<\/p>\n
Candidate<\/p>\n
By Emmanuel Oloniruha<\/p>\n
Presidential Candidate, National Rescue Movement, (NRM), Dr Esther Okereke, says she is not soliciting votes with empty promises, but came with realistic blueprint policy to rescue Nigeria from systemic failure.<\/p>\n
Okereke, one of the only two presidential candidates in the 2027 general elections, stated this when she featured on personality interview series of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.<\/p>\n
She \u200c\u200c\u200d\u2060\u2060\u200d\u2060\u2060\u200d\u200c\u2060\u200d\u200c\u2060\u2060\u200c\u200csaid that her emergence as the party\u2019s flagbearer represents a hope that \u201cit is time for Nigeria to be rescued from systemic failure\u2019\u2019, that had held the country down for decades.<\/p>\n
She stated that the number of candidates, 18, contesting the presidency showed that Nigeria needs a rescue, saying in Abia, there are fewer governorship candidates because the incumbent is performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor over 20 years, some sets of people had done the same thing repeatedly and getting the same result, which is the same result of systemic failure, that is why we\u2019re here on a rescue mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Nigeria is doing well, we wouldn\u2019t have up to 18 candidates running for the office of the presidency,\u2019\u2019 she said,<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my framework and blueprint, I didn\u2019t just come with promises; I\u2019ve come with a plans\u2014with the six-pillar plans to rescue Nigeria, with the ESTHER agenda to rescue Nigeria,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
She explained that the E in her blueprint stood for `Energy, Education, Economic Renaissance;\u2019 S for Security and Social Welfare and T for `Technology, Transformation and Transparency;<\/p>\n
She also stated that the H represents \u201cHealthcare and Housing\u2019\u2019; E- for Enterprise and Employment,\u2019\u2019 and R- for \u201cResuscitation, Recovery and Reorientation.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Okereke said that in terms of energy she plans to generate 20,000 megawatts, while also providing befitting education facilities at all levels, saying it\u2019s doable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not rocket science. We start with having mini-grids here and there and leave the national grid to breathe while empowering it for more. Then you have the mini-grids to supply to communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have dilapidated schools where children are meant to be learning; they (students) are sitting on the floors to learn.<\/p>\n
\u201c It amazes me that we still have that at this time when it shouldn\u2019t. The people need just these basic amenities. It is not charity; it\u2019s their right,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
Okereke added that her blueprint also offers measures to prioritise social welfare and address the challenge of insecurity affecting the citizens and economic development of the country.<\/p>\n
Under the technology, transformation transparency\u2019 policy, Okereke said that NRM would roll out 500,000 tech jobs for youths every year to address unemployment, while also addressing corruption.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about transparency. By the time you eradicate corruption, you have transparency. That\u2019s what technology will do.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the things we will do would have to be with technology. You don\u2019t just remove corruption; you kill it with technology,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
The female presidential candidate also promised to address issue of house deficits, especially for the low- and middle-class citizens.<\/p>\n
She explained that she proposed a N500,000 minimum wage because the Naira has lost its value and the current minimum wage could not meet the needs of workers.<\/p>\n
She recalled earning a salary of N2,500 in 1997 in Abuja and how she was able to meet her needs as well support family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cI set aside N500 for my daily running, my transportation to work and everything, then the N2,000 goes for my family support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I tell you the things I bought with that, you would be amazed; a bag of rice, bag of beans, tubers of yam; I still transport to Niger and then still give pocket money to my younger ones and still give N700 to my mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy transport to Bida through and fro was N80 that I usually budget,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
She said that with proposed N100,000 new minimum wage it would be difficult to fight corruption.<\/p>\n
Okereke said that with N500,000 minimum wage workers could conveniently subscribe to low cost housing units, while government roll out the Electronic vehicles and CNG buses, accessible through dedicated card to curb corruption in the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis card is attached to everybody\u2019s allowance. At the end of the month, you deduct the monthly transportation subscription. Connect their unified utility bills, and then you deduct.<\/p>\n
\u201c At the end of the month, by the time you finish with this deduction, you\u2019ll be having at least N300,000 left for people to go home with and plan their future,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
Okereke described her economic blueprint as practicable and not rocket science, citing Singapore as a country that developed her economy from noting by harnessing its areas of strength.<\/p>\n
In 1965, when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia, they had nothing: no natural resources, no mineral resources, no oil, no gold, nothing. Not even a good land to farm agriculture.<\/p>\n
She said what the country did was to identify its port and trading hubs and developed them to be the best.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother thing they started producing was what everybody needs, not just what one region or one country would need, which is electronics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all the natural resources you can think of, the mineral resources you can think of. We have oil, we have gold, we have lithium, we have whatever, name it. We have all of this. We have cotton, we have cocoa.<\/p>\n
\u201cImportantly, what do we have that we are forgetting that is our liquid gold? That\u2019s our people our youths, our women. We do not value them. No dignity at home. That is why they are leaving abroad,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
She added that through her policy on entrepreneurship focusing enterprises and employment creation, 500,000 jobs would be created annually for the youths through technology to keep them busy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you bring them in, invest in human capital development, you would see what our youths can offer to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
On` Resuscitation, Recovery, and Reorientation\u2019, Okereke said that under her watch, Nigeria embassies would not just be about issuance of passports, they would also be involved in re-orienting Nigerians in the diaspora about the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, you talk about the recovery. All of our stolen wealth, we will recover it and put it in the National Recovery Infrastructure Fund, where we will use that same fund to build most of the infrastructure that is needed:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good roads that we\u2019re talking about, the mini-grid. There\u2019s a lot we would do with our recovered funds.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s the ESTHER agenda,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
She said that with her experiences in the real estate, hospitality, sports, entertainment, and productions with close to 200 staff members in different sectors, she had what it takes to transform Nigeria.(NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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