local governments, you can also have your own local police. We shall make sure your local police don’t harass you.
“We will send back all our eligible children to school. They must go to school; every child must go to school.
“If you remember, during the PDP years, we established compulsory primary school education from primary to secondary school and we are tasking Nigerians to educate these children. But this government is not keeping to that promise.
“We promise you; every child must go to school and our universities will not go on strike, we promise you that one by the grace of God.
“Again, we promise to revive the economy of this country. We will make sure that our industries, our factories, resume production in this country.
“We will make sure that there are enough jobs for our youths who are passing out from the schools.
“This is what we mean by reviving the economy. We will work together with the private sector to make sure that industries, factories particularly here in Edo, resume operations so that there will be enough jobs for you”, he said.
The Vice Presidential candidate, Okowa, on his part, said, “The PDP government knows how to run the economy that it would be good for our youths, women and all Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, since the APC came, it has been hunger, poverty, our people are deing, unhappy.
“We have brought a man who we know will be able to restore our economy, make sure there are more jobs and the youths will get employment.
“He understands that the state needs more money, more power, and he has promised us that he is going to give more powers, more resources to the state, to the local government.
“That is what we need to develop our state, he is the only presidential candidate who is ready to do it and has been talking about it, the South South and the Niger Delta believe in him and I want to plead that our youths here should start convincing all others that the new Nigeria that will create hope is when Atiku Abubakar becomes the President”, he stated.
The National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, while saying that the PDP knows what the problems of the country are, declared, “Your problem is bad governance by that party. There is hunger in the land, you don’t need to tell anybody.
“There is the insecurity in the land. You can’t sleep in your house, everything about Nigeria is going down. There is disunity everywhere because of bad policies.
“My brothers and sisters in Edo state, the Peoples Democratic Party is presenting you, two in one. Two outstanding people who are experienced, who know what to do, who have done it before, and who will do it again.
“The first one is my brother and friend, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He will be ably assisted by a performing governor and you know very well”, Ayu said
