 Good afternoon and welcome to the run-up on plus TV Africa. I am Maureen and men long ways to go earlier We had a repeat of the program, but coasting home. We are live and I Two days before the governor ship and state assembly elections Candidates and political parties yesterday treated Accusations over plots to unleash violence and rig the exercise the accusations and counter accusations Were made as the independent National Electoral Commission INEC commenced the distribution of election materials across the 774 local councils of the country in Lagos the ruling or progressive Congress as the APC the PDP the People's Democratic Party Labor Party the LP and Social Democratic Party the SDP were at one another's jugular Over alleged plots to rig the elections Well joining us to discuss the race of the state elections and expectations for the polls is Colourally a Kim Wally candidates house of assembly Ikea constituency one. You're welcome to the program Good afternoon. Why nice nice to be here. All right, so you are running under the national rescue mission and I am but if I remember correctly you supported the Labor Party during the presidential election I did explain this to us. Well, I've always been an obedient at heart Where you've lived in the country you know come from England where everything works square pegs and square holes you have to look at the You know competency and capability of a person who puts himself for for office I think that's an area where we've really struggled and I I you know checked out. Mr Pete will be a long time ago didn't take it only took me less than half an hour to find out that This is the kind of man that should be taking us forward as far as the country is concerned. And yeah, I casted my Because my support for you. Okay, so how engaging has your campaign been? Well, you know for self-funding candidates in the very small part I couldn't get into label orders. I've been a labor candidate in the Kedger one But I've always continued to push the narrative. I believe in good governance I believe in an enabling environment even within the Kedger even as a house of assembly person All I have is oversight looking at bills and walking local government as well But there's so much we can still do And what I've tried to do is to put myself out there, you know, I'm probably the most visible candidates in the Kedger Post-satelian the win elections I've been on a number of media engagements including something like this I've tried to engage with local community as well. My team have done an amazing job on Twitter We're doing the best we can when on this true string budget someone told me I should bring a hundred ninety million To run I say hundred ninety million. Are you serious? That doesn't make sense. No wonder people get in And then they've spent their time doing nothing as I told some people so I could have come here giving you envelopes You've been paid for four years. You can't come to me for anything But I've borrowed that money which is a stake and I'm not gonna have to get that back Which means that location that comes it's not gonna get used for projects to develop the environment I'm gonna be using that to you know pay back what I borrowed and also take some for myself because I know probably not really Tons, but that cannot be the way to go. It's a you know in the countries. I believe them The government has tried to take to give eighty ninety percent of the people, you know But here they've taken ninety ninety five percent and I don't know where the other five percent is So we don't have that in every environment. It's not the country I grew up in despite being brought back from England the age of six You know went to lady luck went to CMS government schools the senior perfect there went to University of Ligon I saw the 85, you know in a new go a ton 60 on Friday I'm a 60-year-old man IT consultant. What should I be doing in politics at this time? But you know what I care enough about my people and I feel that because we haven't had capable people in the driving Sets, which is what likes of mr. Peter will be and others have come into the frame. So say there are new Type of politicians on the block who said, you know, we want our country back and we want to really contribute All right, so what are those things in your constituency Keja constituency one that you think I Like it that you think the person who represented or who's currently Representing in the Ninth Assembly before the 10th one is is not doing right that you want to fix. Thank you well, if you look at the welfare of you know Women men people disability youths not much has been done to support them I did mention before I come on the program if you look at those who choose to go down the artists and roots You know, they're not being well supported So what happens a nine-month carpentry course you find them dropping out of three months because they're struggling to get there They haven't got any money to do that But let's assume where we can actually provide some sort of support, you know, so you could call it pay as you train So they would then be able to see through those nine months They would be definitely fully trained and at the end of that it's okay How much for your equipment? Maybe another soft loan of 100,000 Naira, but you don't actually keep them the money You can actually buy the equipment and hand it to them get them accountable as well So there's so many ways. There's so much money. You would not believe it Maureen That's available to to local government and available to us to actually utilize of course I'm not an executive, but my plan is to work with the local government and say look guys Let's start giving back to them come over four years You should be able to have a track record of projects Which is another thing that I do not see any visibility of what are the places that I've been around in Ikeja Where are they at? Let's see visibility of them half. I'm a project manager and my IT consultant. That's what I do for a living So I'm not gonna be dressed like this, you know, we're going out there I say, okay, let's see those projects in maybe shorts and trainers And then let's say before we pay them, you know, it's milestone payment So we get to this mouse and you examine on site what they've done Correct suggest improvements and then once they've done that you pay them But in next milestone, they should have taken those improvements forward, you know What they do abroad and I keep selling you, you know, the biggest challenge we have is a resource problem Take the take the guys that have run, you know, England UK China Dubai Put them in here in about three to five years. They'll turn this country to Dubai UK China USA and all those developed countries sorry to say this But it's a fact take the governments that have run this country Put them in in those Dubai's in nine months. They're turning to Nigeria But I also say this as I went to vote on the 25th, I was walking along with some young youths just made friends with them I said, look at our drains. Some people tipped their refuse into the