The presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd), on Monday
said if elected on February 14, he would ban the
importation of basic items like rice and tomato in order to
enhance local production of the products.
He also said his administration would focus on agriculture,
mining, infrastructure and job provision at the top of its
economic agenda.
Buhari, who gave a summary of how he intended to revive
the economy in a meeting with the Organised Private
Sector in Lagos, said his government would place
emphasis on three key issues of security, tackling
corruption and reviving the ailing economy.
The meeting, which had all the key members of the APC in
attendance, was hosted by the Lagos State Governor, Mr.
Babatunde Fashola.
“How can Nigeria be importing virtually everything? How
can we be importing even tomatoes? If I am elected, basic
items like rice and tomatoes, which we have the capacity
to produce, will be banned from being imported,” Buhari
said.
The APC presidential candidate said his commitment to the
Nigerian people would be governed by the highest
consideration for how his policies would create jobs.
He also said he would focus on the provision of
infrastructure such as power and roads.
Buhari, who said he agreed with the current administration
on the privatisation of the power utilities, however, said
there would be a need to also privatise the transmission
segment.
According to him, the privatisation of the power sector has
yet to achieve the desired result because after the handing
over of the assets to private investors, the hard work to
connect the various parts of the power chain, supply gas,
install transformers and complete substations has not
been done.
He added, “Our studies show that we will require no less
than 200,000 trained personnel to support the initiative to
provide power and light up Nigeria.
“Apart from the inherent direct employment that this will
give, the reduction in the cost of production, the savings
from self-generation by Nigerians, who currently spend a
lot of their income on purchase of diesel and petrol to
generate their own electricity, will reduce the burden on
their disposable income.”
An existing plan to build a refinery in Lagos will be
supported by the Federal Government, according to Buhari.
Another area of infrastructure investment that will receive
attention, according to him, is road and highway
construction from one end of the country to the other.
He said his administration would concentrate on roads and
highways that linked the states, while state governments
would be expected to connect their respective areas to the
highways.
Buhari said, “Road construction alone will unlock value
chain of opportunities for construction companies,
builders, engineers, architects, quarry operators, cement
and iron rod producers and suppliers.
“The successful opening up of Nigeria by the construction
of new roads and highways will revive road transport, truck
manufacture, tyre manufacture as well as engine oil and
brake pad production on one hand. It will also create a
demand for job for mechanics, drivers and those engaged
in transport support businesses.
“We expect a revival of all the interstate economies to
thrive across Nigeria, providing support to travellers by way
of canteens, restaurants, farm produce etc.”
He, however, said because corruption was affecting the
performance of the economy, he would tackle it headlong if
elected into office.
According to him, the alleged $20bn missing crude oil
proceeds, which was estimated to be equal to about
N4.2tn, were nearly a year’s budget.
He said with N5m per vehicle, the amount could provide
840,000 patrol vehicles to help improve on the security of
towns and villages across the country.
The APC presidential candidate also noted that the amount
could provide 311,000 buses that could revolutionise the
transport sector of the economy.
He said, “If the average cost of generating one megawatt
of power is about $1.5m (excluding gas and distribution
costs), $20bn would have brought us over 13,333MW of
power. What a difference that will make in the country!
