 Nigerians have been reacting to the nomination of Nollywood actress Funke Akindeli as running mate for the legacy of state government candidates of the People's Democratic Party PDP, Olajide Adediron. Now, while many believe that Akindeli is being used to gather votes, some other Nigerians have challenged her capacity, her behaviour and her political antecedents. Now, Mr. Shea Olajidejo in a joint statement said, the choice of Akindeli underscores the unseriousness of Lagos state PDP. Now joining us to discuss this is Bengal Ogunlaye, he is the head media and communications Jandoor 23 campaign organisation, and of course we will be joined later on by a legal practitioner Okyo Yesarafa, he is of the APC. Now Mr. Ogunlaye, it's so good to have you join us, thank you. Oh, thank you, thank you for having me. Interesting, let's start by looking at the choice of Funke Akindeli, like I said in my opening, a lot of people have queried the choice of a movie star as running mate. I mean, we've seen in River State, this is not the first, we've seen in River State where I think Tonto Dike was picked as a running mate for somebody in the ADC. And Lagos state for the PDP, Funke Akindeli, what exactly made your principle decide to go for a Funke Akindeli as opposed to someone who would have been a career politician? I appreciate the interest of negotiations on the deputy candidate, deputy governorship candidate for People's Democratic Party. It shows that negotiations still see the People's Democratic Party as the alternative to the misdemeanour of the ruling party. Of course, yes, Mrs. Akindeli is a negotiation, is an adult, she qualified to vote and be voted for. She is a respected citizen of Nigeria and an indigent of Lagos state. So legally she's qualified to even be the governor, to be the governorship candidate. And so it depends on individual who have perception. Of course, because she is a popular actress, a whole lot of people have known her for years and put her in the mode of an actress. Some see her from the point of view of a comedian role in some of her films. But it has never crossed the mind of a good number of negotiations that Mrs. Akindeli is a serious entrepreneur. And it's excellent to see Dr. Abdulaziz, I said it over and over that a running mate will be an individual that will have value to the ticket, must be an individual who on a private capacity has been supporting people, have empathy, have love for youth, for children, for women and for elderly. This is Akindeli's fit into that mood. And of course we are gender sensitive in the people's democratic party. You can check in the last three of our elections, we have always been considering gender balance. And then we also consider the senatorial division of Lagos. Dr. Abdulaziz is from the Lagos-West senatorial district and Mrs. Akindeli is from the Lagos-East senatorial district. So it is about balance. It is about interest. It's about carrying everybody along. I may just say this in passing. His excellency is a Libra Muslim. Mrs. Akindeli is a Christian. So we ensure that we appeal to every interest and tendencies so that we can really provide the fresh breath that Lagosians desire. Alright, I'll ask you one question before I go to the APC man who just joined us. Now, you talked about Mr. Adityan picking his vice based on the value that that person can bring to the campaign. So I pose the question back to you. What value do you think that Funke will bring to this campaign and the ticket in itself? I mean, you said that you're appealing to the gender balance. You're also appealing to the senatorial and of course the religious biases that we have in the state and of course across the country. But in terms of numbers, because politics is a game of numbers, what value does she bring to the ticket? Oh, of course, you know, we are having this discussion now because of the popularity of Mrs. Funke Akindeli. The moment Dr. Adityan nominated Mr. Akindeli among four other deputy governorship candidates, this has become a trending issue on the social media. Whether we like it or yes, it is Akindeli have a teaming followers, not only on the social media because of involvement in advocacy, entrepreneurship and philanthropism. She has a good volume of legations who appreciate her, not only from an equal-do base, but because of her empathy as a person. I will not shy away from the love they have for her for being a professional outstanding actress. Now, all these come together to deliver that we are having people who are apolitical, who are neither a member of APC, neither a member of PDP but play hands, who want a fresh breath, a change, who want somebody who does not have the know of an average career for politicians, somebody who think like an average negation. And this is the band that Mrs. Akindeli will bring into the team. Well, we are being joined by a legal practitioner, Okui Sarafa. He is a member of the All Progressive Congress. Mr. Okui, thank