Atiku Abubakar the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, has stated that, if voted into power, he will hand over Federal Government-owned universities to state governments to manage.
Atiku also promised to create a conducive environment for both local and foreign investors to participate in country affairs.
The PDP Presidential candidate stated this on Monday as a panelist at the 2022 Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference held in Lagos State.
While speaking on Monday during the panel session Atiku said the Federal Government does not have infinite resources to take care of these Universities.
“The only way is to make sure that you make conducive environment available to both foreign and local investors to participate in our country, whether it is infrastructure, whether it is education, whether it is power,” he said.
“I had an argument with a university professor from Federal University, Lokoja. He said he read in my policy document that I intended to devolve, in other words, to return education to the states. How dare do I do that?
“I said, ‘Mr Professor, do you realise that the first set of our universities belongs to the regional governments?’ He said, ‘Yes’. I said who are the successors of the regional government. He said the states.
“I said the children you send to America, to England, who own those universities? Mostly the private sector. So, why is it that you think we cannot do it here? We don’t have the money.”
