Renowned Nigerian economist, Kingsley Moghalu on Thursday, formally joined the 2023 presidential race, promising to pursue innovative economic policies, establishing a N5 trillion venture capital fund.
Moghalu who contested the 2019 presidential election under the platform of the Young Progressive party, YPP, disclosed that he will be pursuing his 2023 presidential ambition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) party.
He revealed that a Moghalu for President structures has been established at every polling unit in the 176,000 polling units in the country.
Speaking on his strategic plans ahead of the 2023 election, Moghalu, who lamented that Nigeria is drifting into a precipice, noted that many Nigerians cannot afford basic foods, with fuel prices hitting the roof and inflation rising above 15%.
He said Nigeria should pursue an innovative economy, using innovation to drive technology and industrialization, as a panacea for coming out of the current economic quagmire.
He promised to raise the education budget from the current less than 5% of the nation’s annual budget to over 20% when he assumes office as President.
Read also: Moghalu to address press conference on state of the nation
The former Deputy Governor of lamented that while the governed space is shrinking, the “ ungoverned space is getting wider because of insecurity”
He identified youths as the bedrock of the nation’s economic growth and development, adding that his focus will involve massive programs for youth development.
“Today, we have the majority of our population being young people, many of them relate very well with technology. So, we are going to be investing heavily in innovation, science and technology.
Speaking more on his manifesto, Moghalu said his government will “establish a N5 trillion venture capital fund as a start, but it could go up and will be mainly driven by the private sector, that will invest in our young people that will make sure that they have capitals for them to start their own businesses.
Moghalu said: “We will invest in innovation and leverage this fund to enable the young business people to commercialize their inventions so that the products become available in the markets.
“We will invest in education for the development of the right skills and universities’ curriculum will be such that it will be 70% in Favour of Science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM and then entrepreneurship.
“I seek to move Nigeria not backwards, but into the future. I will lead Nigeria into the 21st century.”
Moghalu, who promised to unify Nigeria, described himself as a “nation builder”.
“For you to successfully manage a nation, you must have a vision, you must communicate it, you must unify the citizens towards a common goal, you must be fair to all the citizens,” he said.
He assured Nigerians that he will jettison ethno-religious politics adding that “I will be President not just for the Igbo or a sectional President. I will be the president for all Nigerians, because I rise above ethno and parochial irredentism”, adding that “There is no reason why I will not lead Nigeria successfully.”
“Those who believe that Nigeria is very complicated say so because they don’t have the capacity to rule the country.
Moghalu said Nigerians must end the era of politics without governance, by voting in the right people in the 2023 elections
“One of the major lessons I learned from my participation in the 2019 election is that structures are very important,” he added.
He disclosed that the structures are being established by volunteers, not by people looking for money.
Moghalu, stated that there is a “direct relationship between who you vote for and whether you have electricity, the next morning, finish one year in school without a strike, or have a chance of having a job, after schooling”.
Moghalu, who disclosed that he believes in wealth creation, also declared that he believes in “ strategic capitalism”.
“I believe that it is the free market that creates the wealth of nations. It is what created the wealth of South Korea, Singapore, Malesia, Japan and it is what is creating the wealth of China. But I am not a laissez- faire capitalist,” he said.
Moghalu expressed the confidence that Nigeria will come out of her current economic challenges, but urged Nigerians to dust up their voter cards and vote massively for their right candidates in 2023, even as he urged Nigerians not to sell their votes.
“Please do not sell your votes, but if you must, place a high value of not less than N5m on your vote and watch if any politician will be willing to pay you so much for your vote,” the presidential aspirant said.
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