The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Young Progressives Party

  • Ifeanyi Ubah and the power of football

    ONE of the surprises of the just concluded elections was the victory of the candidate of Young Progressives Party (YPP), Ifeanyi Ubah over his more politically illustrious brothers, Chris Uba, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his elder brother, Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded senatorial election in Anambra South.

    Considering the seemingly inconsequential party on whose platform Ifeanyi won the election, many were quick to attribute his victory to his deep pocket. But while money might have played a role like it does in any election, there are indications that other factors were vital in his victory as the senator-elect for Anambra South.

    For instance while his brothers who contested the seat against him are traders, Ifeanyi is not just a trader but a businessman with many workers from the state on his payroll. This, coupled with his ownership of a football club, lfeanyi Ubah Football club, makes him a darling of many, a factor that must have endeared him to many voters in the state. Remember Jim Nwobodo and how he used his association with Enugu Rangers lnternational in 1979 to win the governorship of the then Anambra State, now Anambra and Enugu states. Political observers believe lfeanyi Ubah is eyeing something much bigger.

    Read also: NPFL: Nwagua’s brace lifts Pillars over FC Ifeanyi Ubah

    On Monday, Ifeanyi Ubah attended a dinner meant for serving and Senators-elect of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Although he denied reports that he was planning to cross over to APC, the National Chairman of the ruling party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was quoted as saying at the occasion that he (Ifeanyi) had become a member of the party and would be formally welcomed into the fold at the appropriate time.

  • ‘I didn’t declare Ubah winner under duress’

    The Returning Officer for last Saturday’s Anambra South senatorial election, Prof. Meshach Umenweke, has dismissed as false the report saying he declared the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Ifeanyi Ubah, winner of the election to save his life.

    A national daily, (not The Nation), had reported that the Officer, in a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claimed the election was inconclusive, adding that he was forced to declare Ubah the winner.

    The report said Umenweke wrote the electoral umpire recanting his earlier declaration of the candidate of the party as the winner of the poll.

    But Umenweke, of the Department of Public and Private Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, in a statement, on Thursday, said he did not announce the election results under duress.

    The statement partly read, “Notwithstanding the contents of my letter dated the 25th of February, 2019, I never at any point said that I announced the results of the Anambra South senatorial election under duress.

    “No gun or knife was pointed at me at the material time of the election results announcement. The election tribunal remains the constitutionally recognized means for any aggrieved party.”

    Umenweke however admitted that his declaration of the exercise as inconclusive was to enable him debrief the 7 local government collation officers on the issues raised in the petition by the PDP candidate and to investigate the claims.

    According to him, no reports were received by the collation officers involved in the election after extensive investigations were carried out.

    He said, “In the light of no evidence before me to support the claims of the writer of the petition, I hereby reaffirm my declaration that Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, the candidate of YPP is the winner of the election Anambra South senatorial election.“

  • I will defeat APC, PDP- Moghalu

    Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) says he would defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Feb. 16 presidential poll.

    Moghalu, at a town hall meeting tagged ‘The Candidates’ organised by the MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with NTA and DARIA media in Abuja, expressed confidence that he would emerge president.

    He said that Nigerians were “tired of recycled politicians’’ and that the Peoples Democraric Party (PDP) was not an option.

    “We will defeat President Muhammadu Buhari and the reason is very simple, Nigerians are tired of recycled politicians and the PDP is not an option.

    “Going for the PDP from the APC is like jumping from frying pan to fire,’’ he added.

    Moghalu said when elected, his administration would tackle root cause of corruption which is the broken value system in the country.

    According to him, no matter what we do, as long as we do not have a philosophical foundation, we cannot make progress.

    The candidate said that when elected, he would introduce the teaching of ethics in schools and ensure transparency in the budgetary system and the process of awarding of contracts.
    Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that he would ensure forensic checks in the process to enhance transparency.

    On corruption, Moghalu said that if anybody commits a crime, the law must take its cause irrespective of creed or political party.

    According to him, our approach will not focus on the past but create a system to make corruption difficult.

    He said the judiciary would be allowed to do its job and that corrupt persons would not go free.

    The candidate said that to ensure sufficient power supply, his administration would disintegrate the national grid.

    According to him, this boils down to restructuring, when this is done, things will change and price of items will reduce.

