Accord Party candidate Kennedy Iyere withdraws as Obaseki insists Edo governorship election is do or die
Comrade Kennedy Iyere, the Accord Party candidate for the Edo State governorship election, has officially withdrawn from the race, citing a higher calling to serve Nigeria nationally.
Iyere, a renowned humanitarian activist, philanthropist, and serial social entrepreneur, cited the need to serve Nigeria at a higher level and wider space, leveraging his expertise to address the country’s social and economic challenges, particularly the food and hunger crisis.
He had previously presented a multi-billion dollar food intervention program, ‘Food4All Initiative’, to President Bola Tinubu, aiming to achieve food security and mass employment for youths and women through the ‘One-Family-One-Farmer Scheme’.
Iyere’s decision was also influenced by internal party conflicts, including an alleged conspiracy involving his running mate, Bright Enabulele, to overturn his candidacy.
With less than 24 hours to the Election Day, Iyere urged eligible voters in Edo State to shun violence and vote their conscience, emphasising the need for equitable power rotation among the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
According to him, he will focus on national development, assisting the federal government in devising a roadmap for economic inclusion, engagement, and deradicalisation of youths through social intervention programs.
He stated that the programs, set to launch in October 2024, aimed to create over six million youth and women entrepreneurs, addressing unemployment and poverty alleviation.
Iyere said his alignment with the Federal Government was driven by a selfless desire to serve humanity through public service, rather than 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,” Iyere stated.
Meanwhile, Edo governor, Godwin Obaseki has insisted the upcoming election is a “do or die” affair.
In a recent interview, Obaseki explained, “It’s a do or die because if they do, we die. If they do, we die,” highlighting his concerns over what he describes as the opposition party’s reckless behaviour.
Obaseki expressed no regrets about his statement, citing alarming events leading up to the election.
“Just drive down the line,” he urged, emphasising the apparent disparity in security resources between himself and former governors.
He pointed out that while he is a sitting governor, a former governor campaigning for the opposition enjoys more security, including police helicopters.
When asked about specific incidents, Obaseki provided disturbing accounts of violence and intimidation.
“As of 2 a.m. today in Agena Bode, two people were kidnapped,” he revealed, claiming armed policemen are being deployed across the state to suppress political dissent.
“You can’t run in the state,” he lamented, adding that police investigations seem biased against his party.
