Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar is too impatient to see in his lifetime, the kind of economic and social development capable of drastically cutting the prevalence of poverty in Africa’s most populous nation.
Speaking at a meeting with business leaders in Lagos Wednesday, Atiku said “when as I do regularly, I go around to campaigns and see these unemployed youths, I am scared. It is a time bomb waiting to explode and the work to resolve this crisis must be done speedily.
“I am too impatient to see development in my lifetime that is capable of resolving Nigeria’s poverty quagmire” the candidate told leaders of the private sector.
Atiku said the microfinance bank which he set up has so far taken out 45,000 families out of poverty and that the bank has clear instructions to give 80% of its credit to women. According to him, the operations of the bank have been successful especially its loan recovery rate is at a healthy 98%.
Atiku along with his running Peter Obi were subjected to questions from the audience and from a team led by the consultant and columnist for BusinessDay Opeyemi Agbaje. He said he will not appoint himself petroleum minister if elected into office but he vowed to vigorously push the privatization of NNPC and a number of other government assets which have been sub optimal in their performance over years.
According to the PDP presidential candidate, “the job of making Nigeria work again is not rocket science. I have done it before.”
He said he would not appoint to his government any one without the requisite skill to do the job, adding, “I do not have as many relations as the current president. I am the only child and you will not find my relations taking jobs in my administration to the detriment of competent Nigerians.”
The candidate attracted wild applause when he said he will never appoint some one he cannot learnt something from.
Atiku said the national health insurance scheme which was established while he was vice president had failed totally because of corruption and vowed that he will out source the management of the NHIS to the private sector because of the inherent benefits of such an action.
He also responded to questions on what he will do to restructure the country. First he said his administration will convene an urgent meeting with state governors and the national assembly at which he will offer to relinquish all items on the concurrent list of the constitution to the states along with the fiscal provision if the governors have no objection and then begin negotiation over the items on the exclusive list.
Mr Obi in one of the several interventions made said the administration of Atiku Abubakar will prioritize support for the nation’s 37m small and medium size businesses and seek to broaden access to credit for them as a major plank of its job creation strategy.
By our Reporter
