Robert Awokuse
Presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and former minister of education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has condemned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for dragging the country into its present deplorable state, saying that both parties are not sensitive to the plight of the people.
Ezekwesili made this remark on Monday while speaking at a stakeholder’s meeting with party members and market leaders at Yaba area of Lagos.
The ACPN presidential candidate, who lamented that Nigeria was now known as world’s poverty capital, said her government would operate an economy driven by the private sector, adding that an enabling environment for investors to establish would be provided.
Ezekwesili said she would run an all-inclusive government if voted as next president of Nigeria, even as she warned that issues of poverty if not taken seriously could lead to destabilisation of the country.
“Today, we are known as the world capital of poverty, we overtook India, a country that is seven times our population by having 87 million Nigerians living in poverty.
“According to the analysis that produced that result, the number could grow and double as our populations grow and double. One thing that we know in the world of development is that poverty could destabilise any country, even if the world of development did not tell us that theoretically, we could see from what happened in the regions where there is prolific poverty,” she said.
Speaking further, she inquired: “How many of you will want to see the replay of the Northeast in the rest of the regions in our country?” declaring “poverty is a destabilizer therefore we must tackle it with every sense of urgency.”
She said her position accounted for the reason why poverty eradication was the flagship programme of her party, promising that once elected president, the menace would be tackled headlong.
“That is why eradication of poverty is the flagship program of our party. When we are elected into office we will tackle poverty. We will build a prosperous economy,” she assured.
Ezekwesili, who after the stakeholders’ meeting visited Tejuoso Market to sell her party’s programmes to traders and artisans, reiterated her resolve to the market community to operate private sector-driven economy.
“When you have an economy that the private sector is operating, there will be jobs,” she said.
“We always say that the fastest way to take people out of poverty is to give them jobs. When you have an economy driven by private sector, many opportunities for jobs will be provided. And when the people who have these jobs are operating at higher productivity level, their income will increase and as their income increases they are lifting themselves out of poverty.
“But more importantly is the need to provide the enabling environment for investors to come and establish. And investors will come if we make our environment conducive for doing business. The investors will establish and they will need workers and we will supply them the worker and they will pay them.”
Speaking further, Ezekwesili said the ACPN was on a rescue mission to deliver the country from backwardness and underdevelopment, adding: “I am not running to be president, am running to lead the citizens’ movement that will rescue our country for all of us.”
“Clearly, our country has had presidents but what our country is in need of now, is rescue and the rescue cannot be done by one or two people, it cannot be done by one strong person who has the idea, it has to be a collective effort of both the governed and those that want to govern, this set of people must come together in a place of agreement, resolute,” she stated.
