Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has rejected his inclusion in the policy team of African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, saying he was neither consulted nor asked to consent to the appointment.
Moghalu made the clarification on Thursday, shortly after Atiku’s campaign unveiled its National Campaign Council and listed him among members of the campaign’s Policy Team.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Moghalu said he was surprised to see his name included in the campaign structure and made it clear that he had not accepted any role in Atiku’s 2027 presidential campaign.
“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,” Moghalu said.
He added that he was not a member of Atiku’s policy team “even unofficially or in any advisory capacity.”
The development came only hours after Atiku’s campaign announced a broad campaign structure for the 2027 election. The council is 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.
The campaign said the structure comprises six operational directorates and 30 directors, with responsibilities assigned across areas including administration, operations, media and communications, mobilisation, support groups, and technical and electoral systems.
Moghalu, who contested the 2019 presidential election under the Young Progressives Party, said he left partisan politics in Nigeria in 2022.
He stressed that he had maintained a non-partisan position since then and was not a member or sympathiser of any political party in the country.
“I have quit partisan politics in Nigeria since 2022. I have maintained, and continue to maintain, my non-partisan posture in our country’s national affairs,” he said.
The former CBN deputy governor explained that his decision to remain outside partisan politics should not be interpreted as a withdrawal from national affairs.
According to him, he remains interested in Nigeria’s development but believes that contribution to the country does not necessarily require affiliation with a political party or campaign.
“I remain committed to my country, Nigeria and its progress, but such commitment does not have to entail ANY partisan alignment,” he said.
Moghalu described his approach as one of “statesmanship, not partisanship.”
He currently serves as president of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation, IGET Africa, which he describes as a non-partisan public policy think tank and executive education institution. He is also Chief Executive Officer of Sogato Strategies, a geopolitical risk and regulatory strategy advisory firm.
Moghalu’s rejection came as Atiku’s campaign formally unveiled its national campaign architecture for the 2027 presidential election.
According to the campaign announcement, economist and banker Mohammed Hayatudeen was named chairman of the Policy Team, while Professor Mohammed Sagagi was appointed deputy chairman. Aare Aremijoye was listed as secretary.
The campaign announcement initially included Moghalu as one of the policy team members, alongside Professor Mustapha Akinkunmi and Senator Abdul Ningi.
The campaign said its policy structure would focus on issues it identified as major concerns for Nigerians, including the rising cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.
Atiku said the wider campaign structure was designed to reflect the economic circumstances facing Nigerians and to establish defined responsibilities within the organisation.
The campaign’s statement described the structure as deliberately lean, with six Deputy Directors-General overseeing operational directorates and 30 directors assigned specific portfolios.
The Media and Communications Directorate is headed by veteran journalist and publisher Dele Momodu as Deputy Director-General, while Senator Dino Melaye was named Deputy Director-General of the Contact and Mobilisation Directorate.
Other directorates cover administration, operations, diversity and support groups, and technical and electoral systems.
The campaign has presented its Policy Team as an important component of its effort to develop policy proposals ahead of the 2027 election.
Hayatudeen, who chairs the team, is an economist and banker, while Sagagi has an academic and economic policy background.
In announcing the campaign structure, Atiku’s team said the policy process would seek to address issues affecting Nigerians in their daily lives, particularly food, transportation and energy costs, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.
The campaign also said its policy work would be aimed at translating the concerns of Nigerians into proposals that could be incorporated into its political programme.
However, Moghalu’s statement means that his name cannot be treated as an indication that he has accepted a role within that policy structure.
Moghalu’s decision comes at a time when political parties and presidential candidates are putting organisational structures in place ahead of the 2027 general election.
Atiku’s campaign has been expanding its national structure, with the latest appointments covering political coordination, campaign management, communications, mobilisation and policy development.
The former vice-president’s campaign named Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman of the National Campaign Council and El-Rufai as deputy chairman. Akobundu was appointed Director-General and Campaign Manager, giving him responsibility for coordinating the day-to-day activities of the campaign.
John Oyegun was named chairman of the Campaign Advisory Council, with Lawal Batagarawa and former Senator Ben Obi listed as deputy chairmen and Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as secretary.
The campaign has said the structure is intended to provide clear lines of responsibility and accountability as preparations for the election continue.
For Moghalu, however, his immediate priority is maintaining the non-partisan position he says he adopted in 2022.
His public clarification therefore separates his professional and public-policy activities from Atiku’s campaign organisation and makes clear that his appearance on the published list should not be interpreted as acceptance of a political appointment.
The campaign has not, in the material publicly cited, provided a separate explanation for how Moghalu’s name came to be included before his public rejection.
The immediate outcome is that Atiku’s announced Policy Team will have to be understood in light of Moghalu’s explicit statement that he is not a member of the team.
The episode also highlights the importance of consent in political appointments, particularly when individuals with established public profiles are named as members of campaign organisations without prior public confirmation from the individuals concerned.
