L-R Acting National Secretary, Alliance for New Nigeria, Osita Okonkwo; Presidential Candidate, Alliance for New Nigeria, Fela Durotoye; Vice Presidential Candidate, Alliance for New Nigeria, Khadija Abdullahi-Iya and National Vice Chairman, South-west, Jude Okoya-Thomas during the Unveiling of the Vice Presidential Candidate, Alliance for New Nigeria in Lagos
By Daniels Ekugo
As the battle hots up for 2019 presidential polls, The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) has unveiled Mrs. Khadija Abdulahi as its vice presidential candidate ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
Presenting Abdulahi-Iya to party members in Lagos recently, Mr. Fela Durotoye, the presidential candidate of the party, described her as an award winning innovator, serial social entrepreneur, publisher, mentor, author, and social change actor, who passionate about her community and doing something about it.
He said his running mate is a woman who is passionate about Nigeria and is contributing to the development of the country by making positive impact on her community and people around her.
Durotoye said that Abdulahi-Iya was chosen as the vice presidential candidate of ANN because of her leadership qualities and ability to mobilise and galvanise people and materials to produce positive result.
This event according to the Director General of the ANN 2019 Presidential Campaign Mr Lanre Oyegbola marks another milestone in the journey to the 2019 General Elections because the choice of Mrs. Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya presents the Alliance for New Nigeria greater foothold in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Abdulahi-Iya had her LLB Law from the University of Abuja and masters in law and diplomacy from the University of Jos. She founded a variety of social enterprises and businesses. She is the editor-in-chief /CEO of S. I. Magazine Ltd and an executive director of Beyond Mentors Inc. She sits on the board of a few small businesses and possesses over 10 years experience in humanitarian and community outreach programs.
Abdullahi-Iya consults and facilitates programmes and trainings for small businesses in collaboration with governmental/non-governmental agencies or organizations.
She is the founder/executive director of Beyond Mentors Inc., a non-governmental organisation originally set up as a social enterprise, which has evolved to an NGO – Beyond Mentors Community Care Initiatives, which was conceived out of the need to address and prevent poverty from the cradle in Nigeria especially, Northern Nigeria. BMCCi has an advocacy arm called the Women community of Africa (WCA)