The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has called on Federal Government to declare certain days as holidays with a view to enable eligible Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the country, barely three weeks to the general elections.
The charge was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the strategic meeting of leaderships of CSOs, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and CDC, with the theme: National Social Political Economic Development, Atiku Manifestos: A Case Study, signed by Assistant Director, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for Atiku Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
While presenting Atiku Abubakar’s manifesto to the CSOs and CBOs, Hon. Yusuf who averred that Nigerians voted for President Muhammadu Buhari based on emotion and sentiment, but failed to look at the development apparatus, assured that the PDP Presidential Candidate will deliver on the campaign promises, adding that all the 17 SDGs targets are already encapsulated in the Atiku’s manifesto.
He maintained that the CSOs play a critical role in monitoring government policies, actions and holding the government accountable, as well as checking the excesses of state and political leaders.
To this end, he stressed the need for the CSOs and CBOs to actively participate in politics by mobilising citizens through voter education, pursuing fundamental human rights for fellow Nigerians and the need to vote rightly.
According to him, if the CSOs and CBOs lay back in playing politics, then nonentities will rule the nation.
He also assured that Atiku’s administration would break the government’s monopoly in all infrastructural sectors including refineries, rail transportation and power transmission and give the private sector a larger role in funding and managing the sectors, thus emulating the benefits accrued in the oil & gas and telecoms sectors.
On his part, a frontline member of PDP PCC, Dr Kayode Adaramodu who described the PDP Presidential Candidate as “a prepared President”, averred that: “Our President to be has been a misunderstood politician in Nigeria. When you talk to young people, I was talking to some of them last week, they said no, he will come and sell our stuff. All the younger ones need is knowledge.”
He also assured the CSOs saying: “When our President succeeds in this coming election, this assignment must not be left for him to do all alone.
“The CSOs must rise up to the occasion. I’ve listened to some of you during the introduction, please go and get prepared. I know the government of his Excellency, Atiku Abubakar and the CSOs will be encouraged to contribute to national development. I am close enough to the system to understand this. I am close enough to have helped our Mr President to be and his mindset about the role that individuals particularly the CSOs will play in his government,” he noted.
In a presentation, another PDP PCC member, Dr Onuoha Nnachi urged the CSOs and Party members to herald the manifesto of the PDP presidential campaign to the electorates.
“At this stage, we are for this election, we have barely 3 weeks to go. Please I want to call on the CSOs and my Party members, there be no other time better than this to discuss these policies and social relationships and how we interface.
“It is no longer time to say what Tinubu is not doing, what APC has done wrong. It is time to tell them what we are going to do. The message should be different now, we’ve gotten to the point of what we are going to do,” he urged.
According to him, Atiku’s manifesto is categorised into three parts, namely Economy, Human Capital Development and Governance and Devolution of Power.
While assuring that the CSOs and Private Sector would be protected under Atiku’s administration, Dr Nnachi who reiterated Atiku’s commitment towards devolution of power, said: “there are certain things that are contained in the Exclusive List that are not supposed to be there. So, that’s where the devolution of power comes in.
“I give you a typical example, from the exclusive list there’s no state that is allowed to own the power plant – power generation, why? So, under Atiku, devolution of power, these things will be transferred up to individuals. If you want to build your power plant, build it, we cannot restrain you.
“If the Local Government wants to build a power plant, build it, if a state wants to build a power plant, build it. When you begin to have out of the 774 Local Government Areas we have, if every Local Government b gins to build a 100MW power plant or a 300MW power plant, when you add it together it becomes a sustainable power for economic development. That is the devolution of power.
“Another devolution of power is when you talk about Tertiary Institutions. These Institutions what has Federal Government to do with holding these Institutions? Holding primary healthcare, how does Federal Government get to know that my village requires a healthcare centre? It’s absolutely not working.
“You know what we are going to do? We will authorise Local Government to do primary healthcare. That by giving them that power, then we will also give them the resources to do it.
“This also goes further to state policing. We are willing and ready, we are not hiding it. State police must come to stay. But it must be sequential according to how ready each State is and its criminal nature. If you are ready to have state police in your state, you apply. But Government must put a caveat that we make the governors not to abuse it,” he stressed.
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