 The emergence of the former governor of our number of state, Peter LB, as presidential candidates of the Labour Party, has surprisingly turned the party into a beautiful bride with many politicians justling for its ticket. The jostle is not unconnected with the yearnings of Nigerians for a change from old and recycled leaders, especially those who see the Labour candidate as a beckon of hope, who will bring about the desire change they crave for in the country. However, the party's tickets, which have now become politicians' delight, have attracted a major crisis as it was alleged that the party's national leadership has swapped the list to accommodate new candidates. While joining us to discuss this is UNICEF, Tankle, his spokesperson at National Consultative Front, and of course the chieftain of the Labour Party. Mr Tankle, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very much for having me here in Nigeria. Great. Too many things coming up here for the Labour Party, but let's talk about it being that beautiful bride that is being courted, as we speak, by many politicians. Now, the president had given a pardon recently for two former politicians, one a governor, who was actually in office and siphoned public funds. They needed their time, but they were given a presidential pardon. Now, there was also a rumour that he might be seeking a senatorial ticket from the Labour Party. This is one of the examples of those who are trying to court the Labour Party, seeing it as one of the new brides that everybody would want to be part of. Most people would say that this is because of the presidential candidate Dr Pita Albi. I'm sure that the party had swapped its form, or rather the names on the list that had the previous candidates with INEC to a new one because you want to accommodate new ticket holders. Is this true? That's what. Well, we hear that your party had swapped the list of candidates that it had before now for a new one being that you have accommodated new candidates in the party. How true is this? No. Honest place meeting, as we speak now, technically, there is no room for any substitution on the placement by any. The windows of candidates' placement and placement is closed. So, the only thing that can happen for any candidate is if he or she can lengthen the status quo in the court of law and the court pronounces shame that no person can be changed. That is the only thing that can happen now. So, if anybody is sending any kind of false information in the media, I think he's just trying to fulfill his own personal ego. But technically, there is nothing of that being done at the Labour Party. We are preparing for our campaign organisation, and at the same time, making sure that we get down to the grassroots to coordinate our affair because the Mendelian people are already showing so much love for us and we are grateful for the love that they share to us. Let's talk about the process that the Labour Party has right now. How can the Labour Party be certain that those who are somewhat dancing towards it or looking to find a place within the party are not the same that would destroy the party or make it seem seemingly look the same as those political parties that many Nigerians are tired of? We have a very well appreciated document that will be shared with the Mendelian people. These documents are contained from the three documents that were sent in by the Mendelian Labour Congress, the TUC, and then the Manifesto of the Labour Party. These documents will be collapsed into one to fill the needs of the Mendelian people. Now, to answer your question, as regards to people who are coming into the party, yes, we recognise that people have changed from their old attitudes trying to come into the Labour Party. But the only guiding principle that will lead us to arrive is those documents that I mentioned. The Labour Party is a social democratic party in nature. It belongs to the people and the people trying to lead to their expectations will contain them within the context of the documents that will guide the principle and their behavioural aspects. We will tell you for the fact that we are not new in the Nigerian politics. We know that those who will come as a mole, we know those who will come sincerely, we know who will come to blackmail us, we know those who will come in order to create havoc within the system. But we are all prepared for all of this. But what we can assure you is that we are targeted in getting Nigeria back to the Nigerian people. Because the Nigerian people have been deceived for too long and they need leadership that is purposeful, that is accommodating, that is directing, that is ready for leading the people to the right path. And as we speak today, the driver of that particular plane that we are ready to move is Peter Obi, with his assistant driver, Paul Marlon, Dead Sea Barbara Ahmed. So we are not part of, with one wrong element that he may cause, but all of them will be shaped in the right movement in emancipating Nigeria. Let's talk about how well the party has dealt with infighting. I remember the last time you and I spoke we talked about the factional party chairman who was going to Caughton, asking for fair hearing, saying that his powers were usurped by the Peter Obi-led faction of the party. Now, have frayed nerves been calmed? Do we see people deciding to work together in the interests of the party as opposed to those who seem to want to continue to get their own pound of flesh? How has the party been able to walk around this? I can tell you the other time we spoke that first issues are not really something that anybody should be concerned about. And I guess by now we have seen the handwriting of the war. Have you had anything from that particular case anymore? No, it has gone with the wind because it doesn't have any particular local standard of the issue. So we are moving forward and we welcome everybody that is interested in rescuing Nigeria. So as we speak today, we have no problem with regards to that particular issue that was raised during that your interview with me. The Lagos State, where there was an issue, was a particular governorship candidate who said he emerged first as the original governorship candidate and was parading himself as the Lagos State governorship candidate. Before, of course, another election was quickly hailed and Vivo Roads emerged as the flag bearer of the party. Again, how do we ensure that in the Labour Party these kinds of events don't continuously crop up? In a democratic session, and to tell me when a new bride is coming up and people are really addicted and loving it, there will always be this kind of legitimacy from the sidewalk. But we have dealt with it as a common issue and it has not come up anymore. So anybody that is agreeing, the internal mechanism of the party will take care of all