Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has rejected his inclusion in the policy team of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 presidential campaign.
Moghalu said he was neither consulted nor gave his consent before his name was published as a member of the policy team of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.
His clarification came on Thursday shortly after Atiku’s campaign unveiled its presidential campaign structure for the 2027 general election, listing Moghalu among members of the policy team.
In a statement, Moghalu said, “I was not consulted and did not give my consent to my name being published as a member of the ADC candidate’s policy team.”
He added that he was “NOT, in fact, a member of Atiku’s policy team, even unofficially or in any advisory capacity.”
According to the former CBN deputy governor, he left partisan politics in Nigeria in 2022 and has since maintained a non-partisan position on national affairs.
“I am not a member or sympathiser of any political party in Nigeria,” he said.
Moghalu said his primary engagements were currently as President of IGET Africa, which he described as a non-partisan public policy think tank and executive education academy, and Chief Executive Officer of Sogato Strategies, a geopolitical risk and regulatory strategy advisory firm.
He stressed that his commitment to Nigeria’s development should not be interpreted as partisan political alignment.
“I remain committed to my country, Nigeria and its progress, but such commitment does not have to entail ANY partisan alignment. I have adopted the path of statesmanship, not partisanship,” he said.
Earlier, Atiku’s campaign had announced a structure headed by Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman, with former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as deputy chairman and Senator Austin Akobundu as Director-General and Campaign Manager.
Economist and banker Mohammed Hayatu-Deen was named chairman of the campaign’s Policy Team, with Professor Mohammed Sagagi as deputy chairman. Moghalu was listed among the members expected to work on policy proposals for the campaign.
The campaign said the policy team would work on responses to issues including the cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.
As of Thursday, reports reviewed did not indicate a public response from Atiku or the ADC campaign team to Moghalu’s rejection of the appointment.