Joseph Bakare
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday embarked on his re election campaign with the presentation of his achievements, and his plans, if reelected.
On job creation, the campaign with the theme, “The Next Level: Working for the Greatest Number”, announced plans to engage one million N-Power graduates and “skill up” 10 million Nigerians under a voucher system in partnership with the private sector.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) standard bearer plans to expand the school feeding programme from 9.3 million to 15 million children to create 300,000 extra jobs for vendors and farmers.
In infrastructure upgrade, it intends to complete the Ibadan/Kano phase of the Lagos/Kano rail link; the Port Harcourt/Maiduguri line, the Itakpa/Warri link to Abuja, through Lokoja; the Second Niger Bridge; and the East West Road connecting Warri, Delta State, to Oron, Akwa Ibom State, through Kaiama and Port Harcourt in Bayelsa and Rivers State respectively.
President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, his running mate, also indicated the plan will establish a “Peoples Moni Bank” to institutionalize the giving out of soft loans of up to N1 million to small traders, artisans and commercial drivers, including taxi drivers, Keke and motorcycle riders.
The team intends to consolidate on its Trader Moni, Market Moni and Farmer Moni schemes by increasing the number of beneficiaries from 2.3 million to 10 million.
The Buhari/Osinbajo team also wants to create more room for inclusion in government, by achieving 35 per cent in female appointments, give more access to youth appointment in boards and agencies, as well as introduce special mentoring programme in governance, with young graduates working with ministers and other senior government appointees.
In education, it states: “Every child counts is our roadmap to make our primary and secondary school students digitally literate with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STREAM).
“We will reinterpret the curriculum, by imparting functional skills such as coding, robotics, animation, design thinking, collaboration, critical thinking and project management. We will also emphasise civic education.
“All teachers in public primary and secondary schools will be retrained in their primary areas of teaching, as well as to deliver digital literacy.”
The team also added that at the next level, 10,000 schools per year will be remodeled and equipped, transforming classrooms to labs, workshops and collaboration centres.