Breaking: Governorship candidate steps down hours to Edo election

The governorship candidate of the Accord Party (AC), Kennedy Iyere, has officially withdrawn from the upcoming 2024 Edo Gubernatorial election, citing a desire to serve Nigeria at a higher level and address pressing social and economic challenges, particularly the food crisis.

Iyere in a statement highlighted his commitment to leveraging his expertise to implement effective solutions for the country’s challenges.

He referenced his previously proposed multi-billion dollar initiative, the ‘Food4All Initiative,’ which he presented to President Bola Tinubu.

This program aims to achieve food security and create mass employment for youth and women through the “One-Family-One-Farmer Scheme.”

Iyere also revealed that internal party conflicts played a significant role in his withdrawal, explicitly mentioning a conspiracy involving his running mate, Bright Enabulele, who allegedly sought to undermine his candidacy. ‘

Despite these challenges, Iyere urged voters in Edo State to remain peaceful and vote their conscience, stressing the importance of equitable power rotation among the three Senatorial Districts.

Looking ahead, Iyere expressed his commitment to focusing on national development and assisting the federal government in creating a roadmap for economic inclusion.

He emphasized the need for social intervention programs aimed at engaging and deradicalizing youth.

In closing, Iyere reiterated that his alignment with the Federal Government stems from a selfless desire to serve humanity through public service rather than engaging in partisan politics.

He said, “My focus is no longer on the governorship seat but on a higher and bigger portfolio than a Governor. I want to serve Nigerians at large and not just Edo indigenes. I want to help rebuild Nigeria’s lost economic greatness.

Serving as a Governor will actually place limitations on me. So, when I saw the plots displayed by Enabulele and some leaders of Accord Party at the State Level, then I knew it was time for me to embrace a higher calling, which was to step up my game to the federal level where I am presently hugely contributing my efforts towards national development.

“I am assisting the federal government to devise a road map for the economic inclusion, engagement, self-emancipation and deradicalisation of youths by designing and driving social intervention programmes that aim to mitigate unemployment and enhance youth and women entrepreneurial opportunities for mass self-employment, wealth creation and poverty alleviation.

“These programmes will fully kick-start in the month of October 2024 and Nigeria will be placed yet again on the pathway of rapid economic recovery. Our intervention programmes will enhance opportunities for youth entrepreneurship engagement in multiple sectors, especially agriculture, food and beverage, technology, entertainment, innovation and creativity.

More than six million youth and women entrepreneurs (as MSME owners and operators) shall be created or produced within the first one year of the official kick-off of this entrepreneurship programme. Nigerian youths and women lack access to the business capital required as entrepreneurs to either start up a new business or operate an existing business. This programme will squarely address that essential need.”