THE presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said that Nigeria is broke under the All Progressives Congress.
Atiku said Nigeria had been running on budget deficits since the APC came to power in 2015.
Atiku said these at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Tuesday as he was rolling out his economic agenda for the country if he eventually won the 2023 elections.
He said, “Nigeria is broke. Nigeria under the APC-led government has consistently run on budget deficits since it came to power in 2015. These budget deficits are often above the 3% threshold permissible under the Fiscal Responsibility Law.”
“For the first time in Nigeria’s history, the FGN paid more in debt service than it earned! By spending more than 100% of its revenue for debt service, Nigeria is breaching one of the applicable debt-sustainability thresholds.
”The failure of leadership by the APC-led government is staring every Nigerian in the face as the country’s economic, social, political and security challenges persist and assume frightening dimensions.
Atiku said Nigeria had the potential to double its Gross Domestic Product by 2030 and achieve a per capita income of approximately US$5,000, adding that “Our economic growth and development agenda seeks primarily to stimulate the growth of the economy. It envisions an economy that is modern, dynamic, and competitive, capable of taking its rightful place among the top 20 economies of the world.”
“We anticipate growth from our policies that seek to revitalize the real sectors including agriculture, manufacturing and MSMEs.
“Re-building infrastructure and reducing infrastructure deficit will enhance the carrying capacity of the economy and unleash growth and wealth creation.
“We will elevate production for export to a top policy priority and long-term investment priority and promote export of manufactured goods. ”
Atiku said he would deliver on these goals by, “First, a warm handshake with the private sector. We will support the private sector to drive growth. We will establish strong partnership in investing in infrastructure, creating jobs, income and in the fight against poverty.
“We will listen to the private sector more. Understanding the private sector and securing their buy-in when policies are designed will determine the success of our economic growth and development agenda.”
“Through regular dialogue with the private sector, we will build consensus, improve trust between us and make new reform initiatives easier to implement and sustainable. There will be more clarity, coherence, and consistency (the 3Cs) in policy. Nothing could be more threatening to investment flows than an environment that is full of policy flip-flops,” he said among other things, noting that he would reduce poverty.
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