TheCable

Kingsley Moghalu, former presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), says Nigeria needs a competent leader, not just a president of Igbo extraction.

He said this while reacting to comments credited to Chris Ngige, minister of labour and productivity, that the Igbo should not repeat his (Moghalu’s) “mistake” on presidency.

The minister was quoted to have said Moghalu failed in his bid to become president because the YPP was a “relatively unknown party.”

In a statement on Thursday, the former presidential candidate said he is a “change agent, not a visionless, recycled politician that claims mandates on the basis of rigged elections.”

Moghalu, who is a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), added that he was a “Nigerian candidate for the Nigerian presidency, not an ethnic candidate for “Igbo President”.

“That candidacy was based on a clear vision for our country, competence, and a clear policy agenda: to build a real and stable nation based on equality and justice by managing Nigeria’s diversity effectively,” he said.

“We need not just an “Igbo President”. Nigeria needs a visionary and competent leader.”

Moghalu said what matters is that a potential president should have demonstrated a “track record of leadership competence in the areas most relevant to the responsibilities of a Nigerian President.”