Why I’m not interested in declaring for president under any party for now- Moghalu

Erstwhile Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu said he will soon announce the party platform he hopes to actualise his ambition on.

According to him the party is a mere platform to achieve political power, and his focus for now is the people of Nigeria, and not a political party.

He said when he officially declared his intention to run for the office of the president of Nigeria in 2019 general elections at a press conference held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, that “My focus, for now, is the people of Nigeria and not on party platforms that have in the past been mere vehicles for capturing political power.

“While I have been approached by a number of political parties, the movement that I am part of will decide which one we will join. The decision will be based on commonality of vision and the imperative of a generational shift in leadership, and we will announce this decision in the coming weeks.”

Among reasons listed by the 54 – year old former CBN chief for wanting to run for the highest political office in the country, are to stop Nigeria from a downward spiral, better security for Nigerians and their properties from terrorists and other security challenges, to salvage electricity situation and address issues of poverty in the country.

Other reasons are provision of employment, improved health sector and to address growing issues of division among ethnic groups in the country.

“I am standing here today saying that it is time we shatter the downward spiral to nowhere.

“I am here today, standing with the 110 missing girls of Dapchi and their grieving family, and with the traumatised young women of Chibok, those with us and those still in captivity.

“I am here today standing with 180 million Nigerians, in addition to thousands of businesses struggling to share a measly 4000MW of electricity.

“I am here today standing with the 100 million Nigerians experiencing crushing poverty, living on less than 300 naira a day.

“I am here today because 33 million of our able men and women are unemployed or underemployed, nearly 15 million children are out of school, and only 60 per cent of Nigerians are literate.

“I am here today because our hospitals are understaffed and mismanaged death traps, and women are still subject to horrific prejudices and devastating early marriages.

“I am taking this stand, here and now, because Nigeria today is divided by ethnic and religious conflicts, made worse by corruption,” he said.

Should he be elected, Moghalu said that he will ensure the restructuring of Nigeria as well as make sure that the country returns to true federalism by 2021.

He further promised that he will also reform the country’s police, healthcare, education, and the energy sector.

He said that a combination of military rule, oil booms and busts, and successive leadership failures of the political class have robbed the country “of what seemed our destiny at independence”.

Speaking further he said, that Nigerians are “collectively exhausted by politicians who continually fall in and out of alliances with each other and care nothing for the ordinary Nigerian.

“They aggravate our fears in the hope that we will continue to keep them in power even though they offer nothing new.

“I’m not here to tell you that there are quick, easy solutions to our nation’s problems. Far from it. Decades of economic and leadership mismanagement cannot be undone in a few short weeks or months. Things will be difficult and painful choices will have to be collectively made.

“What I am here to tell you is that: together, we can choose a new path. Together, we can set a bold agenda. Together, we can deliver for ourselves a different outcome.”

Moghalu, a political economist, lawyer, and former United Nations official, said he will soon announce the party platform he hopes to actualise his ambition on its platform.

READ ALSO : INEC announces long-term election plan, releases dates from 2019 to 2055

His declaration is coming just as a leadership coach and public speaker, Fela Durotoye, had only about a week ago declared his intention to run in the 2019 presidential election.

Durotoye, who said he would run under the platform of Alliance for a New Nigeria (ANN), argued that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), cannot save Nigeria from her problem with the spirit of ‘godfatherism’ that follows both parties.

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