 Ahead of 2023 elections, Lagos State PDP unites to dislodge ruling party APC, and we discussed Executive Order No. 10, the implications of the Supreme Court's judgement on states. Well, this is Plus Politics and I am Mary Anacoff. As we count down to the 2023 governorship elections in Lagos State, there is renewed optimism in the camp of the People's Democratic Party PDP, as to the possibility of breaking the 23-year-old grip of the ruling or progressive party, or progressive Congress, I beg your pardon, APC. Now, a chieftain of the People's Democratic Party, Prince Usman Shalikbe Dossomu, had said the elders of the Lagos State's chapter of the party are now reconciled and are working in lockstep to ensure PDP wins the state and forms the next government come 2023. Well, joining us to discuss this is the aspiring Lagos State Publicities Secretary of the People's Democratic Party, Dimola Olariwadju. Thank you so much, Mr. Olariwadju, for joining us. Thank you, Mary Ann. It's my pleasure to be with you. Great. Let's start with the fact that there's been a 23-year-long grip of the APC. What's cost that certainty within the PDP now to say, well, we're certain that we're going to break that 23-year-old grip on Lagos State and, of course, take over? What's the level of preparedness? What makes you think that you're strong and ready to change the course of things? Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I think the confidence stems from the fact that we think that the people are ready to break the yoke of the APC and the ruling Caballion Lagos State. No political party has any magic formula of winning elections by its own self. It always depends on the resolve of the people in that particular society. And a lot of signs in the past few years indicate to us that people in Lagos are quite ready to throw off the chains and the shackles of the ruling Caballion Lagos State. And so that's where our confidence stems from. The motto of our party is part of the people, and we believe that the people of Lagos State are ready to take power using the People's Democratic Party as the vehicle for that process. And so that's where our confidence stems from. In terms of preparedness as a political party, for instance, what should be alluded to that by what it was alluded to rather is the fact that the process heading into the Congress at the state level for the People's Democratic Party, it's coming to a conclusion. And what is going on is the elders of the party from various different tendencies, various beliefs. They are all united in things that look we want to have an executive that would lead a state working committee that would lead the party rightly and prepare and position the party for the 2023 election. So it's a two-pronged confidence. Number one is the fact that we are confident from all the signs that we've seen so far that legosians are ready to throw with the shackles of the APC in Lagos State. Number two is the fact that the People's Democratic Party in Lagos State is showing serious signs of unity heading into the state Congress, which Dean used to have been before. So yes, those are the two reasons why we are very confident, Mary. Let's look at the Congress that you're talking about because a lot of people are looking at that Congress. In fact, so many people will be looking at the outcome of that Congress to determine how ready you are, how serious the PDP is about turning the tide. But we also see that there are lots of, I mean, every political party does have big weeks and the ones who somewhat are strong men within the party. What should people expect as the outcome of the Congress come next month? I think it's next month. What should we be looking forward to? Well, the Congress was just moved to next week Wednesday to allow more time for thorough discussions, consultations, so that we can have a process that everyone buys into. What we expect, or what we believe people should look forward to, is that people in Lagos will come up. Instead of people who, at the helm of its affairs, people who are not just experienced in political party management, but people who understand the aspiration of Lagosians, people who understand that Lagosians are quite ready to obtain the government to vote out the government, but that must be done through the political process, which is what PDP is trying to get itself prepared for. PDP in Lagos over time has always tried to display the APC as various forms, which it has taken on, but we've not been quite successful because we've never had a match of those two factors I mentioned earlier on. People being ready to take over government and then the political school vehicle that is ready to annex the desires of those people. So, we believe that the Congress is going to see people who understand the political party and people who understand exactly what it is that Lagosians want to see in government. We have ideas that coincide or that match exactly the aspirations of the people of Lagos. And so, from next week Wednesday after the Congress, I am very confident that the leadership that would emerge of the People's Democratic Party in Lagos is going to be a leadership that the people of Lagos can identify with. And especially young people in Lagos, because some of us believe that those people, young people in Lagos are pivotal to any political process. And my aspiration, someone like me coming out of the state of the country is because I want to engage more with the public, especially with young people across all social media, so that we can jointly harness those two forces I mentioned, the people on one hand and then the party. And that is how we'll be able to deliver what I alluded to earlier on, which is the power to the people. I'm going to come to the issue of your aspirations later, but let's talk about playing opposition. How well do you think the PDP as a party in Lagos state has played opposition politics? Some would say that your opposition is almost non-existent. Some others will say, well, you have tried, but you as an insider, how well do you think that you've been able to speak up on the things that you think are not going right in Lagos, that you are saying you want to put straight? Do you think that you can score yourself at least 50 or 100% in terms of playing opposition politics in Lagos? Well, for me, I'm not, and I smile because this is something that causes a bit of ruckus on social media, but it's a position that consistently maintains that I am not particularly a fan of opposition politics, especially in the presidential system. In the presidential system, you have a government, but then you also have various governments at various levels. We can only say that the PDP is the opposition in Lagos state, but then you have the PDP government as close by at the real state here, you have PDP government as close by at the river state, and these are governments that are performing. For me, I see more like the People's Democratic Party in Lagos state leads to, I like, the flaws of the All Progressive Congress. Then again, we must also show the people of Lagos what they would benefit by being part of the PDP family, the kind of government that they would see. In other words, when you look at a state like your state and you look at the transformation that is going on there on the International Coordination Committee, you should be able to use that as a selling point in Lagos state and say, look, if you also want this kind of development in Lagos state, if you also want to see this kind of innovation, if you also want to see this kind of cutting edge ideas, then you should be a part of the People's Democratic Party. So it's a double thing again. I want to push you on that statement that you're not necessarily open to opposition politics under a federal system of government. But I mean, we say that we're