By Christiana Ekpa
All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Tuesday assured Nigerians and stakeholders of the party from South-South region that he would lead Nigeria to build back better and stronger even in difficult time if elected next President.
Tinubu made this declaration in Calabar at a TownHall meeting with party stakeholders on national transformation and industrialisation at the Cultural Centre, Calabar.
Drawing parallel from the experience of the United States during its civil war, Tinubu charged Nigerians and party members to focus on what the country can accomplish.
He said: “We can build in the middle of difficulty, the US was fighting the civil war and still building rail track. We should focus on the things that we can accomplish. We have a lot – there is the waterfront here, we have minerals here, we have arable land, we must conquer hunger, we cannot allow hunger conquer us.”
Speaking further at the well-attended event that had the Vice-Presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, Governor Ben Ayade, Director-General of the campaign council and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, Deputy Director-General and former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, Senator Victor Idoma Egba, former Governor Godswill Akpabio, former Petroleum Minister Don Etiebet, Minister of State Power, Jeddy Agba, and Minister of State Labour, Festus Keyamo, Tinubu pointed out that for the nation to experience economic recovery, less focus should be placed on crude oil while harnessing other areas.
Others at the event were former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Chairman of TeTFUND, former Speaker of House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, APC National Woman Leader, Beta Edu and other party chieftains.
The APC candidate promised to work towards industrialisation while also focusing on the production of goods and services across the country.
“My campaign is built on the firm conviction that our greatest good and best deeds still lie in front of us and not in our past.
“The industrialisation of our economy represents a most vital step towards achieving the Nigeria of our dreams.
“From its very beginnings, our nation’s economy was established on an incomplete foundation. It was built to rely too heavily on oil exports. This means we have always experienced a large gap in the national economic structure. Greater industrialisation shall fill this gap through the production of more and better goods which improve our standard of living while creating better jobs, providing workers with a living wage and establishing businesses that will drive this economy for generations to come.
“Because of this gap in our economic structure and the resultant lack of economic activity, Nigeria has experienced unacceptably high rates of unemployment for several decades. The problems this causes for our society are not limited to simply slowing our economic progress. This gap has affected our nation in profound ways, straining the social fabric in ways that no nation wishes for. Now is the time to repair these fissures our country should never have had to experience,” Tinubu said.
“Our industrial policy will prioritise strategic industries vital to the development of our national economy. We will grow the nation’s industrial base to provide decent jobs and improving wages to our nation’s ever increasing urban population.”
Speaking on how they can better achieve this, Tinubu said primary and secondary industrial hubs would be created across each geopolitical zone in the country.
He also promised to bring Cross River into the industrialisation plan through the state’s resources.
