British PM: Nigerian Born Joins Race

Kemi Badenoch, a former minister for equal opportunities in the UK, announced his intention to run for prime minister of the UK and leader of the Conservative Party in a move that has received widespread support from the general people.

Ms Badenoch, born Olukemi Olufunto in Wimbledon, London, to parents of Nigerian origin, joined the race to succeed scandal-dogged Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Conservative leader on Saturday.

When the UK prime minister was last compelled to step down, he pledged to hold on to the position until a replacement was chosen.

Badenoch was one of the approximately 60 lawmakers and staffers who resigned last week after Johnson apologised for giving a prominent position to a senior colleague accused of sexual assault.

The 42-year-old Badenoch, a member of parliament for Saffron Walden, called for change while announcing her quest for the top post in the UK in an article that appeared in The Times newspaper. She claimed that the British population was “exhausted by platitudes and empty rhetoric.”

“I’m putting myself forward in this leadership election because I want to tell the truth,” she said. “It’s the truth that will set us free.

“Without change, the Conservative Party, Britain and the western world will continue to drift”, and rivals will “outpace us economically and outmanoeuvre us internationally.”

In the running to succeed David Cameron as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom are Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor; Sajid Javid, a former health secretary; Ben Wallace, a former defence secretary; and Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary.

Some members of the British parliament, notably Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Michael Gove, MP for Surrey Heath, and Gareth Bacon, MP for Orpington, have publicly endorsed her statement.

Prior to this, Badenoch served as the Department of Education’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. She is also a former Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party and former member of the Justice Select Committee.

She served as the GLA Conservatives’ spokeswoman for the economy as a member of the London Assembly for the Conservative Party before being elected to the House of Commons.

The ruling Conservative party has told the new British prime minister to succeed Johnson will be announced on September 5 with 11 candidates vying for the position.