Prof. Pat Utomi, a former presidential candidate, claimed he joined forces with like-minded citizens to develop the third force alternative political platform in order to free Nigeria from the previous political system.
He spoke when he and activist Comrade Kennedy Iyere gathered a number of prominent Nigerians in Lagos to formally begin the FUND40MB political donor-fundraising campaign in support of Peter Obi.
The 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) is the foundation of the Fund40MB, a global fundraising initiative that was started in response to the urgent need to raise enough money to finance the grassroots recruitment and mobilisation of 40M youth and women voters in support of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi ahead of the 2023 election.
Prof. Utomi stated during the public unveiling of FUND40MB that the need to build a new Nigeria that works for every citizen drove him and other patriotic Nigerians to form the “third force,” an alternative political platform whose main goal is to shift Nigeria away from the current political system by ousting the PDP and other incumbent parties.
Prof. Utomi contends that in order to change the current political system, money politics must first be completely eliminated by citizens directly funding elections and democratic procedures.
“But for this third force to succeed, we need to find a new way of financing our democracy through the direct involvement of citizens” said Utomi who was quoted in a statement by Comrade Iyere.
In order to further support the need for the “FUND40MB Global Fundraising Campaign,” he further emphasised its importance to the success of the Peter Obi-centered “Third Force Movement.” Chair of the 40Million Ballots Movement is Prof. Pat Utomi (40MB).
The 40Million Ballots Movement’s (40MB) convener, Comrade Kennedy Iyere, serves as the organization’s chief fund-raiser for all of FUND40international MB’s fundraising efforts.
The 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB), according to Comrade Iyere, is not like most other Peter Obi support groups.
Comrade Iyere claims that the 40Million Ballots Movement (40MB) was started long before Peter Obi considered running for president.
“We would like to state at this point that the 40Milliom Ballots Movement was formed long before Peter Obi joined the 2023 Presidential Race, 40Million Ballots Movement was created through the strategic collaborations of key NGOs, CSOs and major Ethnic Nationalities, including Afenifere, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Mdzough U-Tiv, 2023 Power-Shift Movement, Youths Off The Street Initiative (YOTSI) and Igbo World Assembly (IWA) among others.
