YPP: Adamawa Must Move Beyond Palliatives to Build Wealth, Jobs

By Yagana Ali, Yola

The Young Progressive Party (YPP) governorship aspirant in Adamawa State, Wafariniyi Theman, has unveiled an ambitious economic blueprint aimed at moving the state beyond palliatives and short-term interventions to a system capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and lifting millions of residents out of poverty.

Theman, while presenting his development agenda, said poverty could not be defeated by continually treating its symptoms without addressing the conditions that create it.

Drawing from his background as a pharmacist, he compared palliatives to giving a patient painkillers for a persistent headache without investigating the illness responsible for the pain.

According to him, while palliatives remain necessary for vulnerable families, they must be accompanied by deliberate policies that create sustainable livelihoods.

“Palliatives cannot be wrong,” he said, arguing that the government must combine targeted support for vulnerable households with what he described as broad-based economic transformation.

Theman said his administration would identify households and communities requiring assistance while simultaneously investing heavily in sectors capable of generating wealth, particularly agriculture, livestock, technology and small businesses.

He identified agriculture as one of Adamawa’s biggest untapped economic opportunities, calling for the mechanization of farming and development of agricultural value chains.

The aspirant said the state must move away from subsistence agriculture and create an environment where farmers can produce commercially, process their commodities locally and access larger markets.

He listed livestock, rice, groundnut and sesame among commodities with significant economic potential, stressing that Adamawa should no longer be content with producing raw materials without developing the industries needed to process and market them.

Theman also proposed the establishment of a Gongola Development Bank to provide capital for farmers, entrepreneurs and businesses, arguing that lack of access to finance remains a major obstacle to economic expansion.

But beyond agriculture, Theman said the future of Adamawa’s young population would increasingly depend on technology.

He proposed three digital innovation hubs across the state, with an initial target of training 600 young people within the first 100 days and ultimately producing 10,000 digitally skilled youths within five years.

The objective, he said, would be to enable young people in Adamawa to work for companies around the world without necessarily leaving the state.

“We want to make Adamawa a place to provide services to the world,” he said.

Theman said the state’s young people possess the talent and energy required to compete globally but need the infrastructure, skills and opportunities to turn their abilities into income.

He also proposed expanded internet connectivity and digital access points to support young people working in the technology and freelance economy.

On security, the YPP aspirant argued that peace and economic development must be treated as interconnected priorities.

He said insecurity, once viewed by some people outside the Northeast as a regional problem, could ultimately affect the wider Nigerian economy.

Theman proposed attracting investment into Adamawa’s tourism and cultural assets, saying such partnerships could simultaneously create economic opportunities and strengthen security around important tourist destinations.

“If all we will gain from that partnership is security, I think we are taking it back to our number one priority,” he said.

He argued that investors would continue to explore opportunities where the government creates the right conditions, adding that Adamawa must present its economic assets in a way that makes the state attractive to responsible local and international investors.

Theman also promised greater economic inclusion for women through skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and access to markets, particularly in areas such as furniture, interior decoration and related services.

He proposed stronger local government institutions, including the creation of a State Economic Council to bring the state and its 21 local government areas into a coordinated development-planning framework.

According to him, development cannot be effectively managed from the state capital without understanding the specific needs of communities across the state.

The aspirant further proposed reforms in public finance, digital government services, water and sanitation, energy, rural development, environmental protection, climate action and social protection for elderly people and persons living with disabilities.

Tourism, culture, sports and recreation also form part of the proposed agenda, with Theman arguing that Adamawa’s historical and cultural assets could become significant sources of employment and investment if properly developed.

He appealed to journalists and other stakeholders to critically examine the proposals contained in his development blueprint, saying the document would be made available electronically for wider public scrutiny.

Theman said the central objective of his agenda was to create an Adamawa where government support is not merely a temporary lifeline, but a bridge to productive livelihoods, investment, jobs and economic independence.