Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed that he started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets of Jada in Adamawa State.
Atiku revealed this at the launch of his presidential campaign on Monday, through a live broadcast on Twitter.
The former Nigerian vice president said “I started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets of Jada in Adamawa, but God, through the Nigerian state, invested in me and here I am today.
“If Nigeria worked for me, I owe it as my duty to make sure that Nigeria also works for you.”
Atiku in his declaration said it was time to get Nigeria working again, saying, “I appeal to you to join me on this journey towards a better life for all Nigerians.
“Today we will begin the process of sharing our policies that form my plan to create jobs, restructure the polity, and Get Nigeria Working Again.
“If elected President, I will be pro-active in attracting investments and supporting the 50 million small and medium scale enterprises across Nigeria for the purpose of doubling the size of our Gross Domestic Product to US$900 billion by 2025.”
Atiku said part of his plan is to restructure the country, adding that his priority is to create jobs for Nigerians.
“My plan to restructure Nigeria will lead to a vast increase in the Internally Generated Revenue both for the Federal Government and the states via the matching grants that we will provide to state governments that increase their own revenue.
“My team and I will also help create jobs by innovating flagship programmes such as the National Open Apprenticeship Programme through which we shall enhance the capacity of Master-Craftsmen and women to train 1,000,000 new apprentices every year,” he said.
