What My Restructuring Agenda Entails — Atiku

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President Atiku Abu­bakar has said that his restructuring agenda is hinged on efficiency in government.

Atiku, according to statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, stated this at the 24th Lecture Series of the Lagos Business School, in Lagos on Tuesday.

Atiku said he would reach out to the National As­sembly and state Houses of Assembly to come up with constitutional amendments that will give more powers and resources to states and local governments.

According to the state­ment, Atiku, who was a keynote speaker in a panel question and answer ses­sion, said that he believes in small government and that the private sector should be given the oppor­tunity to play more roles in the economy.

He said: “As Vice Pres­ident of the Federal Re­public of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, I headed the economic team that imple­mented fundamental eco­nomic reforms, including the design and implemen­tation of a private sector revival strategy.

“We focused on mac­ro-economic stability and transforming critical areas such as banking, insurance, oil and gas, telecommunica­tions, pension and the civil service.

“We created novel insti­tutions for laying the foun­dation for good governance and accountability such as the Bureau of Public Pro­curement, Economic and Financial Crimes Commis­sion and SERVICOM.

“With many years in the private sector, I have a deep understanding of our econ­omy and its challenges.”

The PDP presidential flag bearer noted that the five-point agenda of his pol­icy proposal is a document that contains the solution to the many challenges be­setting the country.

“I am an active operator in the private sector. I am a manufacturer, service pro­vider and an educationist. So I have first-hand expe­rience of what the private sector needs and I also have experience in governance.

“The PDP economic re­forms recorded significant achievements between 1999 and 2015. Now, you have seen the impact of the peo­ple that took over from us. Nigerians can pick between the two.

“If you give the PDP an­other opportunity, we will perform even better than we did before,” Atiku said.