Atiku support group backs off, roots for another residential candidate

The “Atiku State of Mind“ Support Group has withdrawn its support for the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential aspirant and endorsed the presidential aspirant of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Kingsley Moghalu.

Mr Hassan Ankuma, former National Coordinator of the group, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at a news conference held to endorse the ADC aspirant.

Ankuma said that the group made mistakes in the past by campaigning for candidates of the two major political parties in the country.

He said the group was not willing to repeat the same mistake ahead of the 2023 elections.

`The mistake in the past was that we were always looking to support candidates of the two major political parties as though they alone existed.
“The reliance on these popular political parties is why we have consistently voted for the wrong leaders because we can only vote for the flag bearers of these platforms even when we knew they were mediocre.

“As usual, we have begun the journey to 2023, but as Nigeria gets worse every day, one comes to the realization that there is a lot to fear for about the immediate future.

“This led us to take a deep breath, take a step back and reexamine more thoroughly the choices before us because 2023 is a make-or-break season for Nigeria.

“And today, we have gathered coordinators from Rivers to Borno and from Sokoto to Nnewi to begin a new journey that is inspired by new information and realisation.

“My team and I are transitioning from the vibrant pro-Atiku support group known as “Atiku State of Mind“ and will now be known as “Moghalu State of Mind“.

“We want a state of mind that is healthy for Nigerians, one that can guarantee the electoral promises being made.

“We don’t want a president that is there by a false sense of entitlement,” he said.

He called for support from Nigerians to rally and campaign for the ADC and appealed to the party to give its presidential ticket to Moghalu for the sake of equity and fairness to the southeastern part of the country.

Mr Kingsley Moghalu, the ADC presidential aspirant in his response to the endorsement, promised to run a multidimensional and diversified economy if elected in 2023.

Moghalu said he would diversity the economy through industrialisation and exportation of products to boost foreign exchange earnings and strengthen the naira.

“As a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), I understand that economic diversification is the key to Nigeria’s economy.

“When elected into office, I would harness the nation`s natural materials, materials that when productively utilized could drive industrialisation.

“I would implement the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) but I would not run an economy that is focused solely on oil alone.

“I will turn Nigeria into a post-oil economy like other Western states because there are many ways for Nigeria to earn foreign exchange and boost its economy,” he said.

He said he would harness the nation`s natural gas and develop it, adding that gas was more expensive than oil in the international market.

Moghalu said he would drive an innovative government by prioritising provision of stable electricity supply to industrial areas of the country in order to boost productivity.

According to him, 40 per cent of the increases in the prices of goods in the market are caused by the poor supply of electricity.

“I would ensure that electricity is stable in industrial states such as Lagos, Kano, Abia, Anambra and Ogun.

“If these industrial areas have 24 hours supply of electricity for production, the prices of goods would automatically go down and gradually there would be cash flow in the economy and poverty would be reduced.

“Nigerians would begin to realise value for their money on every item bought or traded,” he said.

The presidential aspirant said he would reform the Nigeria Police through special 21st century modernised operations, trainings and equipment.

According to him, without reforming the police to what it should be in comparison to 21st century global police, then we cannot handle security challenges.

“The police would become proactive through intelligence gathering because intelligence is the germane in fighting insecurity.

“We would take the war to the bad guys and not wait for the bad guys to bring the battle to us and kill our citizens.

“One life lost in any attack is one too many for us as a nation,” he said.

He said other areas of government that needed upgrade would be identified and repositioned.

Moghalu promised to create job opportunities across the country, empower the youth, reduce the cost of living and education and provide other basic needs for a stable economy.