Accord Party gubernatorial candidate Kennedy Iyere has officially withdrawn from the upcoming 2024 Edo governorship election, citing his desire to serve Nigeria at a higher level and address pressing social and economic challenges, particularly the food crisis.
In a statement announcing his decision, Iyere stressed his commitment to leveraging his experience to implement effective solutions to the country's challenges.
He referred to his earlier proposal for a multi-billion dollar initiative, the “Food4All Initiative”, which he presented to President Bola Tinubu.
This program aims to achieve food security and create massive employment for youth and women through the “One Family, One Farmer” program.
Iyere also revealed that internal party conflicts played a major 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 according to their conscience, stressing the importance of an equitable rotation of power among the three senatorial districts.
Looking ahead, Iyere expressed his commitment to focus on national development and assist the federal government in creating a roadmap for economic inclusion.
He stressed the need for social intervention programmes aimed at engaging and deradicalising young people.
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 aim is no longer to occupy the office of governor, but to occupy a higher and more important office than that of governor. I want to serve Nigerians in general, not just Edo indigenes. I want to help rebuild Nigeria’s lost economic greatness.
“Being a governor will impose limitations on me, so when I saw the conspiracies that Enabulele and some leaders of the Accord Party deployed at the state level, I knew it was time for me to accept a higher calling, which was to improve my performance at the federal level, where I am currently contributing greatly with my efforts to national development.
“I am helping the federal government design a roadmap for economic inclusion, participation, self-emancipation and deradicalization of youth by designing and promoting social intervention programs that aim to mitigate unemployment and improve entrepreneurial opportunities for youth and women for massive self-employment, wealth creation and poverty alleviation.
“These programmes will become fully operational by October 2024 and Nigeria will be back on track for rapid economic recovery. Our intervention programmes will enhance opportunities for youth engagement in entrepreneurship across multiple sectors, especially agriculture, food and beverages, technology, entertainment, innovation and creativity.
“Over six million young and women entrepreneurs (as owners and operators of MSMEs) will be created or established in the first year of the official launch of this entrepreneurship programme. Nigerian youth and women lack access to the entrepreneurial capital needed to start a new business or manage an existing one. This programme will directly address that critical need.”
