APC faults Soludo’s criticism of party’s economic blueprint

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organization (APCPCO) yesterday faulted the claims of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo that its economic agenda fell short of what would change the nation’s economy.

Soludo, in an article, accused both APC and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of promising Nigerians Eldorado.

The APCPCO, in a statement by its Directorate of Policy, Research and Strategy, signed by former Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, insisted that the APC’s programme is based on a critical awareness of the difficult task ahead, while holding out a ray of hope to Nigerians – many of whom have lost all hope after nearly 16 years of the ruling PDP.

The APC said: “The promises we make reflect our conviction that the people must be at the centre of development”.

According to the campaign organisation, “any economic growth that leaves the majority of the people behind and does not protect the weakest and the vulnerable among us is merely delusionary.

“If the party sounded upbeat in its manifesto, it was because the APC recognised that this crisis period also presents a great opportunity to restructure the economy in a way that improves the quality of life of Nigerians.

“We have noted with concern that Nigeria’s unemployment rate of 23.9% should be seen as a national crisis. In the immediate future, our priority is to tackle unemployment and provide good jobs, by embarking on a massive programme of public works, building houses, roads, railways, ports and energy plants,” Fayemi said.

The APCPCO said over the long-term, the APC will wean Nigeria off its dangerous addiction to oil which currently provides 80 per cent of the nation’s spending, leaving the country at the mercy of volatile international oil prices.

The campaign team stressed , “…an economy that is dependent on a commodity that is so dangerously exposed to price volatility must always prepare for eventuality through savings and investments once the agreed thresholds are met.”

It said the APC aims, as stated in the policy document, to create an enabling environment and incentives for the formal and informal sectors to lead the quest for job creation.  “This will be done in addition to skills acquisition and enterprise training, to ensure our youths are equipped with the appropriate skills,” the former governor noted.

“Merely introducing a National Qualification Standards would power a whole new world of opportunities for our artisans by launching them into the international job markets,” he said.

He listed high opportunity sectors that the APC will highlight to include agriculture, construction, entertainment, tourism, ICT and sports.

“APC economic policy is driven by an overwhelming concern for the level of inequality in our country today. “Our obsession with job creation stems from the fact that we believe we must focus on actions that would serve the twin purpose of closing the gap in inequality and creating opportunities for our people, especially the youths,” he said.

Dr. Fayemi’s statement compared going into government to “buying a ‘no testing’ electronic equipment. You may never know the true state of what you are buying until you get in.”

It reminded that while launching his campaign this month, the presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, said his election would be an opportunity to “finally assemble a competent team of Nigerians to efficiently manage this country.

“We want to assure Prof. Soludo and other like-minded Nigerians that the APC policy team is looking at all the options – including the worst-case scenario of a completely empty treasury. We are, however, confident that by blocking avenues of wastage and corruption alone, savings could run into trillions of Naira that could be deployed for productive use,” the campaign team said.

The APC agreed with Soludo’s point that “savings from corruption alone will not tackle the enormous challenges the party is likely to confront in government, but said it is “comforted by the fact that a four-year period provides an opportunity for phased implementation while growing the resource base as well as changing the culture of graft while reducing the cost of governance.”