of these particular matters, which we have done so far. So I guess you should not need to wait for the publication of IMEX, then you will now see the list of candidates. Even if there are issues, the party will deal with it based on the constitutionality and the electoral act and the provisions of the most operative of the Independent Electoral Commission. So as far as we are concerned, we are costing home. We don't have any internal issues that can be disturbing us that much. But of course, when they come, we will deal with them decisively. Let's talk about the former chairman, national chairman of the APC, and former governor of AdoEstate, Cymruad Adam. So Siomalee's speech or rather a comment about the capability of your presidential candidate to deal with certain issues decisively, especially the issue of insecurity. As you and I know, a number of states seems to be facing a serious level of insecurity, even with Governor Soludo there. But then your presidential candidate used to be the governor of that state and there was an allegation that he did not necessarily deal with the issue of insecurity. Well, how can we tell that he would be able to deal with the one that Nigeria is facing on a national level? You know there is a saying that if you had a girlfriend or a wife and you do not hold her very well and she becomes attracted to another person and he dresses her well and takes care of her and make her more attractive. The old husband will always come and say, look, is he not this particular person? He will be admiring these beautiful wives who have found a new husband and making more formidable and handsome men. That is the situation of Comrade Adam of Siomalee. We will not want to run into the thing, but we want to state on the fact that he should look at his own record what he has left for the adult people. He left them deaf. He couldn't play his own salary. He couldn't take care of the people. He couldn't take care of the needs of the people. But he is now taking up an issue with somebody who connects with the people, who be the hospital, who builds roads, who connects with the educational sector, who at the time of his living office, he left nothing less than $75 billion, not deaf. So how can you communicate with such a person and respond to issues raised by Adam of Siomalee? I think both of them are not in the same realm. So we cannot join the issue with him, but we just mentioned that. For me to understand that the labour, some people from the labour movement are part of the Labour Party. Of course there are questions about how much the Pital B ticket would be able to do if he were to be given that position by Nigerians, how he would be able to liaise with labour. Now we all know what is happening as it is on strike. We know that of course doctors are leaving the country in their droves. Lots of things are happening. There's insecurity, which is rife. There's oil thefts. I mean whoever becomes president is going to have a responsibility that is huge enough, or even bigger than the office. So I'm asking, what is the assurance that your presidential candidates will be able to deal with these issues decisively being that Nigeria is bigger than Anambra? Okay, thank you very much. Just precisely last week, there was a retreat being organised by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the TUC, that is the State Union Congress. That retreat had in present, the Common National Channel, the National Coincidence Party, from the Premier Salana, a woman activist and a lawyer of the Nigerian Labour Congress, that meeting had in present all candidates of the Labour Party, that meeting has the presence of the Nigerian Labour Congress President Ayubawaba, that meeting had the presence of First Lady Oshifu, the new chair president of the TUC, the leadership of the party of Gilius Aburi, all leadership of the TUC and the NLC were all there at the retreat. That will show you the direction of what we are trying to do. The Nigerian people, the Nigerian Labour Congress and the TUC are now tired of being used by any political party. They have resurrected their own political party and they are ready to give it a full 100% support. And so you can imagine. If a Nigerian Labour Congress and the TUC agree to support their own party and the hospital will be as their candidate, will Deputy Baba Ahmed as his vice-presidential candidate, leading the protest of Nigeria, do you in your widest imagination ever think that there will be an asset strike? Or do you think there will be a pension strike? Or do you think that there will be issues of kidnapping and mannapping that is happening? All of these things will naturally please you out because the workers will be fully engaged, involved and direction the affairs of what is happening in governance. So anything that they have as an issue will be there to us as the first timeline of that. So that way, the issue of asset strikes will not even address itself. Because the workers are involved are included in governance of this government. Well I want to say thank you. Dr Tango Unicir is a spokesperson of the National Constitutive Forum and the chief team in the Labour Party. Thank you so much for joining us. 2023. All right, thank you. Well that's it on plus politics tonight before I go. I want to give you my take. Here's my take. At times it can feel like our politics is nothing more than a comedy meant to entertain us. The helter-skelter of our politicians vying for one political party's ticket after another sometimes may seem laughable but there is more to it than that. When you think about the disorder that goes on within party primaries you might wonder if the game weren't already rigged from the start. There's always the line of delegates, adamants, they would not want to vote a candidate until the eve of primaries and their words have changed. Often we just dismiss this as sometimes bribe delegates. Of course there are also those who end up in the third parties once the pass to the major party ticket seems blocked. At times the stature of such parties may rise as one of those candidates from somewhere wins a significant seat. But there are those unlucky parties that end up with their fortunes tied to a particular candidate they would rather replace. Such candidates begin to begin with lack the pedigree or name or recognition to even expect to win a presidential or gubernatorial or even a senatorial seat. So if it sounds ridiculous to you that such people become any political party's flag wearer then you should worry if there are nothing more than a Trojan horse sent into those parties to sometimes maybe even create chaos rather than offer us legitimate candidates that we must consider. But I want you to marinate on that because my name is Mary Anna Cunn and we'll be back tomorrow talking for development. Have a good evening.