A 2019 presidential candidate and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, says a merger of some of the plural political parties is inevitable to rescue Nigeria from continued drift.
Moghalu has been saying that with the enormous resources in the country, no Nigerian should be poor. For him, the country is suffering because of poor leadership. To, therefore, arrest the situation and consign All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the trash can of history in 2023, he is now pushing for the merger of parties of like mind.
Though seven parties, according to him, have indicated interest to collapse their structures to form a mega party on a rescue mission ahead of the 2023 tussle, the ex-CBN chief said they are still consulting other parties on the merger proposal.
He first broke the news of the emerging political development when he hosted the governorship candidate of African Democratic Party (ADC) in the November 6 Anambra State poll, Nzeh Akachukwu.
Though he did not give details, Moghalu, however, said the coalition parties will soon be made public, claiming that the unfolding new party will pose a major threat to President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC and the opposition PDP that is allegedly day-dreaming of returning to power in 2023.
For him, the dramatic u-turn of the Senate on electronic transmission of results has given a glimpse of hope that the 2023 general elections will be transparent. Moghalu who recently defected to ADC, also called on Nigerians, especially young people, to register in order to be eligible to vote in 2023.
‘’As concerns the National level the ADC is a very strong party that is growing stronger. It was founded in 2005 and it has been a consistent party. All their presidential candidates from Pat Utomi in 2007 to Dr. Obadiah Mailafiah in 2019 have been intellectuals.
“But the party is also very grassroots oriented. So the combination of ideas, intellect and a grassroots approach to politics, that combinations I think is what marks out the ADC and we hope to be a key part of a much larger third force that is building up for the presidential elections which will include a merger of about six or seven or more parties.
“So, I believe that the 2023 elections, the citizens of Nigeria should not allow it to be a contest between two sides of the same coin because there is no difference. It should be a battle between the old and the new – between the old Nigerian and the possibilities for a new Nigeria. That is what 2023 should be’’, Moghalu said.
