 We're glad to know you're still there. Barring any last-minute change in plans, the Presidential Campaign Council of the Ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will this weekend release the final list of members of the council. It was learned that the council was still receiving inputs from stakeholders, especially governors of the party. Presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who arrived in the country from London on Thursday evening, had shortly before he travelled, some days ago, released a 422-member campaign council. The list was met with grumblings and Steve resistance from most state chapters of the party, with APC in reverse state, alleging that all its nominees to the council were dropped. However, after a tripartite meeting of the governors, the Abdullah-i-Adamulet National Working Committee and the PCC on Wednesday, there were indications that all parties to the dispute might have now harmonized their positions. Indeed, a member of the PCC said that the comprehensive council list would be ready by this weekend in preparation for next week's planned flag-off of the campaign in Abuja. Joining us to discuss these is Tunji Abdulhamid, a legal practitioner, and Ben-Ga Olorumpomi, an APC member and public relations consultant. Thank you, gentlemen, for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. Well, let's begin with you, Ben-Ga. First of all, what's with APC candidates in London, anyway? Are we in for a deja vu already? Because we remember what happened when our president was coming in 2014-2015. Why did your principal go to London? Yeah, well, I mean, don't ask too exactly what you mean by that. For us in the APC, we have a candidate that is extremely available, we have a candidate that is well experienced, we have a candidate that has a lot of antecedents that we can sell. Yes. Okay. Maybe like you said, you do not understand why I ask that. Nigerians were worried that is it going to be a kind of president or is he going to be a kind of president that will every other day or every other week be visiting maybe London or overseas because of health issues or not? Because the concern was that he was there because of his health, even before the campaigns have started. We are here to add back to the rumors that the media has been propagating neglect for the past three weeks. The man has said that he told us that he went to take the rest for spending, just so that he can pass on the rest from many of his candidates. So if you guys have decided that he went for health reasons, well, I can't help you. What he did was to go and take time off, this is his right, and he returned his energy, and when he returned, he had gotten back to work. So I don't understand this rumor that he went to an extent that he went for health reasons. Well, Romo's can come, but it's your place to debunk the rumors and give us the real thing that is happening. So if you say he was just going to rest in London, well, he's back now. He's back now, and as I said, he has gone back to work today. He had several meetings, he visited the presidential campaign council office and met with several, and even as I said to you, he did a few meetings, just so that all the interests are in the publication of the final report of members of the campaign council. So we understood that we need to align all the interests, and that's what he did. Okay, before I go to my other guest, we're also wondering what is it that always happens in the primaries, a date was set, it was moved forward. Now campaigns were supposed to be flagged off, and there's been a delay. The list that was released is now going to be re-released at the weekend, rather, and then you are flagging off on a later date. Why are these delays? Is it that the internal mechanisms for resolving issues is collapsing or something? Well, again, you are using, you are doing the word collapse. There is nothing like that. What has happened is we are a beast. We are the only truly national party, and all our interests are aligned. The issues that came up, that push that made it so that we have to re-address and re-apply our campaign list has been taken care of, and all interests are being, you know, We have not broken any laws, all what we are doing is taking our time, and not what so you know. If the campaign has not officially taken up, but in our minds, we have already started campaigning. More than 20 years have been held while the man wasn't able to run around, and I think that we are very aware of who we are next time we go to. But that doesn't officially take you off. It's not got no cause. And when it does, you're ready to do it. OK, well, let me come to you, Tunji. The political landscape is about to get really hot. PDP is flagging off on Monday, and APC will soon flag off. The list will be out this weekend. Let's talk about how that makes you feel, especially now that the APC candidate is back, and according to party members, he's back better than when he left. How does it make you feel right now? Yeah, I didn't get you clearly, but you are asking me how does it make me feel to see APC not the campaign since the 28th of September. Not just APC campaigns are going to begin in earnest, especially from Monday next week. So you are a political analyst. You are a legal practitioner, and you are a concerned Nigerian. So what is your take on all that? Do you see a campaign that will be satisfactory to the citizens of Nigeria and help Nigeria ship its future? Let