Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has given an inkling of things to come under his presidency were to get elected come 2019.
Prominent among his plans is partial privatisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is meant to unleash the full potential of the state-owned giant by cutting out bureaucratic bottlenecks.
The former vice-president also plans to sell all four national refineries, and cut corporate income tax to be one of the lowest in Africa.
The document further reveals the plan of the Atiku Abubakar as a president to create three million jobs per year.
The policy document was put together with a major delivery timeline of 2019 to 2025.
Atiku also plans to raise Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) by almost 90 percent to $900 billion by 2025.
“The State’s critical policy priority is to build a broadbased, dynamic and competitive economy with a GDP of US$900 billion by 2025,” the policy document read.
The former customs boss also proposes to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) to 2.5 percent of GDP.
“Working towards achieving the LOWEST corporate income tax rate in Africa; Strengthening the credit guarantee initiatives of Infra-Credit by substantially increasing its capital base; Lower transaction costs: capital
gains taxes etc.”
Other items on Atiku’s plan include, building 5,000 kilometres of roads, and 5,000 kilometres of modern railway.
The plan is built on four cardinal points: jobs, infrastructure, poverty eradication, and human capital development.
The Atiku policy document also seeks to “improve spending efficiency of the federal government and drastically reduce the share of recurrent revenue in the budget from 70% to 35% by 2025”.
Atiku also seeks to implement the petroleum industry bill, ensure Nigeria refines over one million barrels of oil per day, and generate 20,000 megawatts of power by 2025.
The former vice president also seeks to lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty, by 2025.
“Poverty does not simply have one solution; rather it requires the concerted application of many solutions,” Atiku said.
“Nigeria has vast natural resources, but our challenge remains harnessing these resources for the greatest good”.
Atiku noted that the refineries had struggled to produce at 10 per cent of installed capacity.
He described Nigeria as the most inefficient member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in terms of both the percentage of installed refining capacity that worked and the percentage of crude refined.
He said, “We shall prioritise investment in nameplate capacity and ensure that Nigeria starts to refine 50 per cent of its current crude oil output of two million barrels per day by 2025.
“We shall privatise all four outstanding government-owned refineries to competent off-takers with mandates to produce agreed levels of refined output.
“We shall issue new licences for Greenfield investment in crude oil refining and allied activities,” adding, “We shall introduce market-friendly fiscal and pricing policies.”
Atiku said the objectives of the policy were, among others, to create one million new jobs within 10 years via petrochemicals and petrochemicals-based activities, as well as to build enabling infrastructure to add value to the economy via the development of petrochemical facilities.
The PDP candidate also promised to reconsider the introduction of the marginal fields’ bid round and oil blocks’ bid round as well as the building of modular refineries in the northern parts of the country.
We would deploy modern technology in pipeline surveillance and other security enhancements as well as intensify engagement with local communities in the oil production zones, he said.
Promising to embrace restructuring, Atiku said his administration would decongest the exclusive and the concurrent list in the Constitution.
He stated that the Federal Government would retain the role of providing required direction for the economy, defence and national security, internal law and order, currency, international affairs and foreign policy, customs, citizenship and immigration, firearms and related matters.
He added, “Issues bordering on minerals and mines, internal security including police, law and order, railways, communications, transport, environment, land matters etc would be devolved to the concurrent list.
“Local governments shall become an independent tier of government, generating units will be supported in economy management.
“Nigeria’s common resources will be shared equitably in accordance with a new revenue allocation formula to be negotiated across abroad.”
On youths and women empowerment, the PDP candidate promised to break all barriers that prevented women from actualising their potential whether in adolescence or adulthood.
He regretted that while women constituted 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, they were less empowered financially, politically, socially, culturally and economically within and outside the home.
Atiku promised to create a special tribunal for crimes against women.
“We shall encourage states and the private sector to incentivise studies for girls in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“We shall provide microfinance and financing schemes specifically targeted at the youth and women.
“We shall create a special tribunal for crimes against women including domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse, rape.”
