How I’ll create wealth for Nigerians through SMEs, privatisation of NNPC ― Atiku

THE presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has restated his commitment to creating wealth for women and youths, through the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) and further execute the empowerment of corporate organisation through a privatisation agenda.

Atiku said this on Wednesday, speaking at the Lagos Island Club Quarterly Business Lecture, a programme which was well attended by eminent Nigerians including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to organisers, “the event followed the need for urgent solutions to the loss of jobs in the economy,” recalling that “by last 2018, 20.9 million people had lost their jobs in Nigeria.”

Also in attendance at the programme the campaign Director General (DG) of the PDP presidential campaign; Dr Bukola Saraki, and the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, among others.

At the well attended programme, Atiku attending to the question of a curious Nigerian raising curiosity about SMEs and how the speaker, Atiku, hopes to get Nigeria working again through SMEs, create jobs and annihilate poverty through SMEs, for women and youths, recalled that he owns a micro-finance bank which had helped to bring out 46,000 families from poverty in Adamawa State alone.

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Atiku on the power of SMEs and how it has turned the fortunes of women in the region stated that “80 per cent of loans should go to women. We have moved 45,000 families out of poverty in my area. With small loans, N200,000, and we have a 98 per cent recovery rate.”

He said, “We will assist the SMEs to grow bigger and to be more productive. As we all know, small businesses offer the greatest opportunities for achieving inclusive, pro-poor growth, through increased self-employment,” adding that the PDP Vice Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had always hammered on the use of SMEs to lift people out of poverty and drive the economy, just in the same way China did.

On privatisation, when asked for the breakdown of his plans on privatisation. Atiku mentioned the numerous misappropriation going on in the organisation, as he criticised the unilateral awarding of $25bn contract by the NNPC GMD, recalling that the NNPC head in 2017, gave a contract of $25bn, without going through due process, upon which he reiterated that if the organisation is privatised, this will not be the case, since the organisation would be profit-oriented and efficient.

“We will liberalise the economic space and privatise all ailing enterprises. In particular, the Atiku plan will undertake deregulation of the downstream sector of the economy, review the petroleum industrial bill and privatise all four state refineries that operate at only 10 per cent of their installed capacities. We shall channel the proceeds from the privatisation into a special fund for the development of education and health for Nigeria people,” Atiku said.

He said the version of privatisation that the Atiku plan would entertain, is one that allows for sales of NNPC shares to Nigerians, on the Nigeria stock exchange, so that Nigerians can benefit when the company is resuscitated.