me first of all react to the APP inability to flag off its campaign as scheduled. As far as I'm concerned, it's worrisome. And it's an evidence that probably APC is not ready for this campaign. Or it shows clearly that there is no synergy between the APC and the... Because the complaint by the chairman two days ago was that the list, the list does not have their own input in it. And some of the governors have complained about that. So it's worrisome, and it says that, look, if we delay campaign in this manner, what will happen if the APP win elections? We need not be like whatever, but if we delay elections, well, we have a six-month, before it means that these were released in the name of taking our time. You know, international issues like that. So I'm working that regard. They are not proactive in taking decisions and asking. And regarding campaign, I think this one will not be a different from what you have been saying before now. It will still be the same jamboree when the campaign starts to take off. It may not be there. I wouldn't be surprised if I don't see that. Because I know what the people have been doing is to just attack one another. And if you look at all the parties that are competing, it appears a lot that you got back on the web for it. Because the program has been followed as scheduled. All the program has been scheduled as followed as scheduled. It's the only candidate that has released a program in terms of five-point agenda. So I feel more prepared than any other candidate in this election. And so, and that's probably because of the impreparedness of the APC. They are having an issue regarding the plug-off. And they have sense of the presidential candidate. He also knows FU, and I will not agree with their decision-giving. This campaign, the plug-off and the campaign program have been scheduled before it travels. I know that when the program will take place, one particular program will take place. He was invited for NBAP, wherever he was on the run. He was invited for another program in travel. Why would the president not be available for all the matters necessary? Are you saying it's not well-prepared? It didn't program itself very well. Because all these programs were not just yesterday that I was released. 10 days ago, 10 days ago that I was released. It was released before it's all scheduled. So as a president today, you don't go out on time. You work based on people's time and people's national interest. And people's national interest. So as far as I'm concerned, it's what it's all for me. For what I'm seeing in APC. It appears they're not ready for this campaign. Okay, Benga, you heard what Tunji said. But some members before now, as we have said earlier, were aggrieved over a lot of things. Muslim, Muslim ticket. We know that some Christians who are APC in the North did not like it. To the presidential campaign least, and Sunday audit reasons are the way very aggrieved. How has that been resolved? Yes, the principle has come back. As you said, you have come back, but how have you resolved that? Or how do you intend to resolve that? Because as the ruling party, if something goes wrong in your party, Nigerians can't worry. So, publicly, you claim exactly that I'm an APC member. Well, I think my friend on the other side, he's a member of the DPE, but hasn't come out to say exactly where he belongs to. Which is his honor. And I'd like to ask him, we've called him and complained to him, that they are interested and they are accommodating him. And that would be, that doesn't mean, you know, trying to bring a secret that doesn't exist. To say, oh, the events were set and the candidate was not available. If you tell me where exactly it was published, that they are going to flag up on the game, I'd like to say that everybody could kick off. At no time, they don't think they were going to be great, but they were going to kick off. Now, first now, we have said we want an issue-based campaign. And you are now doing the issue of who's doing what's going to change. Those are not the issues. That is not an issue. We have picked a candidate. We have picked a running candidate. Let's allow Nigerians to vote based on competence, based on antecedent. We picked the best choice from the south-west and the best choice from the north-west. I stand to say to me that there is no better ticket than the Tinnubu Ketima ticket. It exudes competence, it exudes ability, capacity, and these two men have always been the best choice. I stand to say that they are the best choice of the Christians and their people. At all times. At all times. For the survival of Christians in Bruneau, in schools, in Christian communities, we will build churches when we go around and burn them down. But what are we talking about around this region? How does it matter? What are we talking about in this region? What are we talking about in this region? On those two things, we have the best ticket. Well, I'm glad you have that kind of confidence there. But if we're talking about issues in Nigeria today, I'm not talking about 1993, where Biola and his running made Muslims, both of them, we're talking about now. A lot of people have seen this Muslim-Muslim ticket as exuding, because that's the word you were using, as exuding arrogance and also exuding insensitivity. Will you dismiss that and say Nigerians shouldn't even be talking about that, but they should be talking about antecedents of what your principle has done? I think that you're