The All Progressives Congress (APC) has flagged off its campaign for the Kogi governorship election with President Bola Tinubu eyeing 500,000 jobs from the Ajaokuta Steel Complex once completed.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President, made this known at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign, slated for November 11th, in Lokoja, the state capital, on Sunday.
Addressing a mammoth crowd in Lokoja, Shettima also said that Tinubu remained committed to completing the Kabba-Lokoja and the Abuja-Lokoja roads.
Tinubu, the Vice President said, is a man of plenty ideas who is determined to reposition the nation in its rightful place, especially as it borders on restructuring and stimulating the Nigerian economy.
“Given Mr. President’s commitment to the development of Kogi State and indeed the entirety of Nigeria, Kogi, in particular, being a confluence state, cannot afford to have a governor who is hostile to the centre. We must be partners in progress and work hand in hand to develop this great nation,” the Vice President said.
He hinted about plans by the Tinubu administration to make the Itakpe crop processing project a dream come true, just as he promised jobs and affordable education under the current government.
Re-emphasising that the welfare of the citizenry would never be willfully compromised, Shettima called on Kogi citizens to come out en masse on November 11 to vote for the candidate of the APC, Ahmed Usman Ododo, to consolidate on achievements of the APC government in the state.
This came as a senator representing Niger East on the platform of APC, Sani Musa, advised the Federal Government to privatise moribund oil refineries to achieve local refining of crude oil and make the price of petrol affordable.
Musa, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, made the call in Abuja on Saturday, while fielding questions from journalists on the 63rd independence anniversary of Nigeria.
He said: “Proceeds from such privatisation should be diversified into the mining sector to create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth who are roaming the streets daily. The youth constitute 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population and must be made productive. This is possible if the mining and agricultural sectors are repositioned.”
