Monday 15th August 2022 witnessed the official launch of the FUND40MB, a PAC-driven global donor fundraising campaign anchored by the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB), wholly for the purpose of generating and mobilising funds to assist the campaign activities of the various support groups of Peter Obi, or OBIdient Movement, as the umbrella platform, ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
The mandate of the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) is to help mobilize forty million youth and women voters for the electoral victory of Peter Obi in the forthcoming 2023 presidential poll.
The public unveiling of FUND40MB was conducted and performed by Prof Pat Utomi, a renowned political economist, notable elder statesman, national opinion moulder and one of the closest and biggest allies of Peter Obi.
The 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) is also chaired by Prof Pat Utomi.
But just within a few days after the public unveiling of FUND40MB, some mischief makers have released a media report which claimed that the creation of FUND40MB was as a result of an alleged disagreement involving Peter Obi and Prof Pat Utomi which is all about the control of the campaign funds donated to Labour Party and selection of signatories to the Labour Party’s campaign fund accounts.
The media mischief makers went further to fallaciously affirm that allies of Peter Obi have sidelined the National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, who they alleged was earlier listed as one of the signatories. But Comrade Iyere, Convener of the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) and creator of FUND4OMB has publicly debunked the false media report and described it as a mischievous act.
“These reporters are jobless and were obviously paid to carry out this act of mischief against Peter Obi, Prof Pat Utomi and Comrade Kennedy Iyere but unfortunately they have failed to realize that these three men are too focused to be distracted from their mission, which is about Nigeria’s political rescue and redemption in 2023”, said Comrade Iyere.
“The 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) and its affiliated political support platforms have no collaborative status or operational relationship with Labour Party. We had long been active in the political arena before Peter Obi joined the PDP Presidential Race. When we formed the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB), Peter Obi was not part of our plan and Labour Party on the other hand was comatose.
The entrance of Peter Obi resuscitated Labour Party as a dead Party and for that reason, people like Julius Abure should be thankful to Prof Pat Utomi rather than engage in acts of media blackmail against him and the rest of us who paid the
40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) is independent of Peter Obi’s influence and does not take directives from neither Peter Obi nor Labour Party but operates to provide support for Peter Obi and its various support groups”, Comrade Iyere further affirmed.
According to Comrade Iyere, neither Peter Obi nor Labour Party has input in the activities and programmes of the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) and its allied platforms, which include FUND40MB and others. He further stressed that the FUND40MB was launched out of the need to help mobilize campaign funds for various credible support groups of Peter Obi, also collectively known as OBIdient Movement. Hence, the fundraising campaign was unveiled by Prof Pat Utomi, on the 15th August 2022.
According to Comrade Iyere, the Abure-led Labour Party is not willing to adopt and absorbed the various support groups of Peter Obi, thus compelling the need to devise an independent funding platform for the OBIdient Movement and its various members. This is the reality that prompted the creation of FUND40MB.
Comrade Kennedy Iyere who is a veteran Donor-Fundraiser, Grant Expert, Humanitarian Activist, Philanthropreneur, Frontline Social Entrepreneur and Serial Business Investor, has flexible global networks to access donor funding streams. He doubted the capability of the Labour Party to generate enough campaign funds. ” Not every political party is capable of generating sufficient campaign funds, it takes lots of credibilities, connections, contacts and above all, the expertise and the right people”, said Comrade Iyere.
Comrade Iyere is therefore of the belief and conviction that Labour Party does not have the capacity to win the 2023 presidential election for Peter Obi but the support groups of Peter Obi which make up the OBIdient Movement have the capacity to win the presidential election of 2023 for Peter Obi. He, therefore, buttresses the need to rely more on the support groups than on Labour Party.
This he attributed as the reason he founded FUND40MB for the purpose of fundraising globally to support and finance the activities and programmes of the various members of the OBIdient Movement.
“Only faceless journalists and media organizations with no registered business name are those capable of peddling fake news just like they have done against us. They have no business address, no portfolio, no professional association and no identity. They are as useless as the false news they promote”, said Comrade Iyere.
