- Pledges to vote N1tr for industrialisation
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and presidential aspirant, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, Thursday joined the Young Progressive Party (YPP) with a promise to float N1 trillion fund for industrial revolution in the country if elected.
Moghalu, who lamented the monumental setback the country has suffered due to years of bad and inept leadership, told his youth-dominated audience that YPP has satisfied what is expected of a political party that can give Nigerians the much desired future.
Making his official declaration in Abuja, Moghalu described YPP as “a great party with a tantalising promise and a notice of evacuation to Nigeria’s recycled politicians”.
“So, I am here today to announce that in response to the parties of the past, in response to umbrellas that block out the light of hope, and brooms that sweep away truth and replace them with lies, in response to the parties of tired old tricks and tired old systems and tired old men, I and millions across Nigeria will choose the Young Progressive Party (YPP),” he said.
While urging Nigerians home and abroad to join him in YPP, the presidential aspirant said: “We need those who want to shake up tbe House of Representatives, to shake up the Houses of Assembly and shake up our local government councils across Nigeria to join us now, and work with us to execute our plans.
“Today calls for leaders not for politicians. We have been all politics in this country but no leadership. What transforms is not politics but leadership and politics is only a part of that process.
“So today I have made up my mind and I have taken a stand for Nigeria and for its future and today I wait for you to put your action where your mouth is. It is now, not tomorrow and not later fellow Nigerians. Join me in this difficult walk that stands ahead of us as we seek to chart a new future for our country. It is possible and it can be done.”
Muoghalu pointed at the rapidly changing face of things in some countries in Asia and Latin American, such as Brazil, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia which were previously not compared with Nigeria, especially during her early days as an independent nation.
The presidential candidate lashed out at those he described as ethnic and religious bigots, saying that if voted into office his administration will take bold steps to industrialise and drive the economy away from dependence on oil as a mono product.
He said that he will pursue an innovation-based economy, adding that the reason the country has never made any real progress was because her economy was always managed ad hoc and by persons with little or no knowledge of how capitalism actually works.
He said all products of innovation by the young people will be reproduced on a massive scale in order to promote industrial revolution in the country.
“We will pump capital into our capitalist economy. Under my presidency we will float a massive venture capital fund of minimum N500 billion from the government and another N500 billion from the private sector. With this venture capital fund we can begin to invest in innovations and industrial growth,” he said.
The presidential aspirant described the present Land Use Act as a major inhibitor of economic development in the country.
Mogahlu said he has chosen YPP as a platform to realise his ambition because he wanted to inspire Nigerians to look to the future and not to the past.
