The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has revealed that he would recruit more than half a million policemen and an equal number of other security personnel for the armed forces if he succeeds in becoming the next president of the country.
This drive, in addition to the provision of equipment and training to the police and armed forces, according to Atiku, is intended not only to provide more boots on the ground to arrest insecurity in parts of the country, but also to assist in creating more jobs that would stimulate economic growth.
The former Vice President told members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) at an interactive session in Lagos on Wednesday, that these were part of his five-point agenda if he is elected as President next year.
According to him, the second agenda of his administration would focus on resuscitating the moribund economy of the nation. “Basically, I intend to continue with the economic policies we ran from 1999-2007,” he said, stressing that this would entail liberalization of the economy through the promotion of the private sector.
He explained that, in this regard, building of ports, highways and railways are capital intensive projects “which government does not have the humongous resources to execute.”
“I would rather give tax breaks to the private sector to carry on with these works,” Atiku said.
On unification of the country, the candidate said he would replicate what the Obasanjo administration, in which he was the second in command, did. “The PDP will form a government of national unity again…and move on from there,” he assured, pointing out that the mistake of lopsided appointments by the incumbent administration won’t happen under his watch. “I won’t do that. I will give each zone representation,” he assured.
Turning to the intra-party crises rocking the PDP, Atiku said “talks are going on. I believe we are going to reconcile. It is a family issue that will be reconciled,” he emphasized.
He also reiterated that more women will be appointed into political positions in his government in the spirit of the party’s track record along that line when it was in office.
He re-emphasized his position on the restructuring of the country, saying he already have a draft bill on the issue that he would send to the National Assembly upon his election. “Devolution of power must go hand in hand with resource control. You will have a measure of resource control in PDP restructuring efforts,” he indicated.
In his vote of thanks, the Director General of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization (APCO), Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, gave kudos to the NGE and Nigerian journalists, in their doggedness in fighting to ensure that democracy was entrenched and thrives in the country.
“We appreciate your support to the development of democracy and democratic culture. This, wouldn’t have happened without the media,” he said, urging that the campaign organization “would like to see more balanced reporting as the campaign continues.
He said Atiku “is ready to hit the ground running,” if elected, as he has hands-on capabilities to deliver good leadership, being a key player in the private sector with intellectual ability.
The President of the NGE, Mustapha Isa, the body initiated the interactive session to interrogate the political process, noting that: “the forum is designed to appraise candidates, their policies and programs ahead of the election.
He added that the Guild intends to benchmark the impact of the candidates delivery of governance to the common man and their solutions to the challenges confronting youths and women.