the only one talking about it now. You are the one who is making it an issue. What the best Nigeria is, how do we take advantage of the railways that President Bwari has put, and actually put Nigeria's GDP from an average GDP of 30 to 70 billion? How do we put our youth, who have all the intelligence and all the creativity to make wealth, to create wealth? How do we do that to work? How do we get our women to work? How do we make Nigeria the biggest economy in Africa? That doesn't matter. It's not because they are religious. What I was coming on this show, nobody has to be religious. In essence, you're telling Nigerians what should matter to them and not what they think matters to them. What matters to Nigeria is how they will prosper. And people have done it for little. What they do for little? While being a woman that is married to a king. His wife is the king of the church. I understand that the church she was giving that position. How friendly can you be? You are not making it an issue. Okay, well, Tunji, let me come to you. He has just spoken about what Nigerians should be concerned with. But you seem to be concerned about some other things. He has also dismissed the issue of Muslim-Muslim and some other things that Nigerians might be talking about. What do you think about that? We're in as much as the issue regarding the race. And particularly... First of all, just a moment. Sorry for cutting you. Let's establish one thing. He said you didn't talk about you being PDP. You are PDP, right? I am a member of PDP. Let's establish that fact that you are not denying that fact. It's not a report to introduce as a PDP member. It wasn't eating. So I thought I'm concerned. I'm not here to speak as a PDP spokesperson or whatever. I'm speaking as a Nigerian. My interests are the Nigerians. That's why I'm speaking. If I say anything that is not that carpeted by another fact, it can come up with it. Now, there will be a particular party or candidate. Because I say regarding the Muslim-Muslim ticket, it's an issue for me. It is for the Nigerians to decide whether or not they want a party that does not contribute to what is happening in the country now. The way we are in the country now, we need balancing regarding ethnic and religious sentiment. You can't talk about ethnic and religious sentiment. The question we have is not the question we have now. So I will leave everything to the Nigerians to decide whether or not they want a particular state to dominate the system. I will not talk more about that in that regard. Because if I have to be, I will take the components with my foot and then we will see where we go. We are in Nigeria to say, look, we don't care about your interest. We don't care about your sensitivity. Let me return to Bengali so that we can try to wrap this thing up. Bengali, let me come back to you. I have asked this question before. I asked someone else this question. And I'm asking you now. You are APC. You are the ruling party. And whether you go to the National Assembly or you go to the Governors Forum, you are in the majority. But it seems like a third force is rising. For the first time, because it wasn't really a third force when the APC came up. They were the opposition that gave the PDP the run for their money. But now there seem to be a third force that everybody is jittery about. In the media space, everybody is talking about this third force, even if I do not mention names. Are you threatened by this third force or you think it's a walk in the park? So I was part of the 2011 campaign of Nuhu Ribadu. I was part of the campaign of Buhari 2016 and the 2019. And I think I have enough experience to know when I'm facing a familiar group opponent or I'm facing a bit of a joke. And I will say here, what I can just say is this, this third force can have more than 40 senatorial candidates out of 509 senatorial spots that are really good for those names to vote for. This third force can have more than 120, I don't know yet about, if this third force has not come up with any alternative argument other than to complain about the many things that Nigerians, regular Nigerians are complaining. Nigerians are asking for things and they are, even if they are providing to the police officers, they are still crying out there. This is the third force and I don't think the agency has anything to fear. The House of Assembly members, the National Assembly, State Assembly and all that are not going to be the only ones voting. Do you think the people don't have the kind of power that they can, you know, remove whoever they want to remove from power if they want to? Do you think it doesn't matter? So long as they don't have National Assembly members and the people you mentioned? So for good or for bad, right? Elections are like, you have to have the logic and you know how and the manpower to master your army to deliver you an election. This is what you are talking about. They are very loud on social media and non-existent on the street. They are extremely vocal when it comes to people on the internet but ask people everywhere. You know these guys and they are like, oh, okay, I do. Okay, well, yeah, maybe we should hold... I'm not scared of this. Manga, maybe we should hold that thought because we are really running out of time. After talking about your party, would like you to also just address both of you. Let me remain with you, Benga, before I go back to Tunji for a final word. Talk to the electorate right now because they are the ones that we need to educate so that they make the right choices. So briefly now for 30 seconds, if you may. All right, thank you. We are on the match again. For the moment, I think we have done the best that they can within the last 30 years to stabilize the country. We had the rough times, COVID, the war in Ukraine, and so on. And I've transmitted many of the things that we wanted to do. But in Bola, Mezcinobu, and Kepema are two men who have delivered a very, very important situation in their face. What I'm saying is that trust them with your vote. Contact the mask and vote for them. And what to make me go for is what you do to make Nigeria possible. