The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said he delayed unveiling his manifesto, christened RMK2023 Blueprint because he did not want candidates of other political parties to pick his ideas.
He said his blueprint was organic and had original ideas, which he feared would have been picked by other candidates if it was released earlier.
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“We delayed so that other candidates would not pick our ideas. The manifesto is organic and has original ideas, and we urge Nigerians to read and digest it. And we want Nigerians to see the RMK 2023 Blueprint as a social contract between RMK/Idahosa and the people,” he said.
Kwankwaso, who spoke during the unveiling of his manifesto in Abuja, Tuesday, said he would give priority attention to security, education, health, restructuring of the country and the environment, among others.
The former governor of Kano State said he would replicate what he did in Kano by instituting an 11-member committee at the ward, local government and national levels, as a means of tackling security and other social problems bedevilling the grassroots.
He also said his government would deploy technology to secure Nigeria, adding that there would be a complete overhaul of the security architecture to secure the country from internal and external aggression.
He said hardworking Nigerians would be appointed into key positions to make all the sectors work efficiently.
“For our administration, no Nigerian child shall be denied the opportunity to write WAEC, NECO, JAMB, etc., because of their inability to pay exorbitant registration/examination fees. These examinations shall be free, and all application forms for admission into tertiary education institutions (TEls) shall also be free.
“These examination bodies will be adequately funded by the Kwankwaso administration.
“The notion that matriculation examination in Nigeria expires after one year will be stopped forthwith.
“JAMB results under the Kwankwaso government will have a moratorium of four years and tertiary institutions will be required to accept these results for the purposes of admission,” he added.
Kwankwaso also promised to take care of the out-of-school children across the country through the construction of 500,000 classroom blocks across the country with a presence in all the 774 local government areas.
He added that corruption will be exposed while civil servants and public servants will be made to be honest, transparent and accountable.
He berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of presiding over 16 years and eight years respectively of persistent insecurity, unprecedented economic crises, mass unemployment, increased poverty and destitution; growing and uncontrolled inflation, collapse of social services, including the deterioration of education and health services.
He emphasised that corruption and graft prevailed while mistrust and division among Nigerian citizens permeated every niche of the Nigerian society during these years, leading to more Nigerians becoming dissatisfied and disappointed and yearning for a positive change.
He, therefore, urged the masses to vote for the NNPP in the 2023 general elections for a new and better Nigeria.