An All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Moses Ayom, has vowed to reverse the World Bank estimate that Nigeria records $26.2 billion annual economic losses due to poor access to electricity.

Ayom who declared for the 2023 presidential ticket of the APC said that the economic losses can be reversed through committed political leadership, noting that with good leadership, Nigeria’s economic challenges could be resolved.

He said, “We have all the natural and human resources to guarantee good life for every Nigerian, lead Africa and play big in the top league of advanced world economies.”

According to him, “Nigeria requires a sound leader; one that is committed to stimulating inclusive economic growth, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship that creates jobs and increases the standard of living for every Nigerian.

“A leader that is religiously committed to the promotion of justice, equity, and representation to give all entities in this country a practical stake and deep and heartfelt sense of inclusion as well as prioritizing competence in public service where governance is seen as a tool for the service of all rather than an avenue for political patronage,” he said

As a first significant step towards reviving the economy, Ayom said that his Presidency “would implement initiatives that would help turn the Southeast region into the Gwanzhou manufacturing hub of Africa and support locally produced goods with tax incentives”

He stated further. “We would encourage the manufacture and use of Made in Nigeria goods. As president, I would drive Innoson vehicles and make it mandatory for government agencies to follow suit.”

According to him, ensuring steady supply of electricity is fundamental to building a modern and prosperous Nigeria, which he noted, currently has the largest energy deficit in the world.

Quoting statistics, Ayom, said, “according to the World Bank over 85 million Nigerians representing 43% of our population, don’t have access to grid electricity. The lack of reliable power is a significant constraint for both citizens and businesses. The World Bank estimate that we record annual economic losses estimated at $26.2 billion (₦10.1 trillion) which is equivalent to about 2 percent of GDP. “

He explained that Nigeria needs over 24,380 MW to power her economy and lamented that currently “our total installed generation capacity is 12,522 MW, but average operational generation capacity is just less than 5,000MW at peak, about 7.4% is lost in transmission, and up to 27.7% load is rejected at distribution.”

He said the ugly power situation in Nigeria required urgent reversal noting that power should be the second priority to security which he noted needed to be made stronger, well-equipped, properly motivated and better trained to tackle the many external and internal security challenges.

“We would therefore sustain the tempo of investment in armed forces, forge alliances that ensure steady supply and availability of the most modern security equipment and promote discipline and professionalism in the rank and file of our security architecture.

“We shall build a million-man strong armed force with the most modern fighting equipment and training. This is because I believe what we need now is superior force to destroy the resolve of those who threaten our peace while seeking long term solutions that would reduce the vulnerabilities of youth to insurgents, criminals, and destabilizers,” said the presidential aspirant.

On measures to boost the economy, Ayom pledged that his administration would create free trade zones in all 36 states and provide the basic tools and infrastructure that will attract both foreign and local investors for startups that will pick all the youths off the streets.

The aspirant said that he believes that creating international development partnerships is key to ensuring a better future for Nigeria.

As an entrepreneur experienced in solid mineral development, Ayom noted that massive investment in the mining sector would serve as catalysts for a job-powered economy.

“When citizens have access to jobs, when citizens are well educated and have the tools to earn a decent living, there will be a corresponding decline in crime, banditry, and other forms of social vices,” he said

Ayom disclosed that his deep involvement and wide experience in the mining sector put him on a business trip with President Buhari, Aliko Dangote to China in 2016, an event he said later attracted N1billion facility to his firm, ‘Granite and marble’ from the CBN under its Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) intervention”

“Granite and marble while on the delegation signed an MOU with SBM china , the biggest manufacturer of mining equipment in the world,” the aspirant said.

According to him, whenever the facility which was facilitated by the late Ismaila Isa Funtua, is activated and ignited, Nigeria’s mining sector would witness a turn around.

“During that trip Nigeria signed major transformative deals with the Republic of China. A notable one was the N720BN currency swap deal. The Bilateral Currency Swap (BCS) agreement was to allow importers of goods from China to conclude their transactions in Yuan instead of the greenback (US Dollar) and vice-versa. This was done to reduce the demand of the US Dollar, reducing the pressure of the Naira at the time, one of CBN’s many policies in managing the Naira.

“Another one was a 2.6 billion dollars deal to support the Dangote refinery to boost local refining capacity and tackle the burden of fuel imports,” he further disclosed

Ayom also spoke on tackling challenges in other sectors like education, healthcare, Social Infrastructure including roads, bridges and transportation systems to ensure free and cost-effective movement of goods and services.

“Particularly, we would concentrate on partnerships with the Chinese Railway Corporation for revamping of old routes and expansion of modern railway lines across the country,” he added.

Courtesy (excluding headline) THISDAY

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