A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has formally declared his intention to be President of Nigeria in 2019.
He called on Nigerians to replace recycled “failed leaders” with competent and experienced youth.
Making his intent known on Wednesday at a press conference at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, said 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”.
The 54-year-old however did not mention the political party on which to realise his presidential ambition but stated that he has been getting overtures from a number of political parties.
He stressed that should he emerge the number one citizen of the country, he would from the very first day hit the ground running and announce members of his cabinet in 48 hours.
Moghalu said, “We must stop recycling failed politicians and regenerate our leadership ranks with competent and experienced young men or women,” Moghalu said.
“Youths who have prepared themselves with the relevant qualifications must take over the mantle of leadership because this struggle is about the future of Nigeria, not its past.
“Strong, knowledgeable guidance is needed, and I offer myself for service with a solid track record of leadership.
“My fellow Nigerians, to quote the immortal words of the late US president John F. Kennedy, ‘politics is too important to be left to the politicians’.
“The world is changing: time and tide have in several countries swept away old orders and brought in new, more dynamic ones. Nigeria must not remain stuck in its past. We, you and I, can do it for our country too.”
Moghalu, who was the CBN deputy governor from 2009 to 2014, served as Chairman, Boards of Directors of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, and the Financial Institutions Training Centre, and is the founder and President of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation, IGET, a new think tank based in Abuja.
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