MANIFESTO BOLA AHMED TINUBU BAT My Vision for Nigeria A nation transformed into greatness, the pride of Africa, a role model for all black people worldwide, and respected among all other countries 1 A vibrant and thriving democracy and a prosperous nation with a fast-growing industrial base, capable of producing the most basic needs of the people and exporting to other countries of the world. 2 3 A country with a robust economy, where prosperity is broadly shared by all irrespective of class, region, and religion 2 2 My Vision for Nigeria A nation where its people enjoy all the basic needs, including a safe and secure environment, abundant food, affordable shelter, health care, and quality primary education for all 4 A nation founded on justice, peace, and prosperity for all. 5 3 My Actionable Manifesto This manifesto outlines an actionable social contract with the Nigerian people. I do not intend to go it alone. I need the people's consent and active participation. I, at this moment, outline my pledge for a new Nigeria, a prosperous Nigeria, a Nigeria where all our people live a decent life and enjoy a modest standard of living in a safe and secured environment. All these I intend to achieve through an honest contract with the people. 4 Economy The centerpiece of my fiscal and economic policy is to optimize economic growth and employment. I will focus on stimulating jobs, which will be my top priority as President. I will get Nigeria to work by launching a major public works program, a significant and heavy investment in infrastructure, and value-adding manufacturing and agriculture. My administration will build an efficient, fast-growing, and well-diversified emerging economy with a real GDP growth averaging 12% annually for the next four years, translating into millions of new jobs during this period. 5 Economy In support of my job creation initiative, I will launch a new National Industrial Policy that will focus on special intervention to reinvigorate specific strategic industries. These include Textiles, Cement, Steel, Oil, Gas, Petrochemicals, light manufacturing, food processing, information technology, and other areas with abundant raw materials and apparent competitive advantage. These have the potential to generate millions of new jobs in the next four years, create a new set of entrepreneurs, and usher in new industries and new knowledge-based enterprises. 6 Economy Information Technology, Entertainment, Music, and Tourism are new Key Drivers of the economy with special vehicles and funding mechanisms. I will establish new industrial growth centers by creating six new Regional Economic Development Agencies. These agencies will create sub-regional industrial hubs to exploit each zone's competitive advantage and optimize their potential. I will promote innovation and creativity through heavy investment in research, development, science, and technology. 7 Agriculture & Food Security There will be a renewed focus on Agriculture and food security by formulating a new National Policy on Agriculture to boost food production and GDP growth rate of over 7% annually. My administration will strengthen the new Lagos Commodity Exchange Board and promote the establishment of new ones for strategic agricultural products like cotton, cocoa, rice, soya beans, corn, palm kernel, and groundnuts, thereby guaranteeing minimum prices for all these cash crops, boosting productivity and enhancing average farm income and growth in the rural economy. 8 Agriculture & Food Security I will promote the creation of a new set of young agric-entrepreneurs by encouraging and supporting young school leavers to take into agriculture after undergoing vocational training at the various schools of agriculture. I will collaborate with State governments to expand extension services and provide technical support for farmers on mechanization and modern farming techniques. The goal is to modernize agriculture and agro-allied businesses and gradually move Nigeria away from subsistence farming to small and medium-sized commercial farming and production. 9 Infrastructure: Build a New Nigeria (BANN) My administration will develop a National Infrastructure Plan for the nation covering strategic and integrated roads, bridges, rail, water, power, seaports, and airports spanning the length and breadth of the country under the theme “Build a New Nigeria” (BANN. As part of BANN, I will initiate a medium to long-term infrastructure financing model which combines funding from internal sources, borrowings, the PPP model, and strictly private sector financing and concession. 10 Infrastructure: Build a New Nigeria My administration will review the existing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) legal, regulatory and operational framework to ensure speedy and timely implementation of PPP projects. I will establish a National Infrastructure Development Bank to bridge the funding gap in this critical sector and provide loans to support essential projects at a nominal interest rate. On Electricity, I will embark on a renewed action-oriented focus and take immediate and urgent action on resolving existing challenges of power generation plants, gas purchasing, pricing, transmission, and distribution. My administration's critical goal is to have 15,000 megawatts distributable to all categories of consumers nationwide to ensure 24/7 sustainable supply within the next four years. 11 Oil, Gas and Solid Minerals My administration will undertake a comprehensive reform of the oil & gas sector in line with the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) I will create a new, independent and transparent system of auctions for allocating drilling rights to reduce the opportunity for graft and corruption. I will immediately privatize the NNPC and compel exploration companies to list their equity on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and contribute directly to the Sovereign Wealth Fund. By the time we took office, the Dangote refinery would have been fully operational, nullifying the need to import refined petroleum. 