The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was in Lagos on Monday for a scheduled meeting with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The former Vice President confirmed via his Twitter handle that he arrived at the venue of the Summit House at about 10:30 AM on Monday, Naija News reports.
Addressing business heads and elites at the summit, Atiku said if the government makes appropriate economic opportunities available for the people, it will significantly impact their socioeconomic lives.
According to the presidential hopeful, a warm handshake with the private sector is needed for any policy or economic agenda to succeed.
Taking a swipe at the incumbent administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku said the failure of the Muhammadu Buhari administration is staring every Nigerian in the face.
“Capital has taken a flight alongside policy incoherence which continues to cause an impediment to economic growth,” the PDP presidential candidate said.
Atiku furthered that if elected as Nigeria’s next president, his government would support the private sector to drive growth.
“We have done it before, and you know we can do it again,” Atiku boasts.
He added: “We will create a strong partnership with the private sector to create jobs, grow our infrastructure and fight poverty. Our government will tackle the deficit in infrastructure financing and fast-track infrastructure development in the country.
“We will review government procurement processes to ensure value for money.
“No one should downplay the enormity of the task ahead. I have a good knowledge of the challenges facing Nigeria. I will come prepared and experienced.
“It will be dangerous for Nigeria to relinquish their future to a greenhorn or the national leader of the same party that brought us to this very sorry situation,” the presidential hopeful said.
He added: “I’m sure you still remember the good old days of rapid economic growth with stable interest and exchange rates, low inflation, low unemployment rates and low poverty headcount. We paid off nearly all of our foreign debt which was crippling the country.
“As head of the economic management team while I was Vice President, I was instrumental in designing a private sector revival strategy and advocated for the opening of the economy for private sector investments in several sectors. And we made tremendous progress.”
