Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), has promised to eliminate the Senate and funds allocated for religious pilgrimages if elected.
On Sunday, Sowore made this comment during a town hall Presidential meeting Election in Abuja.
In response to a question about how he plans to address the country’s mounting debt, dwindling revenue, and widening deficit, Sowore pledged to cut wasteful spending.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I want to get rid of the Senate so we can use that money to take care of education. “But most importantly, we must discuss our revenue cum what we spend money on, the amount of waste in this country. I’ve decided to stop throwing money at useless projects.
And, with all due respect, pilgrimage is not something I care to spend money on. I intend to use the funds to educate our young people and seal off all possible points of corruption.
The accountant general and other government officials will benefit greatly from a fully digitalized nation.
We will have more than enough money by the time you finish pursuing them all. If anyone tells you that Nigeria doesn’t have money, they’re lying to you. The problem we have is that all of the wealth is going to the avaricious few.
Also, he said, security appropriations to governors and some federal agencies will be eliminated.
Incorrect revenue collection is the root of our problem, not an excessive debt-to-GDP ratio.
RMAFC, the revenue mobilization body, recently reported that federal government agencies owe the federal government a total of N10 trillion in unremitted revenue.
I will pursue this; I intend to eliminate the N271 billion currently allocated to governors and federal agencies as “security votes” in Nigeria. I don’t know who they’re protecting with security votes from over 799 federal agencies, so I’m getting rid of them,” he said.
The AAC presidential candidate also mocked Department of State Services (DSS) operatives, claiming that they were more interested in watching “BBNaija” than in gathering intelligence while he was in their custody in 2018.
He claimed the organization was not doing enough to investigate threats to national security, such as terrorism and banditry.
When asked about his plans for improving national security, Sowore said he intends to appoint smart people to head up intelligence agencies.
He said that the heads of the country’s security agencies are powerless to save the country from the pockets of criminals who have taken over certain regions.
Today, I am not the President of Nigeria. If I am elected in 2019, the security issue will be broken down into three distinct parts, and there will be no more talk of places being taken over by bandits.
One is the protection of one’s physical safety. Second, intelligence operations include gathering information, analyzing it, and acting on it. The collection of intelligence, however, is impossible without the leadership of capable individuals within intelligence agencies.
I spent five months in DSS custody. They should have been gathering intelligence and using it to stop terrorists and bandits, but instead, they were watching BBNaija.
He claimed the country’s security system was created to safeguard the ruling elite and their business interests.
Therefore, he urged Nigerians to stop supporting traditional politicians who offer no solutions to the country’s security and economic crises.