Presidential aspirant under the platform of Young Progressive Party (YPP), Dr Kingsley Moghalu has vowed to press ahead with his presidential ambition after being at the losing end of an arrangement by some young presidential aspirants to produce a consensus candidate ahead of 2019.
Termed PACT (Presidential Aspirants Coming Together), the arrangement was said to have been initiated by 18 young presidential aspirants to produce and back a consensus candidate that could challenge the APC and PDP “duopoly”.
The 18 aspirants that signed the PACT were Mrs. Godstime Sydney Iroabuchi, Alistair Soyode, Awwal Abdullahi Aliyu, Clement Jumbo, Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, Comrade Eragbe Anslem and Fela Durotoye.
Others include, Abubakar Alkali, Jaye Gaskia, Ahmed Buhari, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Elishama Ideh, Sina Fagbenro-Byron, Matthews B Trado, Victor Ani-Laju, Emmanuel Etim and Ayodele Favour.
One of the candidates, Fela Durotoye on Thursday morning emerged the consensus candidate at a PACT meeting in Abuja.
Former Education Minister, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, who was invited as an observer during the selection process, took to Twitter to share the news of Durotoye’s emergence.
She said, “Today, a group of Presidential Aspirants under the acronym of PACT – Presidential Aspirants Coming Together held a Voting among themselves to decide their Consensus Candidate.
“They invited me to be an OBSERVER. I observed their process and reported the outcome of their Votes.
“PACT – Presidential Aspirants Coming Together used a two-staged Voting process and ended with an outcome that had Fela Durotoye score 4 votes and Kingsley Moghalu, 3 Votes.
“I wish them well.”
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However, hours after Ezekwesili’s announcement, Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, proceeded to declare his intention to continue pursuing his presidential ambition.
In a statement titled, “I am firmly in the race for President of Nigeria in 2019”, Moghalu said, “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.
“This is despite the arrangement for a consensus candidate among the young presidential aspirants under the aegis of Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT), which today produced an outcome that has left many Nigerians expressing surprise and disappointment.
“The reasons I have pulled out of the PACT arrangement are as follows:
“1. The arrangement had unraveled 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 true consensus candidate.
“2. Clause 13 of the PACT Memorandum of Understanding asserts the supremacy of the constitutional rights of the aspirants to pursue their political aspirations.
“I therefore have chosen to continue without distraction to pursue my vision in the presidential race for 2019 in the national interest and in deference to the overwhelming outpouring of support for my candidacy from all parts of Nigeria.
“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.”
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