
Arise TV, yesterday held another town hall meeting for the leading presidential candidates in the country, with several issues such as sundry effectiveness of education, good healthcare delivery, and insecurity eradication topping the bill.
Other potential presidents participated in the debate, but the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stayed away for undisclosed reasons.
Tinubu has been estranged from the TV station over issues observers root in conflict of interest and proprietary ownership, among other matters.
However, Tinubu had through his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), on Saturday in a statement, indicated that he wouldn’t be attending any debate organised by the TV station which he accused of being biased against him.
He also asked his supporters and spokespersons to boycott the TV station.
In difference to the APC leader’s position, however, three candidates, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) attended the third series of the town hall meeting.
Answering questions, Atiku spoke on human capacity development, suggesting solutions about giving incentives to the private sector to create employment.
Govs, state assemblies delaying local government autonomy –Osinbajo
The PDP presidential candidate also said he would link the labour market with the education sector.
He said, “We have to get our kids educated, and rightly educated. By the time you educate them, they will be available to the private sector which should be the engine of growth. The private sector is the driver of prosperity in any given economy.”
According to Atiku, “The primary responsibility of the public sector is to see how we can incentivize the private sector to make use of these talented young men and women we have produced through our reforms in the education sector.”
He added, “Nigeria’s mainstay is agricultural. We just revolutionise our agricultural sector to employ as many people as possible. The best way is to incentivize the private sector.”
On insecurity, Atiku also harped on how to aggressively and simultaneously integrate the economy with security to start reducing the number of casualties in the country.
The PDP presidential candidate also spoke on the development of technical education, bringing it in tandem with the improvement in technology.
LP’s presidential candidate, spoke on the need to improve education, especially in the Basic Education sector, and how to aggressively and simultaneously on integrating education with security, focusing on how to reduce casualties figures.
He observed that since the 1990s, Nigerians have lost billions of Naira to medical tourism, adding that there is a need to revolutionise the private sector to ensure rapid development.
Obi also dwelt principally on how to expand the Primary Health Care (PHC) programme to achieve the goals of total health in the country, particularly in the country.
“We need to change the response we have by making sure that our people are producing insurance and produce like they are doing in Indonesia,” he said.
He called for transparency in the healthcare sectors, using PHC.
Obi stressed the need for Nigerians to improve their public health status via the improvement of facilities and believing in them.
“As a governor, I was using our facilities such as those of other governors. Till today, I still use the same. Others should follow, believing in them.”
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Obi advocated that the government must make the scheme accessible and affordable to citizens.
He warned against brain drain.
NNPP’s Kwankwaso emphasised two things, how to improve facilities, saying, “I don’t have any succour outside the country, homes, et cetera when I was in the country,” he said.
He also called for using the NHIS to ensure that people go to hospitals to enrol.



