Bakare Joins Presidential Race, Promises to Attract $2tr FDI if Elected

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja 

The running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 election, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that if elected president in 2023, his administration would attract a $2 trillion Foreign and Direct Investment (FDI) to the Nigerian economy.

Bakare stated this on Monday in Abuja while formally declaring his intention to contest for president in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said as president, his administration would deliver in four mandates namely: peace, progress, prosperity and possibilities.

Bakare explained that the peace mandate would achieve a policy thrust on nationhood leadership, governance and national security, while the progress mandate would cater for sectors like education, healthcare, family and social development.

He added that the prosperity mandate would focus on economic management and infrastructure, while possibilities mandate would focus on science, technology and innovation; foreign policy, sustainability; arts, culture, entertainment and sports.

Bakare stated: “I am not here to gloss over your disappointments or ignore the fact that even the most genuine effort of government over the decades have taken away your pain.

“Today, I am offering myself to close the distance between the Nigerian reality and every Nigerian dream; to unlock the power of public policy to accelerate transformation; to infuse our young people with a surge of hope for what is possible; to roll my sleeves up and work to solve Nigeria’s most intractable problems; to build a cutting-edge nation at the forefront of innovation; to create a new dynamic of belonging in which everyone has a seat and a say; I am committed to the realisation of a new Nigeria for every Nigerian in my lifetime. 

“This is why I am formally announcing that I am running for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.”

Bakare assured Nigerians that his administration  would consolidate on ongoing developments in transportation by redirecting investments towards systematic and multimodal transportation agenda. 

He added: Through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), we will build a 10-lane 3,000km North-South superhighway which will be systematically linked to regional roads and subways feeding each geoeconomic zone.”

Bakare stressed that through his infrastructure delivery agenda, he would execute a decentralised, private sector-driven electricity reform agenda that would see the generation of up to 100,000MW of on-grid and off-grid electricity by 2030 as part of the Nigerian Geoeconomic Development Plan (N-GDP).