Yemi Adedeji, Abuja
KINGSLEY Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and presidential aspirant on the platform of Young Progressives Party (YPP), has insisted that he is still in the race to contest the 2019 presidential election.
This is despite the arrangement for a consensus candidate among the young presidential aspirants under the aegis of Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT), which on Friday produced Fela Durotoye, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN).
The former Deputy governor of CBN Moghalu in a statement he personally signed and issued late night on Thursday, stated that he had chosen to continue without distraction to pursue his vision in the presidential race for 2019 in the national interest and in deference to the overwhelming support of his candidacy from all parts of the country.
He stated: “The reasons I have pulled out of the PACT arrangement are as follows:
The arrangement had unravelled even before the final selection of the consensus candidate. Only seven aspirants participated in the final voting out of the original 18 aspirants, mainly because many of the aspirants had withdrawn from the process.
“Four candidates who were present in the meeting this morning withdrew from the process even while the voting process was ongoing. Therefore, PACT did not produce a truly consensus candidate.
” Clause 13 of the PACT Memorandum of Understanding asserts the supremacy of the constitutional rights of the aspirants to pursue their political aspirations.
“I will remain focused on the objective of providing a competent leadership that will help unite our country and build a nation, wage a decisive war against poverty and unemployment, and restore respect for Nigeria in the society of nations.
” It is my humble and well-considered view that the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria requires competence and experience in these three vital areas.
“I wish to inform members of my “To Build A Nation” (TBAN) movement, the Kingsley Moghalu Support Organisation (KIMSO) nationwide, the Kingsley Moghalu Volunteer Force, Youth for Kingsley (Y4K), Women for Kingsley (W4K), Kingsley Moghalu Disciples, the Young Progressive Party (YPP) and my other supporters nationwide and in the diaspora that I am pressing ahead with my plan to contest the 2019 presidential election.”