Yemi Osinbajo, a professor and running mate to All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, says Muhammadu Buhari will oversee the defeat of Boko Haram, should he win next year’s election.
Answering questions onTwitter during a specially-arranged question-and-answer session, Osinbajo said Buhari would end the corrupt managementof defencefunds, which is responsible for the ill-equipment of the military.
“The current administration haspoliticised boko haram. The corruption around the defence funds hascreated a situation where soldiers are not well equipped/motivated,” he said.
“GMB wiped out Maitatsine, another Islamic insurgency in his own administration, bysincerely identifying the problem asa challenge to the authority of the state to maintain law andorder.
“The administration took command and fundedthe military transparently and that is what we need to doto end insurgency.”
He also spoke onAPC’s strategy for reducing the bite of unemploymenton youths, acknowledging that 80 per cent of fresh graduates are unemployed.
“The focus of APCis onjobs jobs jobs! The question we askaboutevery policy is: how manyjobs will this produce. We havethree broad approaches.
“We expect every state will be supported to create 20,000 jobs directly funded. The FG will also match the creation for every additional job created over the 20,000 mark.
“Post Youth service: FG will pay a stipend to every ‘youth corper’ for a year while they are looking for employment and in that year wed will give vocational training.
“FG will undertake a massive public works programme. This is expected to have the multiplier effect of producing hundreds of thousands ofjobs. FG will give tax breaks and recognition to employers of labourwho provide a certain minimum number of jobs.”
Osinbajodismissed claims that his party and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were no different in ideology.
“The APC in an ideological sense is left of centre. In other words, its focusis on policies that will impact the lives of the commonman,” he said.
“We have social programmes such as social welfare (first in Africa), free education, massemployment, universal healthcare insurance and free meals programme in primary schools. The difference is in the ticket; integrity is key.”
Asked how he would tackle corruption, he said: “One of the fundamentalproblems is that there is no consequence for corruption. I think that what everyone will agree to abouta Buhari government is that it will not tolerate corruption.
“Ifthe Number 1 citizen hasa clear and uncompromising anti-corruption stand, then the anti-corruption policy will work. If Number 1 and2 havea strong stance on anti-corruption, then our policy can succeed.
“InLagosstate, we were able to deal with judicial corruption bydealing with issues of renumeration andstrict policy on consequence in sanctions where judicial personnel were foundto be corrupt. That model can be replicated.”
Onplans to proportionately reduce the country’s dependency on crude oil, he said: “Let me begin bysaying that the problem with our monoresource dependency is compounded bythe factof corruption. When youhave all your earnings coming through the NNPC andit hasbeen captured bycorruption, it means that the major income of the country has been taken over bya few. It never trickles down to the people.
“The first solution is to deal with corruption in the NNPC andfree upthat resource to benefit the people. To diversify the economy, there are three approaches that the APC proposes. The first is agriculture: it provides an opportunity to give millions a chance to earn a living and export. A major plan is a commodity board approach where we are sure farmersofa minimum paymentfor their produce.
“Ifyou’re producing cassava, government assures you that they would buycassava offyou at a minimum price. There will be a value chain created 1: storage. Agro allied benefits from cassava alone: starch, ethanol, feeds production will be stimulated. Also, Nigerians are natural traders and we must create an environment that allows Nigerians to trade not only locally-produced goods but from around the world.
“Dubai is a trading outpost for the world today, which doesn’t produce most of what it trades. Nigerian digital technologists with the great ideas they have can compete with their Indian andwestern counterparts. That we believe will create an explosion in Tech inventions, applications and jobs.”
Responding to the question of whether unknown Nigerians with formidableCVs could offerNigerians hope in politics, he said: “Yes, when I served as Lagosstate’s attorney general, I was even less known. I was teaching in the university, but I was prepared due to my engagements with the major issues and problems ofgovernance in Nigeria and carried out reforms in the system of administration of justice which with humility have been hailed locally and internationally asmodels.”
He further said religion should not play a role in politics, although the moral values and ethics from religion should informboth policy and action in government.
“People introduce religious bigotry into government when they havenothing to offer the people,” he said
Source: Cable news
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