On Tuesday, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, a Lagos State gubernatorial candidate under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed that Atiku Abubakar's policies as PDP's presidential candidate could solve Nigeria's current problems.
According to Adediran, Atiku is the most trustworthy among all the presidential candidates running in the country.
Moreover, Adediran believes that Atiku's policies could tackle Nigeria's economic and security challenges. He did not elaborate further on how Atiku's policies could solve these issues, but he emphasized that Atiku's experience in politics would make him a good leader.
He said, “Our party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, with just one of his policies, has been able to address two significant issues confronting us. Regarding the current economic woes and the insecurity in the country, he said when he gets into office, he will set aside $10bn for women and youth empowerment.
“When asked how he would raise the money, he said he would sell all the moribund refineries in the country to raise that money. These refineries are not giving us anything, so he said he will sell it and raise the money. That money would be channelled into women and youth empowerment, reducing the current poverty rate and insecurity in the country.
“So, of all the candidates, Atiku Abubakar is the only one that is very presidential. Even in the face of provocation, he has remained so calm and presidential. Anywhere he goes, he speaks to the peculiarity of that state. This is the man that we are following and he is the one that can take Nigeria out of its current unfortunate situation that we found ourselves in.”
Adediran continued by saying that in a few days, Nigerians would go to the polls to choose a new leader for the country and different states. He also noted that it was important for people to know where they came from so they could make intelligent decisions about where to go next.
He said, “We have seen the policy of the current administration under the APC and what they have been able to do in the last eight years. Their best is not good enough because today if you have money in your account, you can’t even have access to it. Nigerians have been queuing for fuel in the last six months with no solution.
“But thankfully, all of this is coming up at a time when we have the opportunity to take a decision that will right this wrong. In Lagos, you must have seen everything we showcased in our ward-to-ward tour, we visited 193 out of 295 wards, and we have been able to bring you the current state of Lagos State regarding infrastructure and the standard of living of the people of the state.
“The state government came up in 2020 with its first full budget of N812bn and claimed that the budget did a performance of 120 per cent. The same government came again in 2021 with a budget of N125tn and contended that that budget did a performance of 85.7 per cent.
“The same government came in 2022 with a budget of N1.75tn, with the claim that in the second quarter of the year under review, the budget has done 77.9 percent with nothing appreciable on the street of Lagos to show for all of this money and despite accumulating debts of N280bn local debts.”