2023 Presidency: Atiku Abubakar ‘promises’ $10 billion fund for young business owners

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has promised to set up a $10 billion fund to make sure that young micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) owners are catered for.

The presidential candidate disclosed this at the launch of the PDP North Central campaign in Ilorin on Thursday.

He promised that if elected president, his administration will bail out the youth and put them on the path to success. He said:

• “Most of you here are under the age of 30 and most of you here have no jobs or businesses. We will make sure that in our programme, I’ve promised that I’ll set aside $ 10 billion to make sure that youths are catered for in micro, small and medium enterprises to empower them and to make sure that they are gainfully employed so they can have a decent living.
• “We’re not here to tell you lies. We’re your parents. We want you to be like we are. We will bail you out. We will bring you up. We will make sure you obtain your objectives, whatever your lofty ambition. That’s why we are here. Don’t vote for APC again. Vote for all candidates of the PDP come 2023.”

He blames APC: As expected, Atiku also used the occasion to attack the APC for its failure to tackle most of the challenges facing the country, including insecurity. 

• “But what do we see? We now see insecurity all over the country. It’s a total failure by the APC in all its ramifications. I know Kwara state for a very long time. Kwara is in the middle of the country; connecting the North and South.
• “We’ve seen the road infrastructure had been allowed to deteriorate. It was PDP that built the roads. And they’ve come and didn’t maintain the roads and the roads are very bad and un-motorable today.
• “We promise that if you elect PDP at both the state and national levels, we will ensure that the roads are connected to both sides of the country,” he added.

Atiku’s lofty promises: Recall that Nairametrics earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar promised to unveil an Economic Stimulus Fund with an initial investment of approximately $10 billion. He promised to do this within the first 100 days in office. He explained why the move is necessary: 

• “This is to support private sector investments in infrastructure and to prioritize support to agriculture, manufacturing and the MSMEs across all the economic sectors, as they offer the greatest opportunities for achieving inclusive growth,” he said.