2019 elections is last gasp of old political order – Moghalu

Presidential aspirant of the YPP in the just concluded Presidential elections, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, says in terms of overall numbers of votes, the 2019 presidential is the last grasp of the old political order that has robbed the country of real development.

In a statement made available to National Daily, Moghalu said the operational failures of INEC in the conduct of the elections resulting in massive vote-buying and vote-rigging through various methods as well as violence in several locations have the left the credibility of the election open to question.

While expressing his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones during the elections, Moghalu said the strong determination of many of citizens to reject the APC at the ballot box far outweighed the desire for real change in Nigeria’s polity and governance in 2019.

He said the number of votes tallied for his candidacy by INEC did not represent anything close to the electoral strength of his candidacy, describing the false numbers as a brazen theft of votes and the suppression of the peoples’ will.

“As we move forward as a country, we need fundamental reform of our electoral system if our democracy is to have any real meaning. Elections as they are organized and executed today in Nigeria are a travesty. We need to reform the systems of registration, voting and collation of votes by making the processes more transparent through better use of technology.

“As of today, these processes are tedious, inefficient and prone to risks and performance failures such as those we have experienced. We also must stiffen punishment and enforce accountability for electoral offenses.

Prof. Moghalu also canvassed the opportunity for Nigerians in Diaspora to be able to vote overseas as from 2023, adding that they contribute immensely to the economic development of the country, and should therefore not be denied the right to vote for a competent government.

He reiterated his commitment to an inclusive and competent that can heal the land and take millions of Nigerians out of crushing poverty.

“This calls for a very different approach from recycling poverty through the APC government’s unsustainable populist initiatives that fail to create jobs or improve actual economic productivity and living standards.

“A new, philosophically and conceptually grounded approach to economic management that goes beyond mere economic growth statistics to real economic development and structural transformation remains an urgent priority for our country.”

Moghalu assured Nigerians that his struggle for a better and well governed society, a productive and inclusive economy that breaks the backbone of poverty, and to restore Nigeria’s leadership role in the world would not stop until success is achieved.