Kennedy Iyere, the Accord Party’s governorship candidate for the 2024 Edo Gubernatorial election, has formally withdrawn from the race.
Iyere said his decision was influenced by a desire to contribute to Nigeria’s broader development. He cited the nation’s social and economic challenges, particularly the ongoing food and hunger crisis, as his motivation for stepping aside.
Earlier, Iyele had proposed a large-scale initiative called the ‘Food4All Initiative’ to President Bola Tinubu.
This multi-billion-dollar food security programme aims to combat food scarcity and create mass employment, especially for youths and women, through the “One-Family-One-Farmer Scheme.”
In his statement, Iyere encouraged voters in Edo State to participate peacefully in the election and to vote in line with their conscience. He also stressed the importance of equitable power rotation among the state’s three senatorial districts.
The Accord Party candidate stated that his focus is now on supporting national development, particularly by helping the federal government create a roadmap for economic inclusion, youth engagement, and deradicalisation.
He plans to achieve this through social intervention programmes aimed at reducing unemployment and fostering entrepreneurial opportunities for Nigeria’s youth and women.
“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,” he said.
Iyere explained that his new efforts at the federal level will contribute to Nigeria’s economic recovery, with the official launch of key intervention programmes scheduled for October 2024.
These initiatives are expected to create over six million youth and women entrepreneurs within the first year, especially in agriculture, technology, and creative industries, helping to address the lack of capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).