Four presidential candidates were on Sunday at a Townhall meeting in Abuja unanimous about re-inventing and effectively coordinating the nation’s security architecture to address the current security challenges.
The flagbearers of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his PDP counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, were absent at the much-publicized event organized by Arise TV in collaboration with the Centre for Development and Democracy held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, attended by people from different walks of life and critical sectors of the economy, including the civil society.
Persecondnews reports that Atiku was, however, represented by his running mate, Delta Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa, amid protest by a section of attendees at the forum anchored by Dr Reuben Abati of the Arise TV.
Following an announcement by the Chairman of Arise Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, that Tinubu sent in apologies and had indicated join subsequent series, members of the audience began protests.
Again, Obaigbena’s announcement that Okowa would stand in for Atiku, also ignited protest with chants of “No representation by proxy. This is an insult. We need Atiku and Okowa should go; No more governance for by proxy.”
However, former Kano Governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Anambra Governor and presidential hopeful of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, his People’s Redemption Party (PRP) counterpart, Kola Abiola, son of the late MKO Abiola and Okowa articulated their programmes and fielded questions from the attendees.
The townhall focused only on two issues — security and the economy.
Kwankwaso said the current manpower of the military was grossly inadequate while the police too lacked enough personnel.
According to the former Minister of Defence, Egypt with a population of about 100 million people has at least one million policemen as against Nigeria’s 230,000 personnel to police over 200 million population.
“I will increase the number of military officers from 250, 000 to one million and increase policemen from two hundred and thirty thousand to two million.
“We will be willing to sit down with everyone with grudges in any part of the country to dialogue and at the end of the day, anyone, who decides to do otherwise, definitely, the law will take its course,” he said.
Abiola, Obi and Okowa also harped on the need to rejig and address the nation’s deteriorating insecurity.
They said the president who is the commander-in-chief should take charge and ensure effective coordination of the security apparatuses.
Specifically, Obi said, if elected, he would dialogue with genuine agitators including the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Boko Haram sect and others to engender peace while criminal elements among them would be made to face the law.
On the greatest security threat facing the nation — oil theft — Okowa alleged that there is complicity by top government officials in what he called organized and sophisticated stealing of the country’s crude.
“To steal crude, you need a vessel, go to the right places in the creeks to pump the oil into the vessel. There is a collusion by security agencies.”
Okowa called for the establishment of police at local and state levels to complement the federal police as well as deployment of technology to track and check oil theft.
Abiola blamed the Muhammadu Buhari administration for not effectively utilizing the office of the National Security Adviser and poor coordination and deployment of the security resources.
“The fact of the matter is that, if I’m right, since 1999, the National Security Committee Council has not sat for one day. And that is the body that governs dispassionately the security situation in Nigeria. That body has not sat since 1999.”
On the economy, Kwankwaso said: “There are so many things that are intertwined, the issue of exchange, corruption, oil theft, we are supposed to give out 2.2 million going by the OPEC arrangement but the record is less than that, so we have to do whatever it takes to stop stealing.
“It is very critical to us that we work on how to stop stealing of oil and other assets owned by the nation. The issue of subsidy, we are aware that there is a lot of corruption in the field and the first area of attack on subsidy is the issue of corruption.
“Subsidy over all doesn’t do any good to anybody but at the same time, we are concerned with the welfare of Nigerians.”
Obi and Kwankwaso said they never borrowed in the eight years that they ruled Kano and Anambra.
“I believe that in this country, we have enough money, enough resources and all we need is leadership that will ensure that every kobo goes into the right place.
“Our party is not based on the leadership of the money bags. Everybody knows that we have an ideology and beliefs on governance. We have done it before and by the grace of God, if we have opportunity, we will do it even bette,” the NNPP candidate said.
LP’s Obi lamented the high level of poverty in the North, saying it was unacceptable, given the amount of arable lands available for agricultural purposes in the region.
He again canvassed the removal of petrol subsidy and ensure that monies borrowed are used for production not for funding subsidy and payment of salaries and high cost of governance.
“We will remove subsidy. Use the resources efficiently and support those, who are and set up refineries and channel the rest of the resources to other critical sectors.
“Today, in Nigeria, you have 35 per cent unemployment with our youth. With your youths, who are in productive age, you have 60 per cent youth unemployed. You can’t have that, and won’t have crisis. That’s where the guns are domiciled.
“So, you replace that with job, you replace it with employment, you invest in your micro small businesses, where these youths are domiciled by supporting them, pulling them out of poverty.
“The whole of Nigeria, in terms of physical assets, is those uncultivated lands in the North. You can’t have that huge land and we have the level of poverty that we are experiencing in the north. Niger State, has eight or seven local governments that are occupied by bandits. It is unacceptable.”
Okowa told the audience that the PDP would ensure a private sector-driven economy and would handle insecurity by creating a state police that was fully equipped.
“We need to emphasize a well coordinated intelligence gathering and sharing. We need more boots on the ground to address insecurity in Nigeria. We need to evolve policing in Nigeria to ensure that people, who have a better understanding of their areas, know how to secure their areas. One centralised police force is unable to meet the demands that we have.
“We need more boots on the ground. We need adequate welfare to ensure that our security agencies are better-taken care of. We also need to address unemployment — otherwise more young people will be drawn to contribute to the insecurity.”
On the economy, Okowa said: “From 1999 to 2007, we knew where President Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku, met the country and where they left it. Because of them, we were able to pay back a lot of our debt and we had debt forgiveness.
“In Delta State, we used to have agitations in oil-producing communities. But now, we have partnered in these communities to create jobs, create a new class of entrepreneurs and show people that we care about development.
“The right path is to use government resources to develop entrepreneurs, make people’s lives easier, and grow the economy so that people will live in better condition.”
He added:”Subsidy is a scam, it is impossible for Nigeria to consume 60 million barrels of fuel, let alone 90 barrel.To address the scam, we will assist towards the early completion of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos and the introduction of the operations of modular refineries in the country.”
On the economy, Abiola said:“That’s why we have three new parties basically, going against the two established parties. And those established parties, their days are numbered for sure. They don’t have to take their votes.
“If elected, my government would stop subsidising consumption, but would rather subsidize mortgage.
“Forex is a big problem. You can have the biggest of foreign exchange in Nigeria, which is the oil and could go up and down from time to time. Like during the COVID-19, it was at the lowest but your exchange rate remained fixed.
“There is something wrong with that. You cannot have an exchange that is twice if not more the black, gray or white market or whatever you want to call it. There’s something very wrong with that mechanism. Something has to be done to deal with that.”
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