you very much for joining us. Can you hear me? Unfortunately, I think we lost that connection with Mr. Okui. Back to you, Ginga. You keep talking about the fact that she is a seasoned actress, you know, she has the love of people. So, there have been many who have criticized the fact that having a fandom is totally different from governance and what the person is able to bring. Yes, again, there are those of us who would say that, you know, deputizing is a yes man's job. In other words, you do not have the same powers as the governor, but then you do bring some value to the ticket. Now, what do you think that a funke can do to get more people to believe in the PDP being that the PDP has not been leading Lagos for several years? And what makes you think that she is the addition that will help get that seat, the most coveted seat in Lagos State? Thank you very much. If you are not faithful in leading, who will trust you with much? Mrs. Akindeli has been able to manage a private business for over 14 years, growing the business from nothing to a world-class business. She has close to 100 employees in a business that she attend to. She is an employer of labor. Now, you can do a background check of C1 TV and you will see what these women have been able to do with the little that she had. Now, and with the little she has, she has also got into philanthropy. To be able to do over 14 years, Mrs. Akindeli has been able to assist thousands in the end of Lagos through entrepreneur training, sponsoring them in one area or the other, assisting with a mega income. Now, this is a part of what Dr. Akindeli took time to study. I said, okay, if an individual can do this without having access to public fund, without having access to any support from anywhere, much more she will be able to do coming to government. And please don't forget that Mrs. Akindeli is a lawyer. Now, she is bringing in her knowledge as a lawyer into the table, bringing her knowledge as a Syria entrepreneur into the table and she also bringing the fact that she has been an actress, a model and you see the empathy. So all these come together to add value to governance in Lagos. All right, once again, I think we're being joined on phone this time by Okewe Sarafa, he's a legal practitioner and a member of the APC. Mr. Okewe, can you hear me now? Yeah, me too. Perfect. Now, I'd like to quote what the spokesman of your party had said in reply of the PDP's choice of deputy governorship candidate. Mr. Sheo Ladejo said in his statement that the PDP is tribalizing, and I'm quoting him directly, the election by giving political neophytes who absolutely have nothing to bring to the table to the electoral ticket. He also said that he shows lack of depth in the party as regards quality members to put forward for elections that if they could give a member who crossed carpeted a few days before the imprimaries, the governorship ticket and now wants to make believe industry to fetch a deputy, he's saying that this is all a joke. I'd like to get your response and do you stand where Mr. Ladejo stands on this matter? Can you hear me, Mr. Okewe? Yeah, I'm with you. Go ahead. Well, you see, quality is more complex than the way people are looking at it. Yes, political parties have the right to determine who becomes their flag bearer. But that might not translate to electoral victory. I would not understand one thing. What is the process? It's not something that one can just dabble into overnight and expect the electorate to buy into your product. I want to say our electoral process, but let me make a statement, it's not sophisticated, not complex, not dynamic than the approach that PDP is using in addressing the electoral process. I want to say the Russians are more cosmopolitan than any state in Nigeria. And the difficult for them, I mean PDP, to come on board and tell the people that because somebody is an entrepreneur and they are putting a price forward to be number one citizen of the United States. I think their calculation is wrong. And I want to talk about you, but I want to quickly ask you a question because you may reference to the fact that Legotians are very cosmopolitan. So are you saying that Legotians are one-track minded and because they're used to a certain system of politicking that they're not open to a breath of fresh air? Is this what you're incinerating? That Legotians would always go for the same thing even if they don't like it? I'm not saying that. Please explain to me what you're talking about. I'm saying that if PDP is bringing a product differently from what everything is offering, one will expect that such product must be perfected out than what everything is offering. Say for instance, the citizen governor is re-contesting, and the governor who has surpassed the achievements, the records of the president of the United States. One will not expect PDP should bring forward somebody who is equally a better politician who understands the dynamic