PDP govt will reverse 10m lost jobs, Atiku promises

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has promised that PDP government under his leadership is poised to restore about 10 million jobs so far by Nigerians. He bemoaned the high loss of human dignity as a result of ravaging poverty accelerated by soaring unemployment and gradual loss of jobs and further berated the All Progressives Congress ((APC) government’s failure on its promises of job creation. Atiku Abubakar expressed serious concern over the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, saying the Buhari-led Federal Government is clueless on the way out of the unemployment problems confronting the nation. Addressing PDP members and supporters at a Presidential campaign rally in Minna, Niger State on Wednesday, Atiku said “we have lost more jobs, over 10 million jobs, to the extent that Nigeria has been declared the headquarters of poverty in the world”. The figure is however, lower that a recent statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics which put the nation’s rate at 20.9 million. The NBS said unemployment figure rose from 17.6 million in Q4 2017 to 20.9 million in Q3 2018. The NBS, however, explained: “Of the 20.9 million persons classified as unemployed as at Q3 2018, 11.1 million did some form of work but for too few hours a week (under 20 hours) to be officially classified as employed while 9.7 million did absolutely nothing”. Atiku said: “This is a promise and a commitment I am making on behalf of PDP. I want to commit to you that if you vote for PDP, the insecurity which they have not been able to control, we shall control it. They have been unable to control insecurity because they have been unable to provide jobs and businesses for the people. So by the time we provide jobs and businesses for our young men and women, you will hear less crime and less insecurity. “Now I want to promise you that if you vote PDP, we will restore the jobs that had been lost. You either get a job or get a business to do”. He spoke further on what he called the many failures of the APC government, saying: “In 2015, they came to tell us that PDP did not do anything. We should change. And we changed. And they promised to fight corruption, to improve our economy and also to secure our country. Have they achieved anyone of these three? “When they came in, there was insecurity only in North East. Today, there is insecurity in North West and North Central. And we have lost more lives than at any other time in the history of this country in peaceful times. They have failed as far as security is concerned”. Atiku pointed out that developmental amenities currently enjoyed in the Niger State were put in place by PDP administration. “Let me remind those of you who perhaps were born in 1999 when PDP started governing Niger State. The roads infrastructure that you have in Niger State were constructed by the PDP government. The schools that you have attended were built by PDP government. The hospitals that you are attending were built by PDP government. Telling the people of Niger State the direction they should go in the next election, Atiku said: “I want to promise you on behalf of our great party to sack the APC government and let us send them packing. Like I use to say, Buhari must go!!! APC must go!!!” In his own address, the Director General of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, reiterated that the coming Presidential election is about referendum in which the electorate will determine whether the ruling APC has performed or otherwise. He said: “A government that has been with us for three and half years and it promised us three things and we are going to decide as Nigerians if they have performed, they can continue, if they have not performed, they must pack and go home. “They came on security, there was problem in the North-East and they said they can provide security solution, today isn’t the security worse? “There is no security in North central, North-west, there is security problem. Before, they said they will provide three million jobs for the youth, today more than 10 million youth have lost their jobs, have they perform? No. “They came, they said they would bring food to our people, today Nigeria is the capital of hunger in the entire world, have they perform? “They said they will fight corruption, today there is corruption in the country. Is that not so? “They have failed on these things and that is why they must leave and let us bring a man that has experience that knows how to create jobs, that knows how to bring food to all of us”. He therefore told the people of Niger State that it is time to vote PDP and Atiku Abubakar. The PDP governorship candidate for Niger State, Umar Nasko, promised to alleviate the suffering of the youths in the state by giving them N20,000 palliative on monthly basis. He, however, warned that the money will not be freely given as he charged them to engage in productive ventures in the communities as the stipend will be given out in appreciation of their contribution to socio-economic development of their immediate communities. Party chieftains at the rally include immediate past governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu; former governor of Kano State and current senator presenting Kano Central, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Taraki, PDP governorship candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Umar Mohammed Nasko; and Senate Minority Whip, Phillip Aduda among others. Tunde Opalana, Abuja