 The chairman of the People's Democratic Party Board of Trustees Senator Walid Jibril on Monday said that we're plans to bring all party members, including the River State Governor Nesam Wike and other aggrieved members, together ahead of the 2023 general elections. He said members of the party's board would meet Wike and other aggrieved members of the party for reconciliation. He also said the Board of Trustees being the conscience of the party would meet on Wednesday as a follow-up to the meeting of the governors in order to unite party members ahead of the elections. Joining us to discuss this is Oppenabot Inko Taria. He's the civil rights activist, Kate. He's also former special advisor to the special assistant, I beg your pardon, to Governor Wike. Special advisor, no, no, no. Special advisor. Okay, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Great. You are the best man for this job tonight. Let's start by looking at... I don't know about that. Let's look at the list of demands that the... In fact, let's backtrack. Let's look at the reason why we're here. First things first. Governor Wike, as we all know, contested to be a candidate for the PDP as a presidential candidate. Now, he obviously came second. Now, Artiku is now the flag bearer. And he did pick Governor Kowa as his running mate. Even though there were rumors that it was Wike that would have been the favored one. But here we are today. A few weeks later, we're still talking about the grievances within the party. And Governor Wike seemed to have been quiet for a bit immediately after that particular election. Many have said that Governor Wike did not deserve the treatment that he got from the former vice president, Artiku Abu Bakar. Others are saying that, well, Governor Wike has been the soul of the PDP, even when it was abandoned by the others who would have been also the big wigs. And they're saying this should have been an opportunity for him to be rewarded for his good work. But I'm asking you, what are your thoughts? Is this supposed to be a reward system like kind of party politics? Or is it about the man who the cap fits? Well, the choice of the candidates, especially that of the running mate, it's plans of the plethora of issues. And those issues are defined by the principle that the candidates themselves. In this case, we are talking about Artiku Abu Bakar. Artiku Abu Bakar, oh, so sorry. For some reasons, opted for Okowa. Some of these reasons are in public domain. Some are just my conjectures because Artiku has, apart from the day of the election, where he said he made the renaissance of Okowa. I don't think he's really made any comments again, made any statements again on the issue of his running mate. But you see, I must tell you this, yes. Yes, some of the one Wike was more or less, I said worse, because the button has changed, was more or less the pillar of this party, the finance of that party. And so a lot of people argue that for what he has done for the party to sustain and maintain the party, it should be, excuse me, rewarded with the presidency. Or at least the vice president, presidential slot, haven't lost the presidential slot. But that to me is high on the sound of the voices of, is loyalists. Because Artiku, when you want somebody, he can comfortably work with. Now, don't misunderstand me. When I say somebody, he can comfortably work with. I am not talking of somebody that is competent or incompetent. There are two different things all together. Artiku strongly believes that he has anti-party, with Wike, anti-party has an A, N, T, I, P, A, P, S, Y. In other words, when it comes to politics, they are not compatible. A lot of issues would have been responsible for that. Now, some argue that Wike has this predisposition to authoritarianism and great election for combat, everywhere is gratuitous. They say to them, or to most of the sober, I say, look, even what is going on now will underscore, will bolster that argument. Artiku had a running battle with his principal. And Artiku would not want to have that running battle with his vice. So he wants somebody that would, more or less, with the lawyer in quotes to him. OK. That is compatibility. I'm not talking of competence, please. I'm talking of compatibility. And it is the exclusive present of the candidates. Some views is running there. You cannot impose that running on the candidate. Even if Wike refused when a candidate was supposed to be imposed on him, then they subjected the candidate. He refused, as a governor. These things are not new. Like the former Lamidu, I think it was Sule Lamidu who said, I didn't suffer the same fate. I'm making, I suffered the same fate. And a lot of others have suffered the same fate. So I didn't make you Wike. You have also placed such a fate on a lot of other persons in this state. So you don't accept, make your rooms and move on. But then it looks like the party is very sensitive. Of course, now you may mention, and I did so, about the fact that he had carried the party somewhat on his back, metaphorically. But then the party is indulging him and saying, they want to have a peace forum. They want to have a conversation to, one way or the other, or have a reconciliation process for all those, not just Governor Wike, but all those who were aggrieved. But then there is a list of demands that his group has put out. And I want to quickly read them out and take your thoughts on it. Now, first and foremost, they're seeking for a single term from the former vice president, Atikua Bubaka. They're asking for the party national chairman, Yorcha Ayu, to step down as chairman. And then they're also asking for sudden positions in the National Assembly leaderships. And these are a few of the things that the group, the Wike group is pushing forward. Let's look at them realistically and politically and how achievable, or if you would even get a nod from the BOT and that panel or that reconciliation team that would be sent. Please, as I go ahead with the analysis to remind me, let's start with the single term. It is ludicrous. Why are they ludicrous? They're mankind does actually. So it's OK, yes, single term. It gets into office. It is this constitutional right, at the expiration of this ten-day tenure, in real context. Are you going to stop it? You can't stop it. The only way you can stop it is through the balance. Simple. So you can just say yes. So what have you achieved? And don't forget the power of incompetency. And let me say this. I tell you, if you remember, Autumn said that they will not support Artiku. Oh, this, that, and that. Just last week, he said, the problem is they've come and gone. They now have a candidate. Artiku is his candidate and he's going to support Artiku. What does that tell you? I also said something to me. When you are going to war, you have to be very careful. You might have a hundred soldiers behind you. By the time you get midway, you look back, you have 50. By the time you get to the one front, you look back, you'll probably be alone. So he has to be careful. A lot of these persons will go. I told him already, I started, he accepted. He said, Artiku is his candidate and he will support Artiku. He has started. In the 19th, back in there, we said the same thing. He said, this is a joke. So he says one time, and the situation