drains. Okay, and that's another area We have to deal with as well. I said the government didn't do that. We did that. So there's a collective responsibility I mean, look at this studio. So nice and clean because you've maintained it if you didn't, you know Then it will not be the case. So there's that collective Responsibility they haven't said that we have a refuse disposal agencies. What are they doing? Is the problem not having enough beans? Do we not have enough vehicles? Do we not have enough timelines for when we pick up those refills? Do the people not know when it's gonna be collected and even if they are late We don't have to because of that tip our efforts into the beans our gutters are not covered as well You know, there's so much wrong. Look at the roads, you know, just basic health as well There are no decent clinics I could not believe in this country that people have to pay 10,000 nine or more just to complete a form. So whether you're ill or not, you I mean where I'm used where I've come from You walk in there to take your details and they start treating you but here you have to buy oxygen blood I mean, it's it's crazy. It cannot be right. All right. Well politicians are known to talk in poetry and work in prose However, your principal principal your duty is to make laws It will be if elected your duty principally will be to make laws for peace order and good governance But if elected would you sponsor a bill, you know for local government autonomy? Yes, I would I've always been a believer in the fact that you need to decentralize and empower So yes, I will definitely support that You know, I feel that although I mean look, it's not as if the local government actually completely strong and at this time All right, they're not they've got enough autonomy to do what they need to do They get allocations and they have responsibilities, but full autonomy. Yes, but full autonomy with complete accountability It's what I would definitely be pushing for I'm supporting oversight function of the legislature is It's not been Nigerians can't say they really feel that Oversight function of the legislative arm of government. What's what's your take on that? Well, it's you know Yeah, it's one of the key and core responsibilities of any any legislator who knows what he should be what he should be doing It and I keep saying this Unfortunately, we've made Politics and governance transactional rather than relational my plan is you know, say Legislative when and if I pray I'm elected is to go into the corridors of power, you know You know engage and build relationships But at the same time to walk with the likes of the local government, you know And say look guys, what can we do to start to deliver into the people in the cage at one? And what I've told those are spoken to I want to catch I want to challenge Could you too? So there's a healthy competition going on there because all like myself is performing I also add this I have no right to be there for four years If I am not delivering on on my promises and that what I told the guys working means I said look We need to get a website up and running they should what we're doing there should be on that website I also want to engage with the you know, they may know my The people as well as often as possible. It could be once every two months or whatever. So we can have virtual cause We can a physical cause. I don't mind it coming to a whole shelter that man. I said well guys You know, I want to do that. I said this I want you guys in media as well to be one of my best friends Because if I can't get something done, you know, I mean one of what I promise for example I said, you know in Lagos the non-indigenous of you know Who are you know supported me? I said what would you do for us? And I said well, they said they've been harassed and all that I said what we can do is poncho a non-indigenous protection Beal, you know, it shouldn't be the case, you know The non-indigenous remind me of the Asians in England. They're very industrious, you know And they do a lot of things that you know, you and I wouldn't do but then they equally have rights You know in the UK, they have rights in London We should you know, if you look at the Lagos is as cosmopolitan as it comes It's all different. I'm not ethnic sanctioned for example But I believe that the rights of everybody should be protected And if we have to push the bill like that, then so would it be and if I'm getting pushed back on it Then I have to come back to myself and let's explain why that is not getting sure. All right Well, the NRM does a national rescue mission Does it have or did it have a presidential candidate during the election presidential election that took place? Yes, he did He did. All right. And then 46 to be filled in Lagos States. How many of your candidates do you have scattered around? Not as many I'm afraid. It's look what I found in my experience is that You know, there are challenges in the small parties. They don't have funds. The structure is not as strong And you also have fragments of the institution that's come down So people drop down they can't make any some of these big parts and they keep rolling down The governorship your governorship candidate. Is he still running or has he? Surrendered has he thrown in the towel and adopted some of you As far as I am aware as at this point in time, you know, my government she kind of dates and I think you mean miss I can break to it. Yes. It's still firmly in the race All right Well, there is the fear of apathy because of all that's happened during the February 25th election The people may be still scared to come out and vote. What do you say to an electorate watching right now? Well, I would say that look, let's say first of all on the 25th of February, I think the people spoke by coming out and voting in mass I think well over 60% of people never voted before It's my first time I vote in my country. I voted abroad. I was proud to do that Yes, the results and and what happened with INA can all the be that scenario didn't quite say It's not what we wanted was a bit unpleasant, but I would say that let that not the towers Let's come out again. Let's vote in mass again. Let's speak This is the only way if we do not vote right if we do not come out What we've done is we've just enslaved ourselves for another four years. We are too much We're too good for this and we deserve better as Nigerians. We need an independent environment We need people who know what they're doing to come out and, you know, start running a country and change the narrative Oh, thank you so much Kola. Thank you for your time Kola, I can wallet candidate house of assembly cage a constituency one under the NRM does a national rescue mission has been my guest. Thank you so much for your time Wishing you the very best on Saturday. Thank you very much Yeah Well, I am Maureen Menong with many thanks for your time and do go out prepare to go out on Saturday and vote It is your right. You must not be coward You must not be scared out of fulfilling your obligations to the country the day