12 Oil, Gas and Solid Minerals There will be no need for a subsidy because the market will be open and transparent, supply will come from local refineries, and the forces of demand and supply will determine the price of petroleum products. My administration will establish a National Strategic Reserve for Petroleum Products to stabilize supply during unexpected shortages or surplus periods. This will eliminate any form of product shortages and prevent wild swings in prices. My administration will sponsor legislation to devolve the solid mineral sector management to the State Government. The Federal Government will focus on efforts in exploration, research, and development and promote increased local and international investment in the sector 13 BAT will undertake a comprehensive reform of the oil & gas sector in line with the newly enacted PIB He will create a new, independent and transparent system of auctions for allocating drilling rights in order to reduce opportunity for graft and corruption BAT administration will immediately privatize the NNPC and compel exploration companies to list their equity on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and contribute directly to the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. Under a BAT administration, the Dangote refinery would have been fully operational thereby nullifying the need to import refined petroleum Education I am fully committed to overhauling the education sector and making a significant impact in education as a matter of priority. I will triple education spending over the next four years from the current 8% to over 25% In partnership with the agriculture and food processing sector, I will embark on free daily school meals for millions of primary school children across the nation. I will revive technical and vocational education across the country by establishing Local Technical Institutes in all the states of the federation. These LTIs will promote technical and vocational education to absorb the millions of young school leavers who complete primary and secondary schools every year who cannot get admission to universities. 14 Education The new LTIs will provide free training to our unemployed youth in acquiring the basic skills necessary to be engaged under the new Infrastructure Plan outlined above. I will initiate a new creative means of funding tertiary education by granting universities the financial autonomy to explore new sources of financing through grants, corporate sponsorship, tuition fees etc. My administration will collaborate with all the tertiary education sector stakeholders, including students, parents, the academic community, relevant unions, and the government. I will instantly end the culture of strikes and the shutdown of higher institutions in Nigeria and harmonize the school calendar across the nation in a predictable manner. 15 Healthcare My administration will focus on improving the nation's health care infrastructure by collaborating with States and Local Governments to create a new network of local clinics and dispensaries providing primary health care and drugs for citizens. I will increase the proportion of the annual budget dedicated to health care from 6.5% presently to over 10% My administration will begin the process of reverse brain drain by attracting hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers who have migrated out of Nigeria to Nigeria. I will embark on special programs to upgrade the quality of all Federal Government Hospitals to world-class standards. I will impose a ban on medical tourism for all categories of public officers to ensure no one travels abroad for any form of medical treatment. I will revive and relaunch the National Health Insurance Scheme, ensure that it takes off smoothly, and provide health insurance cover for most Nigerians. 16 Tackling Poverty My immediate goal is to provide for all Nigerians the basic needs of life at the minimum, including affordable housing, food security, quality primary education and healthcare for all, and a conducive and safe living environment. I will make the complete eradication of poverty a significant priority of my administration. My strategy is to first get as many Nigerians as possible to work and to earn decent wages. The job creation initiatives highlighted above will all combine to create an unprecedented number of new jobs, which will absorb millions of young people, the middle-aged, and women and pull them out of poverty towards a path of prosperity. 17 Tackling Poverty For the vulnerable Nigerians, I will immediately start a Social Welfare Scheme with Direct Monthly Cash Payments to about 25 million vulnerable Nigerians. These include Pregnant Women, unemployed Mothers of School-age children under 18 years, senior Citizens over 65yrs and the disabled, armed services veterans who meet set guidelines under a "Social Insurance Contract with Vulnerable Nigerians." 18 Support for Micro & Small Businesses I will collaborate with the CBN, microfinance banks, SMEDAN, and the Bank of Industry to establish a special intervention fund and put a Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme for micro and small businesses to bridge existing funding gaps. This is to stimulate growth for the over 40 million micro and small enterprises operating all over Nigeria and for each to employ an average of one additional person, translating to 40 million new jobs per year. My administration will promote a national culture of consumer financing and credit system by moving the country away from a cash and carry economy to that of a credit-based consumer financing economy. This will stimulate more consumer demand and boost productivity and growth. 19 Housing As part of my administration’s goal of shelter for all Nigerians, I will vigorously work towards bridging the housing gap by embarking on a mass housing strategy. As part of the mass housing strategy, my administration will collaborate with state governments, the building and construction industry, private sector investors, and banks to build and sell over 5 million new homes within the next four years. I will introduce a national mortgage system that will lend at single-digit interest rates to purchase these owner-occupied homes. A seed fund will support the National Mortgage System to ensure that new homeowners will enjoy single-digit interest rates for between 15-30 years when they purchase owner-occupied homes. The National Mortgage System will enable the building and construction industry to absorb millions of young school leavers trained under the LTI scheme, creating millions of new jobs for young and skilled school leavers. 20