Agriculture, Housing And Infrastructure Are Sectors We Must Focus On – Fela Durotoye

Three Presidential Candidates on Saturday were at loggerheads on issues of the economy in the televised debate held at the Trans-corp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) and Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP). Asked how he intended to fix the economy, Moghalu collectively agreed that the country currently lacked an economic philosophy.

Moghalu said that Nigeria must first decide whether it is practicing a capitalist or socialist ideology.

“So, my approach to the Nigerian economy is first to focus on reforming the educational system; ensure that our young people have the skills that can make them competitive in the 21st century and the skills that can give them jobs or help them to set up their own jobs.

“Then we will give them access to finance which my government will do through the creation of N1 trillion venture capital fund which will give equity capital, not loans that will have to be repaid.
“This is because loans carry interests in Nigeria that is too high or we may not have the collateral to be able to access them.

“So, we will invest in new businesses that will create millions of jobs within the first four years.
“Therefore, the approach that we will have is skill, capital and literacy, that is what will fix the Nigerian economy and take it into industrialisation,’’ Moghalu said.

On his plan for the economy, Durotoye spoke in favor of agriculture, housing and infrastructure as the most key sectors that should be focused on.

Ezekwesili also said her aim is to lift at least 80 million Nigerians out of poverty through improvement in the productivity of majority of Nigerians who “earn less than N700 a day’’.