‘It’ll open up space for PPP’ — Atiku’s daughter backs his privatisation plan

Hauwa Atiku-Uwais, says Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will open the business environment for public-private partnerships (PPP).

Speaking when she featured on the Channels Television programme, “The 2023 Verdict on Tuesday”, Atiku-Uwais, the daughter of Abubakar, said her father’s privatisation plan would lead to the industrialisation of the country.

In his manifesto, Abubakar said if elected, he will privatise some of the nation’s assets, including the refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri — and use the funds to empower small and medium-scale enterprises.

Atiku-Uwais said Abubakar’s privatisation plan would open the economy and bring about development.

“In his covenant with Nigerians, he (Atiku) has consistently spoken about industrialisation and privatisation,” she said.

“When you open up the space for the private sector to come in — we’ll have industries that can work, we have industries that generate money, pay taxes to the government, and enable the government to take care of its own business, diverting from the typical (dependence on) oil industry.

“For me, liberalisation and privatisation will open up the space for public-private partnerships with government and will enable the government to concentrate on what the government should concentrate on which is regularisation and implementation and providing an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

“Once the economy is open, you and I will see a fantastic difference. My father is a champion of that and he has said it over and over in his campaigns over the years and this hasn’t changed.”