PDP Manifesto: NGO Commends Atiku, Doubts Implementations of Economic Policies

Dike Onwuamaeze

Civichive, an innovation hub of BudgIT, has commended the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for his plan to accelerate the development and funding of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the business ecosystem in Nigeria if he is elected president in 2023 presidential election.

The NGO’s commendation was contained in a statement signed by its Project Lead, RoadMap to 2023 Election Project, Ms. Temidayo Musa, on the policy review of Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 Presidential Manifesto.

The review also noted that Atiku’s policies were built on huge assumptions that might not align with current structural limitations.

The review highlighted some of the key contents of Atiku’s manifesto, which included raising GDP per capita to $5,000 by 2030, creating three million new jobs, lifting 10 million poor Nigerians out of poverty yearly; increasing police workforce strength to one million personnel; reducing food import share from the current estimation of 20 per cent to between 5.0 and 10 per cent, increasing the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to a minimum of 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030; amongst others.

 It however noted: “It is important to commend Atiku’s plan for MSMEs’ funding, and the business ecosystem. Notably is his plan on tax reliefs for microenterprises; expanding export opportunities; raising both public and private-sector led venture funds; and expanding the NIRSAL de-risking mandate.

“These, if implemented, are vital to business enterprise growth in Nigeria. He also aims to target 10,000 mw of transmission capacity over the short term, 25,000 MW of power generation through a mix of energy sources, and increase refining capacity to two million barrels per day.”

It observed that, “Atiku’s plan is focused heavily on leveraging the private sector for financing infrastructure and economic growth, and this is plausible considering the fiscal constraints of the government in addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges.

“However, his policies are built on huge assumptions that might not align with current structural limitations. These include how he proposes to raise Nigeria’s GDP per capita from $2,000 to $5,000 by 2030, which is historically unattainable, as only around five countries have doubled their GDP in 15 years.

“Also, he aims to increase Nigeria’s refining capacity to two million barrels per day. This is highly improbable as Nigeria does not have the refining capacity to achieve this in the short to medium term.

“Currently, 95.1 million Nigerians are projected to be living below the poverty line. Atiku’s aim to lift 10 million people out of poverty is plausible as there were no clear metrics and indicators to measure how this challenge would be resolved.”

The review also said Atiku’s aim to construct 5,000 km of modern railway lines puts a question mark on how prepared he was to handle the economy and the credibility of this campaign promises.

Civichive said: “Nigeria’s rail lines are around 3,528 km in total. If the Lagos-Ibadan rail (157km) cost $1.5 billion to construct, how does Atiku plan to finance a 5,000km rail project which is estimated to cost about $48 billion, and what is the viability of such investments in the midst of other competing priorities in the country?”

 The review further revealed that Atiku has some lofty aims that, “are economically unfeasible,” adding that, “in no part of the policy did Atiku mention anything about the issue of climate change, sports and cultural development, and the booming tech ecosystem.”

 Civichive stated that its goal in embarking on the review of the presidential manifesto, “is for voters to have access to information that enables them to be educated and informed about political processes so that they can have a basis upon which to vote for political office holders and to hold elected officials responsible.

“We are also calling on other presidential candidates, especially Mr. Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to release their manifestos so that citizens can be well informed about their projected aims for the country if elected.”