PUNCH Interview: Frank Ukonga Promise 20 million Jobs, 50,000 MW Electricity & $ 3,5 trn GNP -Presidential candidate of the Democratic Alternative, explains his plans to transform Nigeria if elected in 2019 in this interview with PUNCH- WILLIAMS BABALOLA

PUNCH Interview: Frank Ukonga Promise 20 million Jobs, 50,000 MW Electricity & $ 3,5 trn GNP -Presidential candidate of the Democratic Alternative, explains his plans to transform Nigeria if elected in 2019 in this interview with PUNCH- WILLIAMS BABALOLA

What will be the focus of your administration?

The Democratic Alternative, if voted into power next year by Nigerians, would focus on the implementation of the DA marshal plan which will take Nigeria to greater heights where it would be ranked among the top 10 economies and industrial giants of the world. We are targeting a GNP of over $3.5tn by 2024 and create over 20 million direct jobs. We also want to create over 50 million jobs in the downstream sector of the economy so that we could generate and distribute over 50,000MW of electricity. Such a boost in the power sector would jump-start our party’s industrial, economic and agricultural revolution and much more.

The government of DA has set a target GNP of $3.5tn by 2024 if voted into power by Nigerians. Our reforms would position Nigeria among the top 10 economic giants of the world. On electricity, we would generate and distribute within the first year in office, over 50,000 MW going by the research carried out by our development department.

What do you regard as Nigeria’s biggest problem at this time and how do you intend to tackle it?

The biggest problem of Nigeria is the mismanagement of the nation’s economy and the entire affairs of the country by charlatans and mostly unpatriotic leadership which causes mediocrity and underdevelopment of our great nation. The mismanagement of the Nigerian state is also responsible for the economic (downturn), insecurity, unemployment, poor infrastructural development, frail gregarious and epileptic institutions, and insecurity. The government of DA is determined to lead a result-oriented and determined government, dedicated to hard work to take Nigeria to the promised land of prosperity, peace and economic prowess. Terrorism, kidnapping, irredentist ethnic chauvinism and senseless ethnic cleansing and domination are becoming embarrassing to the integrity of the Nigerian sovereignty and threaten peace and coexistence in sub-Saharan Africa thus becoming an albatross to our economic, industrial and investment potential in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-continental shelf. Our government would not tolerate this diabolical, obnoxious irredentism.

What would you do differently from what this government or the previous ones have done?

The government of DA is determined to have a paradigm shift from the other government of Nigeria through the DA marshal plans of industrial, economic and agricultural revolution. We shall establish over 1,000 cottage industries in the 774 local government areas in Nigeria within the first 365 days in office. We shall empower the youth, women and the vulnerable. We shall create so many jobs that people from all over the world will travel to Nigeria to share from the novae prosperity the government of DA would create. Nigeria will be back as a true global and continental player and giant. Our word is our bond. We promise not to let Nigerians down but to set forth at dawn.

Do you think INEC will conduct a free and fair election in 2019? If not, what step do you intend to do?

To be honest with you, the DA is apprehensive on the possibility of having a free, fair and credible election in 2019. We are optimistic that there could be an election in 2019, but as to how credible, free and fair it would be will always be held suspect especially if you take into consideration the contemporary idiosyncrasies of the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections. Any sane, rational mind of goodwill cannot adjudge such elections of Ekiti and Osun as free, fair and credible and if this is projected to the 2019 elections, which are a few months away, it would be foolhardy to begin to have a stream of consciousness of expecting a free, fair and credible election in the same polity with just four months to go. We at DA uphold the philosophy of historical and dialectical materialism of the central Marxism of social democracy and within the value standard and judgments of that school of thought. To have a credible, free and fair election in 2019 would be a miracle like a camel going through the eye of a needle.

Copyright PUNCH.