    Moghalu said his administration would focus on industrial areas and renewable energy and that about 50 per cent of power will be sourced from renewable energy.

    On insecurity, Moghalu said if elected, he would change the leadership of security agencies and intelligence gathering units.
    He said the appointment of heads of security agencies would not be based on sentiment but on competence and professionalism.

    Moghalu said that when elected as president, he would put mechanism in place to address desertification which would stem farmer/herders’clashes.(NAN)

  • Moghalu urges more investment in education sector

    Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), has called for a political will for more investment in the nation’s education sector.

    Moghalu, who is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and former UN officer, made the call at a town hall meeting tagged “the Candidates’’ aired by the NTA on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said that the major problems with the education sector were lack of political will to invest in the sector.

    “We need to invest much more in education. The second thing is that we need the autonomy of the universities. Universities need to be free. Government in most advanced country do not control universities,’’ he said.

    The candidate said that his investment would include teachers training, saying teachers in the primary and secondary schools had not risen to the global standard and that was affecting the quality of the students graduating the schools.

    He promised that if elected his government would offer free education for students in primary and secondary schools, as well subsidise education in the public universities, while private universities bear their costs.

    “We have to make sure that all the teachers in this country are re-certified to make sure that they are fit for the purpose. They have to be fit to teach our children in the 21st century.’’

    Moghalu also said that his government would reform school curriculum to be more practical in terms of technology, vocational training and technology, rather than beeing theoretical.

    “There are many sources of revenue in this country and there is also monumental amount of wastes that is going on in this country. If we stop security vote and put some of that money in our education we will do a better job of governance.

    He said that within two years of his government, he would reduce recurrent expenditure to below 50 per cent and increase capital expenditure above 50 per cent.

    Moghalu also added that his government would reform the civil service making civil servants to be productive.

    “There is need to rationalise the civil service to make it productive, and people who are redundant can be moved to other areas where they would be useful.

    “I also intend as president to recruit 1.5 million new policemen for the Nigerian Police and train and equipment them.’’

    He added that Nigeria must invest in securing the country.

    Moghalu who pledged to give attention to the diversification of the economy, also said that the country’s economy must move from politics of oil rent to innovation and manufacturing economy.

    He said that the problem of diversifying the country’s economy was that political leaders had been paying lip service to the issue.

    He said that there was no way the country’s economy could be diversified without restructuring and ensuring resource control.

    Moghalu also stressed the need for Nigeria to become a true federation, where states of the regions would control their resources and pay royalty to the Federal Government.

    He added that he believed in resource control and two tiers of government, namely including federal and the sub-national government.

    Moghalu said that when he “become the president’’ he would interact with the National Assembly and present executive bill to push for restructuring.(NAN)

  • I’ll make Nigeria modern nation, if elected – Moghalu

    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 godfather.

    “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)

     

  • My Presidency quest Nigerian, not Igbo, says Moghalu

    Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, the Presidential Candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) on Friday said that he was contesting for the office of the President as a Nigerian and not as an Igbo man.

    Moghalu, who was a former deputy governor of the CBN, said that Nigeria’s problem was not about tribes, but socio-economic problems that touched every part of the country.

    The candidate, in a statement he made available to the News Agency of Nigeria  in Lagos, said that any creative limiting his presidential ambition to any tribe was the handwork of mischief makers.

    “Almost a year since I started to engage Nigerians on my candidacy and vision for the country; I have held town hall meetings in nearly all the states in the country, with more still to be done.

    “Anyone who has listened or paid attention to our interactive session with various groups will realise what our single message has always been that Nigeria’s problems are not about tribes.

    Read Also: Buhari: Accounts must be given for all financial transactions

    “We all, as Nigerians, have the power to choose something new, something different that will redirect the country into an upward trend.

    “Our politics has always been plagued by the scourges of tribalism, nepotism, and corruption, a colonial tool that the political class has exploited in order to divide and control us,” Moghalu said.

    According to him, Nigerians cannot afford to keep thinking about whether a candidate is Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Efik, Ijaw or Ibibio.

    He said that Nigeria needed competent and trustworthy leaders which had been the focus of his talks about his aspiration.

    “It is time to put aside these differences and aim for something that unites us all, to deliver a country that works for every citizen,” he added.