The national executive committee of Nigeria’s ruling party the All Progressives Congress (APC) has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari to seek a second term in an election next year, two senior party sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has declared his intention to run for presidency. Moghalu said during his decaration at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, Wednesday: ”With love for our country and a fierce commitment to a vision of rapid progress for our more than 180 million citizens, and following wide-ranging consultations, I offer myself to serve you as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as from May 29, 2019.
“I therefore intend to be a candidate in the 2019 presidential election. I seek the opportunity to offer our country visionary, purposeful, competent leadership to build our future.”
Moghalu is a global leader who has made contributions to the stability, progress and wealth of nations, societies and individuals across such domains as academia, economic policy, banking and finance, entrepreneurship, law and diplomacy.
As Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009-2014 he led the execution of extensive reforms in the Nigerian banking system after the global financial crisis. He was a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee that brought inflation down into single digits.
Moghalu said he would announce at a later date, the party on whose platform he intends to hinge his candidacy.
He observed that the vision and hopes of Nigeria’s founding fathers have yet to materialize, adding that “military rule, oil booms and busts, and the successive leadership failures of our civilian political class have combined to rob us of what seemed our destiny at independence.”
He said if elected to office, he would compose a world-class, “first eleven” team based on merit and inclusive governance to drive government policy. We will be ready on Day One. The appointment of all senior officials of the Presidency will be announced within 48 hours. My government will enthrone evidence-based public policy, strategy and risk management as tools of effective and modern governance.
He further promised to establish and propagate through the educational system, a foundational philosophical worldview for the Nigerian state, around which all Nigerians will unite in a common purpose.
He said he would also lead a consultative political process, in cooperation with the National Assembly, to achieve a constitutional restructuring of Nigeria and return our country to true federalism for stability and prosperity by 2021.
He committed to implementing a 50:50 gender parity policy in all political appointments – nearly double the ratio recommended by the National Gender Policy of 2008.
He said he would establish and implement a Diaspora engagement and return policy and strategy “as a new, fundamental component of our national quest for development as has been the case in China, India and Israel. My government will build the Diaspora Commission approved by the National Assembly into an effective, world-class institution to accomplish this important agenda.”
On the other hand, President Buhari, who took office in May 2015, has not yet said whether he intends to seek re-election. The 75-year-old leader spent five months on medical leave in Britain last year for an unspecified ailment, raising questions about his ability to run Africa’s most populous nation.
The national executive committee of the president’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party, which takes decisions on the party’s direction, held a one-day meeting which concluded late on Tuesday.
“The party made it clear that this endorsement is not an automatic ticket for the president,” one of the sources said, adding that the party would still conduct a presidential primary to be fair to other potential candidates.
A spokesman for the president could not immediately be reached for comment.
Nigeria’s political parties must select their candidates for the 2019 presidential election between Aug. 18 and Oct. 7 this year. Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on Feb. 16, 2019.
Adebayo Shittu, Nigeria’s minister of communications who played a prominent role in Buhari’s 2015 campaign, said in January he would chair a group to support the re-election of Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Campaigning for the re-election of a president in Nigeria has often started with such support groups before the incumbent declares his intention to run again. Businessday.