 Welcome back. So watching the breakfast on plus TV Africa. We have a first major conversation this morning the crisis Rocking the all-progressives Congress took another dimension on Monday when members of the national working committee rejected the Senate president Ahmed law and access consensus candidate The rebuttal is ours after the national chairman of the party Abdullah Adamu announced law and as a party's consensus candidate Adamu had dropped the bombshell during the Meeting of the national working committee on Monday at the party's national Secretary to Nabooja according to him the Church of Lawn was decided after due consultation with President Mohammed Buhari Now his pronouncement did not however go down. Well, it was reported with the NWC members of the APC as some of them kicked Against the decision demanding the party give every aspirant a level playing field and Addressing newsmen at the front of the party secretary to Nabooja the national organizing secretary of the APC Suleiman Aragungu Disclosed that the choice of law and was not the decision taken by the party as was being reported I would glad to say we have joining us on of the officials of the all-progressives Congress and chairman of the party in Cross River State Barrister Ogha Eba. Good morning to you sir. Thank you very much for your time Good morning Were you part of that to NWC meeting that held yesterday? Hello. Yes. Yeah, can you hear me sir? I Can hear you now. All right. Well, were you part of that and national working committee that held yesterday? No, by position of state chairman a member of NEC. I am the member of the NWC Fantastic fantastic. So what is the what decision was taken by the national executive committee of the APC as regards consensus? kind nature for the party's presidency No, like if you have been followed rightly The last meeting of the NEC Which I attended and also spoke on behalf of the chairman We donated our powers to the NWC to take critical decision of this nature However, as you got to hear yesterday to shortly after what I described as a puzzle by the national chairman The other members of the NWC came out very clearly to say that I was not a decision of the NWC and Do not forget the powers we donated to the NWC in the last NEC meeting Was not to be exercised by the national chairman Acting unilaterally But was to be exercised by the entire national working committee So I will only only urge Nigerians particularly members of the APC to lay to rest The press briefing that was given By the organizing secretary even though it will have been properly given by the national public secretary But the organizing secretary was right in saying that I was not a decision of the NWC And that is what we want all Nigerians to take Now some people are saying that the APC has never been you know big on the issue of consensus I mean so It would never have been a thing, but what exactly is the position of the APC? I would just have you know a few more hours before Flatbearer emerges. What exactly is the position of the APC in terms of picking a flatbearer for The 2023 elections presidential flag bearer to be precise No consensus building And arriving at consensus Has almost become like blood that runs through the veins of APC There is no chairman of our party From Udige no Yegun down to Shumole Down to the present national chairman Even myself sitting here We only made through consensus build and we arrived at consensus So to say that it has not been part of our No, I'm not saying it hasn't been part of you. I'm saying that I'm looking at this time right now. The APC has been very silent about consensus And so it's quite shocking as much as you're expressing that you have the chairman saying that The senate president has emerged as a consensus candidate. So The APC has been very silent about consensus ahead of the 2023 elections What exactly is the position of your party as regards picking a presidential candidate for 2023? No We have not been silent about consensus if you've been Of mr. President And the the leadership of the party and the governors all that he's been advising is consensus building However, like I said again The issue of announcing Ahmed law one year today Was not through anything called consensus That is why I said but I say that perhaps it was impossible All right, uh, uh barista auger Hearing you say that um, uh, of course it was reported in the press After that national executive committee meeting of the APC You said you spoke on behalf of the chairman the state chairman of the party Donating your powers to the national working committee. What's the party chairman? Adamu himself In agreement with this because we're seeing he's seeing him sing a different song at that time. Was it an an agreement a decision of all of the end NEC of the party I didn't get you clearly the line was breaking. All right. Okay, but but can you hear me now? Ask me again But can you hear me now, sir? Yeah Yes, okay barso. I I'm saying that um, you've you've reminded us that the NEC of the APC held a meeting and uh, uh, after that meeting donated its powers to decided consensus Uh, presidential candidate for the party to the national working committee Was the party chairman in support of that agreement because it seems like he's seeing a different song Are we having divergent divergent interests as far as the members of the NEC are concerned the party chairman is concerned If I hear you clean if I had you clean During the