Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has emerged the presidential candidate of Young Progressive Party (YPP) during the party’s national convention and presidential primaries.
Moghalu, former United Nations official, emerged at the party’s national convention held in Abuja yesterday after other presidential candidates stepped down from the race, noting that his campaign would be designed to build Nigeria.
Speaking after he was officially declared the party’s flagbearer to contest for the presidency against the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, Moghalu stressed the importance of putting the concerns of Nigerians at the forefront of the political debate.
Moghalu noted that the 2019 election would be a choice between freedom and slavery under the current political class, between poverty and real prosperity for Nigerians, and between stability and continuing instability of our country.
He said: “Right now, our politicians, having fed fat on our resources, are exercising by practising ‘jumpology’, jumping between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which only tells us one thing: that neither party nor people matter.
“In the end, all they care about is what is best for their pockets or their safety from prosecution. It is up to us to make the case that their way does not work anymore; that it has only left us in poverty and insecurity; that it has led to many fleeing this country because they feel there is nothing for them and their children here.”
Moghalu, also, emphasised the need for Nigerians “to ignore the prevalent thinking that things cannot get better, or wishing for political messiahs who promise to set everything right.”
According to him, there are no magic wands, but just me, the members of the Young Progressive Party and every Nigerian working to truly transform Nigeria.
Moghalu, a lawyer and political economist, was a Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University from 2015-2017.
As a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009 to 2014, Moghalu led the execution of extensive reforms in the country’s banking system after the global financial crisis. He was a member of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee that brought inflation down to single digits.
A global leader with an extensive track record of leadership, Moghalu has made contributions to the stability, progress and wealth of nations and communities across academia, economic policy, entrepreneurship, diplomacy and more.
He has taught and inspired citizens from more than 40 countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, mentoring men and women for leadership roles in business, military intelligence, non-profits, and government service.
He also served as the chairperson of the board of directors of the Nigerian-Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the Financial Institutions Training Centre. He was also a member of the boards of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, and the global Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
