The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the economic future of the nation
is guaranteed under President Goodluck Jonathan citing his unprecedented
performance in wealth creation as well as strategies already mapped out
for continued economic and social growth in the country.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement, Sunday, said
the multi-sectoral development approach adopted by the Jonathan
administration resulted in a stronger economy, which not only withstood
the shock of the global financial downturn that ravaged most nations of
the world, but also created an exceptional enabling environment and
support for investments and businesses to thrive in the country.
The party said that it is undisputable that INVESTORS and entrepreneurs in
the country have fared better, more than ever before, in the last four
years under President Goodluck Jonathan making the nation the largest
economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world, “a fact
businessmen, even those in the opposition cannot contest”.
Stressing that “no body changes a winning team just for the sake of
change”, the PDP said what the nation needs at the moment is “an
uninterrupted flow of the transformation effort which can only be best
handled by a President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration,
especially as the opposition has failed to articulate any workable
alternative to Nigerians”.
“We restate that our nation has been blessed with the meticulous
application of deliberate economic policies and programmes in the last
four years under President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda. Within this
period, there has been a phenomenal growth of small and medium scale
enterprises in addition to the revamping of the manufacturing sector with
unprecedented volume of domestic and direct foreign investments empowering
our people in all walks of life.
“The fact remains that in the last four years under Jonathan, more
businesses have been opened in telecommunication, banking, oil and gas,
transport, aviation, hospitality, automobile, education, agriculture,
healthcare and manufacturing sectors with an unprecedented expansion rate,
providing business and employment opportunities for millions of our
citizens across the country”, the party said.
The observed that this was made possible by the application of a
multi-sectoral development strategy of the Jonathan administration in the
critical sectors and direct government empowerment interventions through
programmes such as YouWin and SURE-P Graduate Internship Scheme among
others.
“With the huge investment in power and road infrastructure, the return of
the railways and inland waterways ferrying millions of passengers and
tonnes of goods across the country; the repositioning of the aviation
industry, the rapid expansion in the telecommunication sector; the
unequalled INVESTMENT in agriculture with food production exceeding the
targeted 20 million metric tons in 2015; the revamping of the
manufacturing sector with automobile companies such as Innoson Kia, Nissan
and Hyundai setting up factories in Nigeria, in addition to the reopening
of Peugeot and ANMACO, the future of Nigerian businesses is secure and
ready to move to the next level of expansion under a Jonathan
administration”, the statement said.
The party noted that the guarantee of a more prosperous future is
strengthened by the Nagropreneurs Initiative of the Jonathan
administration, the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Fund to empower graduates and other young people to own their
own businesses, the National industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), and the
National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) expected to generate no
fewer than five million direct jobs before the end of 2015.”

The PDP pointed out that apart from employment generation, the revolution
in these key sectors also guarantees technology transfer, reduction in
costs and increase in investment opportunities.
The party said the next four years under Jonathan will see a maximum yield
in the development efforts especially given the measures already put in
place by the administration to plug loopholes, such as the introduction of
the independent revenue e-collection scheme under the Treasury Single
Account, an automated system for greater monitoring and control of
spending in government ministries, departments and agencies across board.
It therefore urged Nigerians to remain steadfast and not relent in their
support for the President but to fully demonstrate it by coming out
enmasse to vote for him and other PDP candidates in the March 28 and April
11 elections.