Atiku warns NLC, lists dangers of re-electing Buhari

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday told the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) what will happen to them should President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) continue in power beyond 2019.

He said that reelecting Buhari will mean more job losses and urged them to support him in the February 16 presidential election to give room for more job creation and not losses.

Atiku stated this when he paid a personal visit to the NLC’s president and delegation at the International Convention Centre (ICC) at the start of NLC’s 12th National Convention.

His special assistant on public communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, made this known in a statement he made available to newsmen.

Atiku, who urged the worker’s union to vote out Buhari’s government, said “if Buhari is elected on February 16th for another four years, the NLC will not have many workers left to represent.”

The statement read in part, “As we know all too well, since 2015, our workforce has shrunken by over 14 million. And this is from a President who promised he would create 3 million jobs a year, but with over four years, he should have reduced unemployment by 12 million.

“So, 14 million jobs lost and 12 million net new jobs not created, comes to a deficit of 26 million versus what he promised us in 2015.

“If job losses continue to grow for the next four years at the same rate as the last four, the number of Nigerians without a job will rocket to 55 million.

READ ALSO: Buhari, Tinubu woo Ondo people, say PDP crying wolf over plot to rig polls

“That is almost two out of three of our people without a job, without a pay packet and without the means to feed their family.”

He told union members that he was bringing a message of hope, assuring that “if by the Grace of God, the Nigerian people decide to elect him as President, he commits that he will create jobs, grow the economy and get Nigeria working again.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now