Kwankwaso vows to cease safety votes

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Occasion (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has promised to cease the allocation of safety votes if elected the president within the 2023 common election.

He additionally claimed that Nigeria has greater than sufficient cash to maintain each considered one of its residents, including that he wouldn’t borrow to pay salaries or maintain recurrent expenditures.

Kwankwaso said this on Sunday night time whereas talking on the city corridor assembly collection organized by Channels Tv along side UK Assist, Hope Motion Progress for Ladies and Youth in Politics, Scenario Room, Yiaga Africa and the Partnership to Have interaction, Reform and Study (PERL).

Kwankwaso had attended the assembly in Abuja together with his operating mate within the presidential election, Bishop Isaac Idahosa.

The presidential candidate tackled questions on safety, the economic system, training, and another key points.

Kwankwaso’s place: Kwankwaso revealed that in his time because the governor of Kano state, he by no means collected one naira as safety votes, opposite to the apply that he inherited. He stated:

• “For the eight years I used to be governor, I’ve by no means taken one naira on the problem of safety votes and I’ve inherited governments there have been taking N10m in a day seven instances, ten instances. In truth, at a stage, we had a document of 12 instances as a result of the governor can solely approve N10m so they might take N10m instances no matter quantity they need.
• “The one factor that we didn’t publish for the eight years I used to be governor was the cash given to the safety brokers however we now have the document. So, safety votes, in my very own opinion, is a giant approach of stealing cash as a result of that’s the reason I’ve by no means accomplished it; if I’ve the chance once more, there wouldn’t be something like safety votes within the presidency.
• “So, we now have seen instances the place some huge cash is been siphoned within the identify of safety votes and no person can defend it and, I feel that needs to be stopped utilizing no matter means as a result of it’s solely a great way of taking money from the treasury.’’

Nigeria has cash: Talking on indiscriminate borrowing which he claimed has negatively impacted Nigeria’s economic system, Kwankwaso stated: 

• “There’s a lot cash on this nation, anyone who says there isn’t any cash both doesn’t know or needs to be mischievous. There’s sufficient cash to maintain every considered one of us on this nation; we now have accomplished it in Kano from 1999 to 2003, we met a whole lot of money owed, however we paid the money owed after eight years. After I went again I met money owed of lots of of hundreds of thousands of US {dollars}, and we settled them earlier than I left in 2015.
• “I’m speaking of borrowing cash both from banks or people. We’ve got by no means borrowed. So I imagine that that may be replicated, to a really massive extent, on the nationwide stage. I can’t say I can’t borrow, however provided that they’re for essential issues. Not borrow to pay salaries, deal with present expenditures and so forth. I imagine there’s much more than sufficient cash on this nation to deal with that.”

Kwankwaso additionally stated that if elected president he would negotiate with Nigeria’s collectors to reschedule cost of money owed in order that authorities can have cash to maintain different issues.

• “The scenario, as we’re being instructed now, is that no matter we’re getting as our assets, as our cash on this nation just isn’t even sufficient to service our debt, I feel that’s what we now have heard. Now the problem is that any accountable authorities day one will sit down with all of the individuals, and collectors and see how they are often rescheduled, there must be a negotiation.
• “You can’t be amassing all of your assets and paying curiosity to the collectors, there must be an association to just be sure you are given a respiration area as a way to begin bringing within the good issues which might be vital for the nation to maneuver ahead.’’

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