The vice-presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso cannot claim to be strange to PDP.
Okowa said this on Sunday at a Town Hall Meeting series organised for presidential candidates by CDD in collaboration with Arise Television.
Okowa was reacting to criticisms of the PDP by Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party.
He said Obi had paid glowing tributes to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, in 2019 while he was his running mate.
“I’m aware that the PDP is very strong in the six geo-political zones and strong in all states.That’s a statement of fact and we are busy campaigning to Nigerians based on our manifesto and the credibility of the persons who are on the ticket of the party,” he said
“Secondly, the last time I checked, in 2019, I’m sure Peter Obi was the vice-presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar and he paid a lot of tributes to Atiku Abubakar and the last time I checked, up till May 24, 2022, he was still an aspirant under the PDP.
“So, he cannot claim to be strange to the PDP or to the party. It is wrong to present that kind of situation to Nigerians.
“As for my brother here,Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, the last time I checked you were part of PDP and very active in all the decisions of the party and I think it is important to address issues the way they are.”
The PDP vice-presidential candidate said the party would run a pan-Nigeria government, which was the only antidote to address insecurity in Nigeria.
READ ALSO:
- Sad! Three Die On Lagos-Ibadan Road; Says FRSC
- Alleged Half Salaries: Gbajabiamila Urges ASUU To Remain Calm; Says Buhari Will Intervene Soon
- Hushpuppi: Notorious Nigerian Fraudster Jailed for 11 years in US
On subsidy, he said it was a scam, explaining that it was impossible for Nigeria to consume 60 million barrels of fuel, let alone 90 barrel.
To address the scam, he called for quick completion of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos and the introduction of the operations of modular refineries in the country
Okowa described crude oil theft as organised crime, which must be addressed through the use of technology and oil surveillance equipment.
He equally advocated a production economy as against consumption economy, explaining that it was the only away to tackle the effect of dollar on the naira, stressing that it was alarming that the official dollar rate would be N430, whereas the parallel market rate would be above N800.
“An Atiku/Okowa presidency will improve the export economy and less on import,” he said.
On corruption, Okowa, who queried some politicians over their funding choices, including those that fly private jets, urged politicians to keep to their promises and ensure that the electoral processes were correct and the judiciary was perfect and the court perform within the rule of law and transparently, saying, with these, corruption and electoral malpractices would be tackled.
He said it was unfortunate that Nigeria depended on oil, but insisted that solutions to all these was documented in their manifesto, which would increase an export-based country
According to him, the Atiku/Okowa would ensure the 35 percent implementation of gender rights for women., believing that with the right system, Nigeria would rise again.
“On the issue of IPOB, it’s something that we need to look into. What we’re seeing there is that we have to be able to separate genuine agitation from criminal elements.
“I believe that the right process to do this will be to sit down with them and have true dialogue on the pathway out. And I believe that we can record this feat. It’s a question of trust. It’s a question of inclusion and governance. It’s a question of inclusion in diversity.
“When people are reassured that they are part of a nation and that they will be recognised, something right will be done. But for the criminal elements, they need to be dealt with by the law. For those genuine agitation, we cannot suppress them,” he declared.
According to the PDP presidential candidate, if elected, Nigerians of all tribes will be brought under one umbrella and offered a sense of belonging, so that there will be no need for any part to want to leave.
“What we ought to do is to sit with them on the table and make them realise that there’s a government that recognises them and those things they seek. If Nigeria is working for everybody, no one will want out of Nigeria, because we are stronger together, no doubt about that.
“But because in the last few years, some sections of the country are feeling that they have been excluded from government, some things have happened, and these things have to be corrected.
“We need to run an all-inclusive government where everybody is recognised even when they feel anger. We need to sit on the table and get them to really have a dialogue with us and we will convince them that that there is hope for all. We need to run an all-inclusive government”, he pledged.
“On the issue of power, it is a part of infrastructure. Where we are today is not good enough. The laws have tended to hold us back. The fact is, we need to ensure that the private sector is heavily involved, from generation to distribution to transmission .
“And we must liberalise that sector to the extent that captive power must play a very important role. We cannot all depend on the national grid. It’s not possible. A lot of the private sector want to put their money in that industry. And we’ll find that within a short time. We’ll be generating a lot of power.
“We are promising this nation that we are looking forward to 25,000 megawatts generation by the year 2030. The private sector has to lead the way but we will provide the enabling environment for us to get there. But we must also do something about that transmission lines, because that one is breaking continuously,” he noted.
On the energy crisis facing the country, he said,“We must liberalise the energy sector. All communities must not be on the national greed and the enabling environment must be created,” insisting that Atiku had the requisite experience to be president, because he had been vice-president for eight years.