The presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria, Fela Durotoye, has described the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples’ Democratic Party as a coin with two bad sides.
Durotoye said this at the debate organized for presidential candidates by Nigerian Election Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) ahead of the general elections.
Commenting on the conspicuous absence of President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Durotoye connected their absence with pride, saying pride comes befall a fall.
Durotoye, who said he was running for Presidency because leadership and governance had failed to meet Nigerians’ expectations, said the cost of governance has been unwieldy and that he would cut cost drastically if elected as president.
He said he would rather ride in a bus when he becomes the president to reduce wastage in governance as a means to increasing people’s interest in paying taxes, adding that the era of long convoy will end to reduce government cost.
On diversification of the economy, Durotoye first mentioned Agriculture as the first sector to be fixed. He also said power and road need to be well handled. On Agriculture, he said commodity board needs to be driven.
Explaining how his presidency will curb the issue of agitation in the South east, Presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, said many in Nigeria today do not feel part of Nigeria. He promises that his presidency would make all Nigerians feel Nigerian. He also promises inclusive governance.
On tackling insecurity, Moghalu said his govt will bring to the problem the political will to do the needful, saying his government will work with neighboring countries, create economic opportunities, and ask the citizens for collaboration.
Moghalu said his government would use proper recruitment process to deal with the high cost of running the government. He also said within 2 years, his government will bring down the cost of government to 50%.
Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, identifies employability as one of the problems. Among her solutions is massive deregulation of sectors that are closed to the private sector.
Nigeria needs to be rescued urgently. We have no business being the capital of the world’s poverty, stressing that the problem with Nigeria is simply and squarely the problem of leadership.
Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar, who was at the venue but decided not to participate at the last minute, apologized to Nigerians for not attending, but challenged President Buhari to a debate.