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Tinubu Unveils Agenda – To Decentralise Police, Create Jobs, Ensure 12% GDP Growth !!!!
TINUBU’S ROADMAP TO NIGERIAN GREATNESS
a) 25% annual budget for education
b) 10% annual budget for health
c) Decentralisation of police
d) Introduction of commodity exchange
e) Total deregulation of oil market and building if national storage to sustain supply
f) Stimulation of production and manufacturing for export
g) Target of 15,000MW generation and distribution of electricity
Frontline Presidential aspirant and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has shared his manifesto for the transformation of Nigeria if elected president of the country.
The APC presidential aspirant, according to a press statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Communication, said his team will lead Nigeria to a new era of economic prosperity, peace, security, and political stability.
Tinubu, the Governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, presented his vision within five thematic areas.
He promised to improve security by decentralizing the policing of the country and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs simultaneously.
He promised to transform Nigeria into an enviable country and one where there will be justice, peace and prosperity for all, with a “robust economy”.
Titled ‘My Vision for Nigeria’, Tinubu promised in the document, “a nation transformed into greatness, the pride of Africa, a role model for all black people worldwide, and respected among all other countries.
“A vibrant and thriving democracy and a prosperous nation with a fast-growing industrial base, capable of producing the most basic needs of the people and exporting to other countries of the world.
“A country with a robust economy, where prosperity is broadly shared by all irrespective of class, region, and religion.
“A nation where its people enjoy all the basic needs, including a safe and secure environment, abundant food, affordable shelter, health care, and quality primary education for all.
“A nation founded on justice, peace, and prosperity for all.”
On the economy, Tinubu promised to build an economy that will make the nation’s Gross Development Product grow quicker annually for the next four years while also providing jobs for millions of youths in the country.
He also promised to launch a new National Industrial Policy focused on special intervention to reinvigorate specific strategic industries.
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“I will focus on stimulating jobs, which will be my top priority as President. I will get Nigeria to work by launching a major public works program, a significant and heavy investment in infrastructure, and value-adding manufacturing and agriculture.
“My administration will build an efficient, fast-growing, and well-diversified emerging economy with a real GDP growth averaging 12% annually for the next four years, translating into millions of new jobs during this period,” he said.
Tinubu also promised to create six new Regional Economic Development Agencies which will establish sub-regional industrial hubs to exploit each zone’s competitive advantage and optimise their potential for industrial growth.
The presidential aspirant also promised to formulate a new National Policy on Agriculture to boost food production.
He promised to promote the establishment of new commodity exchange boards, while also strengthening the one in Lagos in order to guarantee minimum pricing for agricultural products such as cotton, cocoa, rice, soya beans, corn, palm kernel, and groundnuts.
On infrastructure, Tinubu promised to “Build A New Nigeria (BANN)” by developing a National Infrastructure Plan, which will cover strategic roads, bridges, rail, water, power, seaports, and airports spanning the length and breadth of the country.
He said his administration will combine government funding, borrowing, public-private partnership, private sector financing, and concession to initiate a medium and long-term financial model for the BANN initiative.
Tinubu further stated that his administration will target an electricity distribution goal of 15,000 megawatts across the country and ensure a sustainable 24/7 supply.
“On Electricity, I will embark on a renewed action-oriented focus and take immediate and urgent action on resolving existing challenges of power generation plants, gas purchasing, pricing, transmission, and distribution. My administration’s critical goal is to have 15,000 megawatts distributable to all categories of consumers nationwide to ensure 24/7 sustainable supply within the next four years,” he added.
In the oil and gas sector, Tinubu said there will be no need for a subsidy because the market will be open and transparent.
“Supply will come from local refineries, and the forces of demand and supply will determine the price of petroleum products”.
My administration will establish a National Strategic Reserve for Petroleum Products to stabilize supply during unexpected shortages or surplus periods. This will eliminate any form of product shortages and prevent wild swings in prices.
Tinubu also spoke about his administration’s promise in the area of education, promising to increase the spending on education to 25 per cent of the nation’s budget.
He promised to continue the free school feeding programme of the APC, feeding “millions of primary school children across the country”.
In tertiary education, Tinubu said his administration eradicates strikes by tertiary institution workers by encouraging the tertiary institutions to source funds through grants and corporate sponsorships, with all the institutions granted financial autonomy.
Just like education, Tinubu also promised to increase the funding for health care in the annual budget to 10 per cent. According to him, the National Health Insurance Scheme will be relaunched to grant health insurance cover to most Nigerians.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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