Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has disowned a role in the policy team of African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 election.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Moghalu said he was neither consulted nor gave consent for his name to be published as a member of Atiku’s policy team. His statement came hours after the campaign unveiled its Presidential Campaign Council, which listed Moghalu among members of the Policy Team.
“I am surprised to see a statement from @atiku and @ADCNig campaign team including my name as a member of former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar’s policy team for the 2027 presidential campaign,” Moghalu wrote. “For the record: 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. I am NOT, in fact a member of Atiku’s policy team, even unofficially or in any advisory capacity.”
The campaign’s Policy Team is chaired by economist Mohammed Hayatudeen, with Professor Mohammed Sagagi as deputy chairman. Atiku’s broader campaign structure, unveiled the same day, named Kashim Ibrahim‑Imam as chairman, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El‑Rufai as deputy chairman and Senator Austin Akobundu as director‑general and campaign manager. The campaign said the Policy Team would develop proposals on the cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.
Moghalu, who ran for president on the Young Progressives Party ticket in 2019, said he withdrew from partisan politics in 2022 and has maintained a non‑partisan stance since. He said he is not a member or sympathiser of any political party.
He described his current work as president of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET Africa), a non‑partisan public policy think tank and executive education academy, and as chief executive of Sogato Strategies, a geopolitical risk and regulatory strategy advisory firm. “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 added.