of that one time, he made it, he puts it in writing and decides to re-contest. What are you going to do? By which time a lot of these persons that are today protesting will want to ingratiate their love to him because he's a shipping president. That is what is going to happen. What are you going to do? By this time, you're also going to run by office. So your class has initiated, your class has waved. He has the class. What are you going to do? It makes no sense. It makes no sense. He can just say, yes, I agree. And that's all. Don't do it. And what will happen? You stop binding. Like that, he's only binding what are you. And a lot of who are telling you, it's politics. Politics is the same, it's the consensus cycle and with activated interest. Okay. Consumers have to have consolidated interest. And that is what is playing out. Yeah. That's exactly what is playing out. Yeah. Just to. I just agree. Let's talk about him asking for Yorcha Aayu. Who just recently was, you know, Lexid as the national chairman of the party. He's asking that he steps down. Don't forget Secundus, who's from Rivers State, who was the chairman. Yes. He also was summarily, I mean, the way in which he was dismissed from the party and the party leadership. It's still another kettle of fish to be discussed. And now the public is asking for Yorcha Aayu to step down. So I'm wondering how achievable is this? Bearing in mind that the elections are just one of the corners. And I'm telling you this, that is just a wishful thinking. I think we will not want that to happen. And not just I think a whole lot of persons, not necessarily because they love our people. Not necessarily because they love Yorcha Aayu. But the protest will be planned on the fact that one man cannot detach to the party. At every point in time what to do. And who their chairman should be. You don't need to be perceived as tyrannical. And every spirit will vote for tyranny. The question of why is it that whenever a chairman is a boss to your position, you're working with him? Are you doing one in that party? You met in that party? Yes. For some time, like you rightly said, you carried the party on this path, metaphorically. But you met in that party. You take your light on that platform. So the party existed. And others also formed that party. And at one point, they carried the party on this path, on their path. They did not visit the party. They liked it when they failed the presidential election. People, this is where they found the establishment of the party. Including this article, how many people failed? They say you cannot be protected to work. This has nothing to do with the Yogi, are you? Or with Ajipu, or anybody? They'll be protesting the issue against the issue of tyranny. They're saying tyranny. So what was the party's chairman's decision to release? Of the industry's party's chairman's decision, often people don't know. How many chairman's Yogi is left in the air? Or don't go out to work, so this man should go. And they don't go out to work. They ask, how many chairman's Yogi is left in the air? How many? Or someone says, how many Yogi is left? No, it's not done that way. It's not done that way. Okay. You said something about the relevance and the political clout of Governor Wike after he does leave office. Let's zoom in on that. I think he continues on this trajectory. That's what I'm saying. If he continues on this trajectory, because at the end of the day, should Ajipu win? You know, you understand our politics. Success may be better, if they are not. Should Ajipu win? A lot of persons will go brovailing before him. A lot of persons will go and apologize and bear to be accepted or reignited into his food. It is normal in politics. And those same persons, because Ajipu has become the sitting president, those same persons will turn their backs on him. I'm talking about Wike, because he's no longer in office. This is an opportunity for you to mend fences. That's the point I'm making. Okay. You don't need all those demands. Very, very good. In fact, I have a conviction that any agreement accommodation of rich at this point in time will not be taken seriously by Ajipu, because you already have the mindset. If you're not taking seriously, if I just agree, I'll say, okay, let me win the election first. You should have taken it this far. You should have done it. No, it's not necessary. Finally. You should bring back in and in different angles. That's completely unnecessary. Finally, what if you were to give your two pens to the governor, Wike, Tim, being that this meeting, we know that there is a BOT meeting that's going to happen. We know that there's a panel that's being set up, et cetera, et cetera. What should governor Wike and his camp and members of his camp be thinking? Well, how should they be strategizing? Again, looking at the lifespan of his political, I mean, for him in the party, does he still have, will he be able to continue to hold on to the clout or the structure that he has within the party, even after he's no longer governor? What does he need to do? Let me tell you the truth. Once you're out of office, your class is initiated. First and foremost, you don't even have the resources that you probably had when you were in office because the money that are not coming monkey. That's number one. Number two, you don't have that users associated with the office. Somebody else is there. You have another, I'm not on top, no. Yesterday we had the people out there. That nation, that's the nation of life. Let's just put out the news. And we all know what happened to put out the news. How close you were to put in the news. It's closed as a fact. And if you don't agree, you'll have any questions about the matter. If you don't agree, you'll have one man who sustained the party. You know, it's almost like out of office, people tend to forget you. They remember those that they know that I am power. And so the role you play while in office would determine your longevity in the game. Okay. And your relevance in the game. That's why he needs to suspend that at this point. Because there is nothing he will do to change the statute scope. I think with the candidate, the vice-presidential candidate, you can't change that. So just throw it in. All right. I'll come up with another demand. Should we win? What is there? What is in for me? Even if you say I have achieved a lot. Okay, I have a lot. What do you have for my followers? That is what the leader does. Okay. What do you have for my followers? What are the partners for my followers? That is what the leader does. But not the question of removing yachts, are you? No, no, no, no, those are reasonable. Reasonable demands, I'm sorry. Well, on that note, I want to say thank you. Uponabou Inko Tara is a civil rights advocate. She's also a former speciality. Thank you. To the governor of Riverstay's governor, Wike. Now, we'll keep our eyes on this story and watch how it develops in the coming days. Thank you once again. Thank you. All right. Well, thank you all for being part of the conversation tonight. We are going to be back tomorrow, same time at 7 p.m. on Plus Politics, looking at the biggest stories on the Nigerian political scene and of course, across Africa. I am Mary Anakon. I'll see you tomorrow as we talk for development.