BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – Presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Professor Kingsley Moghalu, says upsetting the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 16, 2019 presidential poll is a done deal for his party and Nigerians.
He also warned that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not an option in this year’s elections because Nigerians are “tired of recycled politicians.”
According to Prof Moghalu, “We will defeat President Muhammadu Buhari and the reason is very simple, Nigerians are tired of recycled politicians and the PDP is not an option. Going for the PDP from the APC is like jumping from frying pan to fire.’’
Speaking at a town hall meeting tagged; ‘The Candidates’ and organised by the MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and DARIA media in Abuja, Moghalu is confidence the YPP will produce the next President of Nigeria come February 16, 2019.
He said when elected, the YPP administration will effectively tackle the root cause of corruption embedded in the country’s broken value system, insisting that; “no matter what we do, as long as we do not have a philosophical foundation, we cannot make progress.”
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor said he would introduce the teaching of ethics in schools and ensure transparency in the budgetary system and the process of awarding of contracts.
He said the YPP administration would ensure forensic checks in the process to enhance transparency, adding that the law must always take its cause against those that commit crimes, irrespective of creed or political party.
The YPP flag-bearer further explained that his administration’s approach in fighting corruption will not focus on the past, but create a system that makes it difficult for corruption to thrive in the polity.
He also assured that no corrupt person would go free, even as the judiciary would be respected and encouraged to do its job in line with the 1999 constitution as amended.
On his vision for the power sector, the YPP candidate said his administration would disintegrate the national grid as part of efforts to ensure efficient and sufficient electricity supply across the country.
Giving an insight on how insecurity would be tackled under the YPP’s administration, he stated that the leadership of security agencies and intelligence gathering units would be changed; adding that appointment of heads of security agencies would be based on competence and professionalism rather than sentiments.
The financial expert also promised to institutionalize mechanism that would effectively address desertification as part of measures aimed at stemming the recurring challenges posed by farmer/herders’clashes when elected president.
Maintaining his resolve to have Nigeria restructured in line with current realities, Prof Moghalu said the plan is to ensure that Nigerians are better off in a positive change environment as prices of items reduce.
He pledged that the YPP government would concentrate on developing industrial areas across the country and renewable energy, stressing that about 50 per cent of power would be sourced from renewable energy.