next meeting the powers we donated to the end of the sea Yes, yes, was it what we donated to the end of the sea? Yes. Yes. Yes. Maybe the decision I took On this you are consensus. Yes. Well the party chairman was in support was in a gross part of that decision Hello. Yeah, I'm asking if you're national chairman. Can you hear me, sir? Hello, the line is seriously breaking. All right. We'll have to get back to I guess Um, uh, I hope that uh I can't hear you now. Oh, you can hear you can hear me now. Fantastic Was it was your national chairman part of that decision to donate your powers to the NWC? Hello. All right Baristog, we'll try to reconnect with you. I hope that um, uh, we can successfully do that because there's some important information You're sharing with us. But but can you hear me now, sir? The line is serious. I don't know why. All right. We'll get back to I guess mercy is quite a Uh, uh, unfortunately having this but it very important because he is uh, when he's a dramatist person He is in the middle of of this story Uh, so we'll try and get back to him But indeed, uh, it was a a surprise when the uh, the news broke that the chairman had in fact, the story was or apc Mix Ahmed law and consensus candidate But as the minutes went on not even hours minutes Went on became clear. Um, but the party had not taken a decision But the party had had a meeting of its national working committee where The the chairman, uh, it was that he gave his opinion And suggested that uh, or dropped some sort of information You know, but but the jury's out as to whether this information shared by the party chairman Is what is the will of president Muhammad Buhari and I hope we can get um, I guess back of the line Ogha eba who is the um, the chairman of the all progressives congress in ravers in cross university You know, so so, you know, let me make as to whether this statement and this opinion by Abdullah is the position of the president Why are people saying that it's because the president last year he sat down with a With journalists and he was interviewed And he asked, uh, he was asked about this whole consensus candidature And he said that he will be keeping his choice to lose his chest that if he reveals all his choices People might begin to get at that person, you know, so he wasn't going to tell When he hosted the governors of the apc and the national chairman to a meeting Last week, he also said that he had allowed or he insinuated That he had allowed them Choose who their successors and for those who had Regarding the first day of the party had supported them to get a second term So they should also allow him uh, and cooperate with him to to choose A consensus candidate to succeed him You know, so there was suspicion that that meant or that was interpreted in some quarters that that meant that the president Had a choice Um whom he would make known as time went on but following the the reaction to this, um Statement of supported consensus candidature of law and by adamu The presidency has now come out to say we have no anointed candidate We have no anointed candidate It's a lot that's going on because if you if you look at the papers this morning you have a different Dimension so you want to call them a faction? I mean different statement From different stakeholders in the same party. So on the other hand, you have a damu saying that, you know, akmi lawan has been chosen as um The flag bearer the is is the anointed one of the president I'm just saying that's what the man that's what the man said that president bohari has speak senator Uh, akmi lawan as his choice. That's what he's saying Right and on the other hand, you have the not the the the northern governors Coming to say hey, we are still bent on saying power should go to the south You know to the southern part of the country and on the other hand, you have the president also saying I do not have any um anointed candidates and also on the other hand, you have the national working committee saying we are with the power You know with the governors on power shift And the chairmanship is entitled to his opinion on lawan. So it couldn't be that, you know, the chairman would be acting You know on his own the chairman. I mean you're talking about Abdelahi right now just waking up and saying things Out of his own perception out of his own interest That is that is that is what we don't know um What he has reported us saying is that president he told the end of cwc members That the president had chosen but I wonder why the president If he had chosen Ahmed lawan would not have said that because he had dinner with the um Stakeholders of the apc on on on sunday You know Tiro was there or shiba was there. Ahmed lawan was there He didn't say anything that we know. We don't know that he said that He met with the governors and the party chairman last week. He didn't mention any name um If if lawan Says this thing or rather damu says this to the nwc members. How did you know if that's a president's position? And and you can't have A consensus candidature just like that. It's not something you just say any you actually will call all the candidates together sit them down Even if you're going to to to give them an order Maybe you are an incumbent state governor or you are a party leader in the state All right, or the federal level Even if you're going to give them an order you actually will call them and say this is it You understand this is it and then of course you have the