The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has pledged to privatise the refineries in Warri, Kaduna, and Port-Harcourt in order to get $10 billion for the establishment of small and medium-sized businesses for Nigerian youth.
Atiku made the pledge during a presidential campaign rally held at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos state, Southwest Nigeria.
He urged the people of Lagos State to reject a ‘family government’ that had been in power in the state for the past 23 years and vote for a PDP government they could call their own.
Atiku’s running mate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel, Bayelsa State Governor Doyle Diri, Party National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Taraba State Governor Darius Ishiaku, former Bayelsa governorship candidate Timi Alaibe, former Rivers State governor Celestine Omeha, his wife Titi Abubakar, Alhaji Mukhtar, and Alhaji Muktar Shagari, were all present.
If elected president of Nigeria, Atiku stated that he would restructure the nation such that states and local governments would have sovereignty and authority over their resources.
Atiku said that the party in power in Lagos State has been deceiving the public about how it transformed Lagos into a modern state, and he said he could attest to it.
The campaign director for the party, Emmanuel, praised the rally attendees earlier in his address for overcoming the challenges presented by the lack of transportation and gasoline.
He said that before the party in charge of the state took office, the economy of Lagos State was booming and that it was significantly stronger than the economies of all the nations in West Africa put together.
In his remarks, Okowa asserted that Atiku is the only presidential contender who is well-liked by Nigerians across all six geopolitical zones.
Olajide Adediran (Jandor), the party’s candidate for governor of Lagos State, stated one of the main reasons he was running for governor was to stop the pain Lagosians had endured. He was joined by his running partner Funke Akindele.