By Ezra Ukanwa

AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, the Action Alliance, AA, candidate for Jada, Ganye, Mayo Belwa, Toungo constituency of Adamawa State, Taslim Ahmed Iya, has vowed to offer good representation and legislations if given the mandate in the forthcoming election.

This was even as he blamed the current state of the economy and the spate of insecurity in the country on bad governance on the part of the ruling class.

He said his political bid stems from a burning desire to turn the tide through an all inclusive and progressive process, should the mandate be given to him.

Ahmed said this, Wednesday,  in a statement made available to Vanguard, in Abuja.

According to him, I am sick and tired of watching all our leaders come into office, take all our money and do nothing. They have compromised our security, our economy, our ability to feed, clothe, and house ourselves, in other words our livelihood. Now it seems they would compromise our lives as well. We can’t keep electing the same group of leaders with different party names and expect things to change.

“A great man once said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. I am afraid if I do not stand up and call upon others to stand up and take action, there will be no Nigeria left.

“Our goal is to build this country either through our association or political party by having other concerned Nigerians join our cause, or by becoming a part of a government that is formed and have a voice in the shaping and execution of policies that lead to this change”, he added.

As part of ways to curb the spate of insecurity in the country,  he said he would ensure to advance state policing and a massive recruitment of interested Nigerians into the Police force.

He said moves to encourage a multi-ethnic, multi-religious unity, and introduce policies geared towards ensuring a just and fair society would be wholly welcomed.

He also said core revamp of moribund industries and other national assets laying inactive accross the country would form part of his top priorities.

He said: Significant increase in wages for the police and military by an initial 50%, along with improved welfare programs to focus on housing among others. Increase in the police force from around 250,000 to 500,000 to be trained through our new programs.

“Allow the creation of state police by giving each state control of its own stationed police forces. This should allow for closer monitoring of security needs as each state is able to police its own districts and LGAs having understood its own security needs. They should also be able to handle recruitment and training based on the state’s needs. Create well-equipped federal police from scratch with the best and the brightest in Nigeria.

“It is to be a well-paid and well-trained force created to pursue more serious crimes with focus departments on major issues facing Nigeria. Among its key focus areas should be our core national security issues such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and public corruption.

“We will quickly build up our industries such as agriculture, power, oil & gas, mining, and the assembly of our own cars (Toyota, Hyundai and other manufacturers), bikes, and tricycles instead of importing them. For example, our imports of cars alone amount to about $6 billion or 12% of our total imports, making it the third highest Nigerian import. We will achieve this through state intervention and investment which will create millions of jobs while reducing the cost of the products we produce (see pages 3 – 9 of our restructuring plan for more details).”

He added: “In Oil & Gas, we will specifically work towards getting our refineries working through partnerships with private companies similar to the NLNG model which has proven extremely successful.

“Our refineries currently refine less than 45,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to our daily needs of 450,000 barrels, when they have the capacity to produce 445,000 barrels per Our actions will lead to the reduced cost of petrol, diesel, and other petroleum products.

“Our work on improving power, roads, ports, and other areas will lead to increased employment as many people will be recruited for design, construction, management, and other areas while indirectly, an improvement in these areas will lead to companies performing better and able to hire more people, as well as more people being able to start their own businesses.”