- Nigeria's two major political parties are in for a formidable fight in the forthcoming general elections in 2019
- Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a frontline politician and businessman, says he has the answers to Nigeria's challenges
- Olawepo-Hashim, a presidential aspirant under the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), made the comment when he picked his nomination form at the party headquarters
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he will solve Nigeria's challenges if elected in 2019.
Olawepo-Hashim, a presidential aspirant under the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), made the comment when he picked his nomination form at the party headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, September 19.
The presidential hopeful who said he has immense respect for President Muhammadu Buhari due to his sacrifices to the nation, however, noted that what Nigeria urgently needs is a president that will be a commander-in-chief to all Nigerians.
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“I am therefore better placed to bring the country back together. I am most assured I can get the job done given my record of accomplishment.
“I will restructure the economy from a dependent one to a self-reliant economy by investing in iron and steel, research and development, and in other sectors,” he said.
These critical sectors, he stated, will include, “chemical and machine tools, so as to generate the production of capital goods, local capital and to bring in prosperity, through the needed multipliers.”
The business mogul with substantial interest in oil exploration and energy generation, also promised to implement a New Economic Development Programme (NEDP), which he said will lead to the expansion of Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from $510 billion to $4 trillion within 10 years.
He added that the NEDP will also increase the Per Capital Income (PCI) of the average Nigerian to between $16,000 to $18,000 within the period.
Other than this, Olawepo-Hashim said NEDP will target an estimated $2 trillion into infrastructure within the period, and create jobs from manufacturing, industrialization, and then link up industries with solid minerals and the agricultural sector.
According to him, the agricultural sector will be integrated with the industrial and solid minerals sectors, to create sustainable jobs for youths employment and will also be accelerated through the promotion of innovation and the knowledge economy.
He reasoned that not all problems in Nigeria are caused by the present administration, stressing that, “some are caused by the colonial masters and have been left unattended to.”
“It is however regrettable that the former colonial masters now ridicule the nation, and even more regrettable that the APC and previous leaders lack the skill set to correct things,” he opined.
Speaking on the president's performance in office, Olawepo-Hasim dsimply said: “He is our baba, and we are his children. From where I come from, we do not insult elders.”
He further said: “The truth is that he has done a lot, and should go and rest, adding that, “we are prepared to give him a befitting exit.”
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Three months ago, Olawepo-Hashim predicted that both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will lose the presidential seat at the forthcoming 2019 election.
The 53-year old politician made the comment while addressing select journalists in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Friday, June 8.
According to him, Nigerians are tired of the leading political parties in the country and are yearning for a change of the country's political status quo.
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Source: Naija.ng