President Muhammadu Buhari PHOTO: BAYO OMOBORIOWO
• Promises 1.5 Million Jobs By 2025
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday declared that only God would punish the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for looting the country dry, vowing he will not hesitate to prosecute those found to be corrupt.
According to him, properties of looters would be confiscated and sold, while the monies realized would be put into the treasury for public use. Addressing leaders of the 1,000-support group, the President said when he assumed office; he approached the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who told him there was no money in federal treasury. He also noted that there was no infrastructure or any developmental achievements to justify draining of the substantial earnings from crude oil. The last time roads rehabilitation took place, he said, was under Sani Abacha, when he served as Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund, stressing that the roads where rehabilitated up to the east.
Read Also:
Leader of the delegation, Mahmud Mohammed said the groups were lending support to President Buhari because of his integrity and commitment. He said for the first time in the history of campaigns, they were campaigning with meager funds generated from well-wishers because the president specifically directed that no money from the public funds should be spent on his campaign.
In a related development, the president has assured that they will create at least 1.5 million jobs before the end of 2025, generate $30 billion in annual export earnings through a Presidential priority intervention programme, using the country’s Special Economic Zones within the period. He gave this assurance at the signing of agreements between the Nigerian special Economic Zones Investment Company and its strategic investment partners at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the government intends to achieve an ambitious objective of implementing a comprehensive plan that includes developing special economic zones across the country and upgrading existing free trade zones in some parts of the country.
The President said that his administration was reviewing its strategies so as to ensure the country succeeds in wooing more investors. He explained that following the signing of investment agreements; the Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited will become fully operational and thanked Nigeria’s investment partners; Africa Export and Import Bank (AFREXIM); Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); Bank of Industry (BOI); Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); and the African Development Bank (AFDB) for their strong demonstrations of support for the important initiative.
President of Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah said the bank would invest $500 million on the major industrialization projects Afreximbank is implementing in Nigeria while Managing Director of Nigeria’s Bank of Industry, Olukayode Pitan said the signing of the agreements would drive economic growth as well as promote made-in-Nigeria goods.
