Isaac Shobayo
The presidential candidate of the Accord Party (AP), Professor Imumolen Irene Christopher, has promised to block all leakages in the governance militating against the growth and development of Nigeria.
Professor Christopher stated this at a presidential parley organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State.
According to him, Nigeria has all it takes to be a great nation but is weighed down by corrupt practices in virtually all sectors of the economy, adding that transparency and accountability are necessary for the growth of any nation.
The presidential candidate said if elected president of Nigeria, sectors of the economy such as power, education, industrialization, oil and gas, and other critical sectors will be given adequate attention, adding that the bane of these sectors is corruption.
According to him, all the leakages that have become a drain pipe for the economy will be blocked, and the Accord Party will equally ensure that all revenues are adequately collected and committed to the appropriate quarters.
“There is no need for borrowing if we could manage our resources and channel them towards appropriate quarters.” If elected, our government will promote transparency and ensure that all revenue collected is not siphoned off but instead remitted to the government. There is so much that we can do with our population; this should be our source of strength, not a barrier to our growth as a nation. There must be transparency; every system must be vented and checked to allow for transparency.
“Nigeria has so many untapped mineral resources; unfortunately, there is no government control over these resources.” Unfortunately, these mineral resources are in the hands of bandits and other undesirable elements. There are people in Nigeria who are bigger than Nigeria and are reaping from the sweat of Nigerians; we must begin to neutralize this and ensure that Nigerians earn the wealth of Nigeria.
“Nigeria is wealthy, but our wealth lies in the pockets of corrupt leaders; therefore, we must run a system that would strengthen our institution.” “You cannot develop a nation if you don’t invest in your people; there would be a high level of unemployment,” he said.
The presidential candidate who said the power sector needed to be liberalized for efficient performance mentioned that Nigeria remains the only country in West Africa still struggling with 24-hour power generation, especially in the cities, and added that it will be difficult to run a 24-hour economy when there is no 24-hour power supply.
On petroleum subsidies, Professor Christopher said the problem with subsidies is corruption, as new refineries in the country are deliberately shut down while the government creates a lazy system to enrich some people.
He said, “The license for modular refineries should be brought down.” The best way to offset this subsidy is to refine our crude ourselves, but most of our refineries are intentionally shut down. We have created a lazy system to enrich some people, and we must begin to stabilize the system. People should be able to get licenses to set up modular refineries for just N10 million. Even we can meet up our target even with smaller refineries”.
Professor Christopher, who argued that the distribution of intervention must not be done along party lines, further pointed out that if elected, his government will govern without sentiment or bias, adding that every Nigerian will be treated as a Nigerian, irrespective of party affiliation.
“We must discuss Nigeria and be ready to carry everybody along; we shall run an all-inclusive government.” We will promote equity and fairness and ensure the equally distributed distribution of resources in this country to douse the tension.
“The insecurity cannot be tackled With human intelligence alone, our party will invest in security. We must improve the welfare of our security personnel, there are sectors you don’t joke with security is one of them. “So we will invest in this.” He promised
In his welcome address, the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Professor Ayo Omotayo, who was represented by the Director of Studies of the Institute, Professor Funmi Para-Mallam, encouraged other presidential candidates to use the platform to reach out to Nigerians on their manifestos.
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