A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and
Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, on Sunday took a swipe
at the proposed economic plan of the presidential candidate of the opposition
Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, saying it would further bring
hardship on the masses.
A worried Okechukwu warned that the PDP presidential
candidate was subtly striving to reintroduce an economic blueprint that is
reminiscent of the unforgettable ‘Structural Adjustment Programme’ that brought
about austerity measures in the country.
SAP was a set of economic reforms introduced in Nigeria by
then-military President Ibrahim Babangida to secure a loan from the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1986.
The development is coming five days after Atiku vowed to
resuscitate Nigeria’s ailing economy by launching a $10 billion Economic
Stimulus Fund within his first 100 days in office once elected.
The former vice president made the statement at the “Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Presidential Economic Agenda Forum for the
PDP” in Lagos.
Atiku said the fund would prioritise support to micro, small
and medium-scale enterprises that offer the greatest opportunity for inclusive
economic growth.
The PDP presidential flagbearer, who laid out his economic
plan to salvage the country’s economic fortunes, said he would rather privatise
Nigeria’s dilapidated refineries rather than spend $1.55 billion on their
revitalisation.
Reacting to his glowing pitch on Sunday, Okechukwu noted
that he found it odd for a man who could not unite his party to be talking
about measures he believed can revamp the economic fortunes of the country.
The VON managing director made the clarification is a
statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
He said, “I watched with rapt attention, but in deep regrets
that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Economic Plan is more or less like
the nebulous economic policy of Structural Adjustment Programme’s Pocketbook of
1986.
“The former Vice President harped profoundly on
privatisation of State Owned Enterprises as the fulcrum of his economic
revitalization programme, akin to SAP proponents of yore.
“Whereas, one is not
against private sector partnership; however what we have in surplus are
rent-seekers and scanty industrialists. Therefore, I am not surprised that a
man who breached PDP’s constitution and by extension failed to unite his party
did not bother to do the needful assessment which posits that 80 per cent of
State Owned Enterprises privatised under his chairmanship of National Council
of Privatisation and indeed the 16 years of PDP leadership went into comatose.”
Okechukwu further explained that when it came to power in
1999, the PDP with Atiku as Chairman of National Council on Privatisation
dusted up the SAP pocketbook and stripped our national assets including
profitable companies like NICON Insurance, NICON Hilton Hotel, Niger Dock and unprofitable
companies like Distribution Electricity Distribution Companies.
“For instance, Niger Dock a profitable pre-privatisation
company has 6,000 staff under Nnamdi Ozobia, today it has gone under with less
than 600 staff and the N1.72 billion proceeds allegedly missing.
“Secondly, NICON one of Africa’s leading Insurers originally
owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria was privatised in December, 2005.
With an asset base of N46.9bn gathered over a 52-year period of operation, 30
branches and six regional offices, it is therefore modest to classify NICON as
a colossus in the insurance industry, but has regrettably gone under AMCON life
support management.
“I make bold to say that what Atiku is proposing is by no
means different from SAP policy thrust neither is his proposal on NNPC Ltd
better than the giant steps that President Muhammadu Buhari has taken towards
commercialism of NNPC.
“If you ask me, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar should first
unite his party, and drop Senator Iyorchia Ayu who incidentally has crowned him
Nigeria’s Odinga,” he said.
Defending his boss, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, noted that
much as he wouldn’t like to join issues with Okechukwu, he wanted Nigerians to
understand that Atiku’s proposed policies are well thought-out.
According to him, Nigeria needs fixing at a critical period
when the masses are already losing hope.
“Where are we in Nigeria today? Total energy crisis, no
money and even the FG is broke. We are owing globally with interests and still
borrowing money. Atiku’s blueprint is an opportunity. What has the APC done in
the last seven years? He is paying staff salaries of NNPC that have not refined
one litre of crude oil for years. So what are we talking about?
“We need to be innovative. That’s what leadership is all
about. What are the opportunities available to us as a country now? See how the
energy sector has suffered on the issue of repairs and our refineries have
become moribund. So why not bring in new people whose job it is to create
businesses? These people just want Nigerians to continue to suffer,” he
lamented.
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