of Legot's policy, who understands the sentiment of Legotians and who is ready to lead Legotians far beyond what APC has been able to offer in the last 33 years. Take it or leave it. APC as in government, as in charge of Legot's policy is legitimate tonight. Can Legotians boldly say that all the years that the APC has been in government, their lives have changed for the better? I'm asking because I was on the radio this morning and half of Legos was complaining about the bad roads. They're complaining about how dilapidated the roads have been. Our communities are flooding every other day. And I'm trying to understand what exactly, even as something as simple as road infrastructure, you're saying that the governor, the sitting governor, has done better than any other governor on the APC platform. I beg your pardon. What exactly has Governor Sao Wulu done that has surpassed his predecessors? I'd like to hear it. Well, to my understanding, the current government on that Sao Wulu has tried to ensure that Legosians are better off. We won't understand one thing. In what ways? Legos is developing. People are moving to Legos every day in and day out. And we might not have a private government in place. What I'm actually saying is this. If PDP is trying to raise the power from APC, one expects this party to sponsor candidates who are better off. Now, let me give you an instance. This is another candidate of the PDP. I've never, and if I don't employ you before, he's coming for the first time. The deputy governorship candidate, Ms. Pung Chaki-Dele, has never presented before. That means they no less do nothing in terms of government and Legos is too complex for the secretaries. So they govern by lily livers nearby who do not have the political work with them. Take it or leave it. Let me allow the PDP man to respond to all that you said. Nenga, can you go ahead? Well, thank you so much. I was actually expecting that Mr. Charafa will begin to tell us exactly the qualities of the candidate, the deputy candidate of the APC. But the only thing they could refer to was the fact that he's a sitting governor, and that's all. So it is not a sitting governor. So what exactly is that, Mr. Charafa? We have been in Legos for years, and so the situation is on the ground. Twenty-three years of a political party that I'm opposing from one name to the other, and Legos is this bad. No, continue to have career politicians because that is what we expect. PDP is a brand-deck politician who have been playing politics in the days of noir so that that is the kind of personality you think can fit into the mold. No, no, no, no. This is three things differently. We are rather looking at a young... The needs of the Russians. But he does make a point. Who understands the needs of the people? Yes. He does make a point. He's saying these are green horns, and Legos is complicated. How ready and how certain are we that these people have what it takes to lead a complicated state? It's what he said, not me. So really... Green horns are sour, green on in politics. That's what he's saying. Leadership in governance. Yes, that's what he's saying. He said green on in politics is not talking about management. Take time to look at the profile of Dr. Adeduran. And mind you, Dr. Adeduran has been a member of the APC over the years. Mr. Sharafa is alive to when Dr. Adeduran started the Legos for Legos movement right inside the APC. He became a color source within the APC to explain that they had a parallel, octagon structure within the APC. No, who is the political neophyte? Who is a green horn? Where that can be in the realm of the imagination of Mrs. Sharafa. Okay, because we're running out of time, I'm going to let Mr. Sharafa quickly respond because we're almost out of time. Mr. Sharafa, quickly watch your responses. We wrap up. Well, my response, of course, is what some politics have had, we are talking about Legos that is complex, complicated and requires people who are well-attrenched, well-experienced to lead the state to the atomic land. And I submit by saying that green horned neophytes cannot take Legos to the atomic land. I want to say we should look for more adherents who have accepted, trusted adherents to continue to lead the state of our dream. All right, I think this, of course, would be left to the electorate because this is their decision and not necessarily politicians. But I want to say thank you. Mr. Sharafa is head media and communications Jan.2023 campaign organization and Okewe Sharafa is a legal practitioner and a member of the All Progressive Congress in Legos. Thank you so much, gentlemen, for speaking with us. Thank you so much. Thank you. And that's it on the show tonight. I want to say thank you to all of you who've been part of the conversation. If you missed any bits of it, you can go to our YouTube page plus TV Africa on YouTube and watch the whole show all over again. I'm Mary Anacone. Enjoy the rest of your evening.