Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has described as ‘fiscally irresponsible’ plans by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to sell national assets to fund the 2019 budget.
In a statement signed by Atiku Campaign Organisation on Wednesday in Abuja, Atiku said the action by the officials in the Buhari administration has the effect of ridiculing their principal.
He also said many of the assets the Buhari administration are planning to sell were built and established during the era of PDP and some are Atiku’s brainchild.
“It will be recalled that on Monday the 29th of October, 2018, President Buhari accused past leaders of the People’s Democratic Party of not building public infrastructure, while delivering the 75th Anniversary Business lecture of the Island Club, Lagos.
“However, some of the assets listed for sale in the policy document of the Buhari Administration, were assets built or established under the PDP administrations that governed Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. Some of them were the brainchild of the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
“Our question is this: If the PDP did not build infrastructure, as alleged by President Muhammadu Buhari, who built these assets that this administration wants to sell to fund their 2019 budget?
“As head of the Economic Management Committee during the Obasanjo administration, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, supervised the successful policy of privatisation. Privatisation works because it is a long-term strategy to engender efficiency in the economic system and expand the frontiers of private sector activity.
“Its primary goal is NOT to raise money for short term stabilization of what is clearly a fragile fiscal system. The government’s planned sale of assets will cause long-term pains and only provide short-term gains.
“It makes no sense to sell public assets simply to fund a ‘business-as-usual’ budget that is essentially 70% recurrent. It is irresponsible to part with valuable assets simply to consume the proceeds (Like selling your family house to take a trip overseas on holiday).
“We knew that such a day would come, which is why His Excellency Atiku Abubakar has on various occasions made it clear that what is needed at this time is fundamentally fiscal restructuring to eliminate our addiction to oil revenues and strengthen our internal revenue generating capacity and a restructuring of the budget in favour of capital spending.
“For instance, last month, the PDP Presidential candidate questioned the wisdom behind the Federal Government sharing $322 million Abacha loot to certain Nigerians, only to obtain a $328 million loan from China, allegedly for ICT development.
“Rather than share that money, the Buhari administration ought to have put that $322 million in an escrow account to be used for funding the 2019 budget.
“Also, we recall that $43 million was found in an Ikoyi apartment. While we note the failed promise of the Buhari administration to come clean on who was behind those monies, we make bold to say that those funds should equally have been placed in escrow for use in funding the 2019 budget.
“It is a testament to our candidate that he helped build and develop national assets that are now so valuable that they can be sold. Creating more of such assets is at the core of his agenda to Get Nigeria Working Again.
“It is our hope that the Buhari government will accept this patriotic pro bono advise and retrace its step accordingly.”
But Facebook contributors criticized this statement, one Tayo Ayano said, “He’d do the same thing if he were the President. This man would lie about anything just to get to power. He was responsible for privatising many public assets when he was the Vice President; some of which were bought by him and his cronies through proxies. This is 2018 and not 2002. Voters are wiser, savvy and very aware of the tricks of politicians who’d promise to turn water into wine during elections.”
Another posted: FACTUAL REPORT ON HOW ATIKU SUPERVISED THE SALES OF OVER 145 FG INVESTMENTS AS A VICE PRESIDENT !!!
Please I do not have any partisan political agenda, rather factual report on ATIKU as a Presidential aspirant in Nigeria.
Please any or all ATIKU supporters or his campaign structure are free to deny these submission with facts not sentiments.
“As Head of National Council on Privatization (NCP), from 1999, @atiku dug Nigeria’s economic grave for today’s extreme poverty and unemployment.
There were over 600 federal assets when @atiku’s NCP started selling.
Atiku should tell us who bought what and what was left for the country when he left power.
Nafcon
Eleme Petrochemical
Daily Times
Ughelli Power
Egbin Power
NICON Insurance
ALSCON
Transcorp Hilton Hotel
NICON Luxury Hotel
Sunti Sugar Ltd
NetCom House
Bacita Sugar Ltd
MM2
In 2007, Onigbolo Cement operating at 500,000 tonnes per annum was sold to Dangote at N1.7Bn 😂
To those selling Atiku, let me remind you of @NGRSenate public hearing of August, 2011 which succinctly captures how @atiku through retinue of cohorts, fronts, shell companies, ring fenced over 70% of FG’s assets through a brazen daylight robbery privatization that he supervised.
This is nothing sensational. Its real life facts and all the Senators are alive today.
The 2011 privatization Senate committee was made up of Senator Ahmed Lawan – Chairman, Senators Babafemi Ojudu, Philip Aduda, Mohammed Ndume, Ifeanyi Okowa, Hope Uzodinma and Mohammadu Magoro.
Lets look at Aluminium Smelting Company, ALSCON, that Atiku privatized.
ALSCON which Nigeria built with $3.2 billion, was sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for $130million. As of the time of sale, ALSCON had received $120million for the dredging of Imo River, but was never done.
When the Senate Seating of August, 2011 asked the Russian company the whereabouts of the $120million dredging money, the company’s Deputy Managing Director, Vitaly Kuzrestov, said that the money has been used for Environment Impact Assessment.” EIA kii you there. 😹
FG’s Five percent share in Eleme Petrochemical worth USD27 million was never presented to at the National Council on Privatization before t’was sold to Indorama.
Indorama recovered this amount selling Polyethylene and Urea to the entire west Africa sub-region in just 14 months.
The Atikulate Business Theory: Sell to yourself Government assets that leaves millions in penury, to set up personal businesses that provides for a few. @Atiku didn’t employ the few hundreds he employed because he likes them, he needs them to work to preserve what he took from Government.
Fam, the business acumen of Atiku you are bandying about is smelly.
A man who supervised sales of over 145 federal investments as a vice president, without a thought for today wants to be president.