extant laws the electoral act 2022 That prescribes the procedure for you know consensus candidature and party everybody has to agree all the candidates not just agree They have to agree in writing. They have to sign on paper, which I think is fantastic for democracy in Nigeria All right Barista, uh, uh, uh, Eba, are you there, please? Good morning to you. Once again barista Eba All right, please kindly turn off the volume of the Uh, the audio where you are so that we don't have that feedback because of uh, you know The way it works All right, thank you So I was asking before we went on the break if if the national chairman of your party Uh, was part of this decision to donate the pass to pick a consensus candidate to the national working committee of the party Thank you. We have been disconnected with her It brings us back to the conversation So, but whatever whatever it is a lot of people have described What's going on with the api select right you mentioned if you follow the api system Oh, yes. Yes barista. We can hear you. Sorry messy. Can you hear us, sir? Can you hear me? Yes. Can you hear us, sir? Loud and clear, but can you hear us? Hello Yes barista, we can hear you. Can you hear us? All right, obviously, uh, it's still um, uh, an audio issue That uh, hopefully we'll get to overcome but he's uh, he's um, Like I said dramatize, but he's one of those in the middle of this this story And it's important to get to hear from him important to Take his opinion now that let's hope he can do that before Before we run out of time. It's a big story messy. No, it's a very big one big one. Yeah, but in all of this If you look at um, what is going on you would want to say that That's there's something that the one cannot really understand. I don't think that the apc has been very great All right, so we do have uh barista. We'll get back. It's good to have you join us once again. Can you hear us? Okay, hello Barista, can you hear us please? Can you hear us now? I can hear you now. All right. So we're asking for this, uh, neck meeting that held Where your powers were donated to the nwc was the national party chairman a part of this agreement Decision Okay, so we probably might not have this conversation today, but hopefully we're able to have that that's because Um, you know, the convention would definitely run From the six through the eight or maybe through the nine today's the seven to through the eight So between now and tomorrow we're hoping that we can still have him back You know to have this conversation almost out of time But we will try and see if we can reconnect with him poor network connection right there We apologize for this inconvenience. This might cost you at this point in time It brings me back to the position of saying that the apc has not been very clear on the issue of Consensus like you have rightly mentioned you have the extant law being very precise about If you're going to have a consensus candidate how a consensus candidate will emerge It wouldn't just be by you know, pronounce a pronouncement It wouldn't be just your pronouncement of the chairman or any other person an individual It has to follow, you know, what the law has actually prescribed So you have this aspirant who will come together and agree that you know, we're picking an individual or a certain person to become You know a flag bearer. So that that hasn't really happened. That's why you think, you know, you have the president saying, oh, I don't have an anointed Candidate or I don't have a choice and you have the national working committee on the other hand saying We're the northern governors or governors have actually agreed that we're going to ship parts of the south So it would be that Candidates from the southern parts of the country Would stand a chance. It's going to be an election and there will be, you know, elected. So it's it's what let's see what happens I mean, like one paper put it. I think was the leadership newspaper Saying that they are going for broke, you know, so um, it is each month for himself god for us all Yeah, as far as the apc is and I think it's it's fantastic You know, you know, this whole idea of consensus really It is a way of of, you know, it diffs self franchises and and drops people who just want to exercise their Their right and the opportunity they have to Stand for an election. Even if they lose at the end of the day, let them know they lost fair and square You know, look at what happened with the pdp, you know, that tickle one fair and square Likes of wiki, buhari, saraki They don't know who said he never saw the delegates list and fire shank who never got any they got zero votes Even iim who came from the southeast with 100 delegates only saw 14 All these people would have You know, they would have exhausted themselves It was like somebody who once complained to you who has issues if you don't allow them to talk you don't listen to them All right, they will not feel like they've been hurt You have to let them exhaust themselves When they're done, then you have a better chance of having a resolution It's very important I'm sure that You know kofi, you probably might want to channel that question to him Open up. What do we have you on the phone? Yes, you have me not on the phone Okay Okay, it's good to have you join us this morning on the breakfast Good morning. Good morning Hello Well, we're we're done We'll take a break now when we return we continue with the breakfast. Please stay with us