KINGSLEY Moghalu, the Presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), has said that his party will make Nigeria “a modern nation” by driving the economy through innovation, if voted into power.

Moghalu made the promise on Wednesday in Abuja at a town hall meeting organised by the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and Daria Media with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

He said it was unfortunate that many innovations in the country could not see the light of the day.

The town hall meeting tagged: “The Candidates“ is a two-hour televised series between the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of four leading political parties.

The parties were selected from the results of multiple polls aggregated by the Centre for Democracy and Development.

Moghalu said that the time to transform the country had come, but that the challenges of the 24th century Nigeria needed a vibrant leadership to address them.

Moghalu, who is venturing into politics for the first time, is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said if elected as the nation`s next president on Feb. 16, he would drive the economy with innovations by encouraging innovations and growth of small businesses.

He said his party would ensure that the current N500 billion social intervention fund was effectively used to improve the lots of Nigerians.

The candidate said his administration would put the fund into a productive capital venture that would create and allow people to run their businesses within six months of assuming office.

This, Moghalu who became the YPP presidential candidate in September 2018, said he would guarantee wealth and job creation in the country.

He added that he would declare his asset as required by the law before assuming office, saying that his most important asset was his intellectual property.

“My being educated has showed me what Nigeria should be in terms of economy, infrastructure, and the well being of the people, and I will use my education to improve the lots of the people, “ he said.

He also said his party, the YPP would fund its campaign from proceeds from voluntary contributions of its members and public spirited individuals, adding that he did not have a political god father.

“I joined politics to run for the presidency using my own money, I have spent over N200 million of my personal money so far, I do not have any political Godfather,“ he said.

According to the organisers of the town hall series, President Buhari and his running mate, Vice President Osinbajo would feature on the programme on Jan. 16, while Omoyele Sowore and his running mate, Rabiu Rufai, would feature on Jan. 23.

The organisers say Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi, would be feature on the programme on Jan. 30.

The platform provided an opportunity for the studio audience which included Civil Society Organisations, Diplomatic Corps and some members of the general public who had applied online to directly interact with the presidential candidate and his running mate.

The event was also streamed online at www.dtv.media to enable Nigerians in the diaspora and those not near television screens to participate.

-NAN

BE

– Jan. 10, 2019 @ 9:48 GMT |