Nigeria's former apex bank chief joins presidential race

LAGOS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, on Monday announced his interest to run for the presidency in 2019.

Moghalu told reporters in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, that time had come for technocrats, intellectuals and experienced people to take power from Nigeria's career politicians.

The former banker said politics in Nigeria should be detribalized for Africa's most populous nation to grow and take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

He said zoning, which had been used by the major political parties, might have been relevant in the past but that it is no longer necessary because competence should be placed above tribe in present-day Nigeria.

Moghalu did not say which party he will be representing in the race.

Speaking on a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari, Moghalu said the president has constitutional rights to seek re-election.

He said Nigeria must look beyond continued dependence on oil and encourage independent institutions to flourish.

Moghalu, who served as central bank deputy governor from 2009 to 2014, is a political economist, lawyer and a former United Nations official.

He was also a professor of practice in international business and public policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, the United States.

Born on May 7, 1963, Moghalu is a graduate of the London School of Economics. Enditem