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Tunji, over to you. Please, a word to the electorate, Nigerians, who are listening to us now. The electorate should look for the more competent candidate and they can provide the authority. First, I'm concerned the APT let the government pay the country. And I think Nigeria will not vote for a candidate who wants to continue from where they present their confidence to be decisive for us. No Nigeria who lost this country will pray for what we are having and to happen again or for anybody to continue from where we are now. As far as I'm concerned, Nigerians know what is happening and they know the best and they know they will vote for the right candidate. Okay. Thank you very much. Well, at the end of the day, the power belongs to the people and the choices we make will determine what our future will be like. We've been talking to Tunji Abdul Hamid, a legal practitioner and Wengar Olorungpome, an APC member and Public Relations Consultants. Thank you gentlemen for being a part of the show. Thank you for having me. Nice to have you. And with that, we wrap it up on plus politics tonight. Thank you with the highlights of the week. My name is Nyam Ghul at Gadji. Have a good evening. In the last session, who has paid his dues and in the area of constituting or composing a campaign, composing a campaign, a campaign council is not a little liver. So I'm saying this for us to have this understanding that it's just the fitment of the part of the nation of those who are trying to run down the president candidate of APC. We understand what is playing out that is corrupt and all that. Don't forget, individuals will be taken out of the party because most of them are returned back to APC where they've turned them to safe. Yes, we're not saying that there is no corruption in any system, political system there is, but when you look at it, what is the state of Nigeria at that period compared to now, if you're talking about corruption, what were you buying rights? Tell me, Marianne, what were you buying rights back then? What were you transporting to your village? How much were you entering? Why? Same government people call corrupts. How much were you, what was school fees? How much was dollars at that time? So when we look at this issue and play the beside what is happening now, please, we're not, article is ready by experience to ensure that such system does not kind of grow again and what APC have put us in if they could push it for ESC to come up, they could push it for ICPC to come up. What do you think will grow on board? Countries where people do not go to school, where children especially do not go to school, you correct a huge gap therefore meaning that we cannot have them fill in employment slots if any are available. If children are not in school they are open books for boundaries, for kidnappers, for terrorists to recruit. That's what we see happening if you look at the history of the North East and the North West you find that as the nature began to dry because of climate change more and more young people had nothing to do there was no fishing to be done so there were easy recruits for terrorists so if we're not dealing with education if it's not important to us then we're not really serious about building this country. ASU for instance has been on strike since February. Most federal government, all federal government universities have been on strike, they've been closed since February. I do not see a deliberate attempt to end this issue. The president spoke at the UN just some weeks ago promising that Nigeria was going to do better in terms of our budgetary allocations to education but our budgetary allocation for this year is even the lowest ever about 5.6%. That's pretty low. Now we're talking primary education tertiary education acceptably education is on the concurrent list which means that states also have a huge role to play in this. Now moving from education I believe also need to focus very importantly on the impact on the snots that we give to women I know we've had conversations about 35% for women. Women need to be more visible. I would like to see women more visible in the incoming government in 2023. We have brilliant women in the economy in politics and finance and we would like to see them featuring importantly in segments of the society. In our law making bodies the Senate has already I would like to see more women take off seats there so that we can have better laws that favour women. You can see the trend of our national assembly that builds that favour women are easily trashed and understandably so when you have men who are patriarchal they would trample on anything that makes women's voices louder. So we leave women in the room to speak loudly for women in Nigeria and make the points count.