operating some form of democracy, whether nascent or not. And so you're telling me that you don't necessarily think that a position policy is necessary. Where is the place of creating some form of checks and balances because you see the truth is it's very difficult for governments in Nigeria to check and balance themselves. Shouldn't that be the job of the opposition? The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and most constitutions in the world generally plays the role of checks and balances on one, the legislature, on the media, on civil society. The duty of political parties is to win elections. Now, when political parties consider that playing the role of opposition is advantageous to their role of winning elections, then they play it. You see, what happened in Nigeria is that in the first Republic, we practiced a parliamentary system of government. In a parliamentary system of government such as being practiced in Britain, you have the government, you have the government, actually someone called the leader of government business, and then you have the opposition political party and you have someone called the leader of opposition, and the leader of opposition, which in the first Republic in Nigeria, that position of opposition was occupied, but in the second Republic, we moved to the presidential system away from the parliamentary system. In the presidential system such as being practiced in America, you don't have the Democrats referring to themselves as opposition to the republicans. What happened in Nigeria was that the all-progressive Congress from 2011 particularly decided that they were going to unleash such vile politics within the Nigerian politics and they had to hide it under the tag of opposition. And so they have come to define what Nigerians expect from an opposition, which is that, you know, you call people names, you make out large statements, and even when the government is in power, calling out an ill or a misstep in a government that is in power, whether you be civil society or a political party that's not necessarily in government, is that supposedly vile? Should it be vile? Are there no better ways to go about it? And should we totally shut down the idea because you think that it is not constitutional for political parties? No. I'm interested to get into the idea of what people expect from an opposition party. The name calling, you know, the bitterness, the vile, you know, all that goes on with it. The top ones are not attuned to play that kind of politics. We will intelligently deconstruct the governance in Lagos State. We will intelligently show how the APC has systematically since 1999, 24 years by 2023, we will show how they have put Lagos State on a downward trajectory by presenting gubernatorial candidates who do not understand the spirit of Lagos, which is business, by presenting people who have never led any business successfully. And then you want them to be governors of a state like Lagos State. That is why Lagos State has been on the decline. So we will show these things but we will not do it without vile. If that's what you want as an opposition, then you know, I believe that from next week Wednesday, Nigerians will see that kind of thing. But we will not be doing the kind of thing that APC does. We will show it a way that people will see clearly and even those who are in APC themselves will be convinced that the alternative party, PDP is better at the hemopathies in Lagos State and even at the federal level. So for me it is very clear I like the flaws of the government we will continue to talk about them. Just last month in January, many changes of the political party of PDP in Lagos State pointed out the increments of 400 billion in the budget by the Lagos State government. But again, it is something that cannot be done alone by the political party. The political party can speak but we need partners in the media, partners in civil society. We need ordinary Lagosians themselves also to stay this issue and to try to speak about these issues with us. I mean, PDP was trying, I remember Dr. Adidus, one of the front line PDP members was releasing a statement about it. Our leadership, Bodigio, also spoke about it. Seven of our parties just spoke about it, you know, trying to make an issue out of it. But Lagosians themselves must also buy into that agenda and realize that what we are doing is not necessarily playing a position for the sake of it. What we are doing is highlighting the flaws of the ruling party in Lagos State for the benefit of all Lagosians. That's what we will be doing. Okay, let's talk about the last local government elections that took place here in Lagos State. The PDP was managed to get a, you know, a handful of seats here and there. How do you intend to win all of Lagos in 2023 if you're not even able to win at the local level even for councilor positions? What does this say about this stretch and the structure of the PDP or how relatable the PDP as a party is to people at the lowest level? And I always, you know, talk about those people or refer to them as those who need government the most. I mean, yes, the state governor is the state governor. But then those at our local government levels have the people who need the government the most. Well, I mean, elections, local government elections are overseen by the last year, which is basically an agency of the state. And most times we know how those things go. How did they go? We have, we've had situations before in 2011, you know, when the People's Democratic Party won a seat at Ethiosa, it was announced by the EU on the field and by the time they got to the center, they had changed and deprived the PDP candidate of his victory. The result was openly announced, you know. So because the agency is essentially controlled by the state government. And so who controls the state government controls that election. So I think, you know, that might not be a fair measurement of the preparedness of the People's Democratic Party because, you know, what we are hoping to effect is a change that will happen at the same level in an election that will be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which we hope this time around will be absolutely impartial and will, you know, deliver an election that meets with the aspiration of the people. But then again, you know, like I want to emphasize and reiterate again. It's not just about the People's Democratic Party. There are many political parties registered with INEC to contest elections. And those parties are all there. But the people themselves, I strongly believe and we as a political party, we believe that the people of Lagos are ready to effect that change in 2023. And we are confident that we will still record turnout even higher than the 2016 election because we can see the signs there. You see a younger generation, you know, clamoring for things. You see, this was expressed through the end-fast movement. Young people are eager, you know, to see better governance being delivered to them. And so, you know, what we will try to do is to harness those forces from the young people and then provide a political vehicle that will be able to deliver in line with the aspirations of those people. So it's not just about the People's Democratic Party. It is about the People's Democratic Party positioning itself as the political vehicle that will deliver in line with the aspirations of the people of Lagos. And we are confident that in 2023 that will happen. All right. Let's talk about something that I noticed. Early this month, your party petitioned the Inspector General of Police and the Governor of Lagos, Babajirid Songolu, over the voter registration suppression in Etiusa East. Now, you talked about harassment, intimidation, vulnerable citizens. Your party alleges that thugs by the LCDA Chairman were responsible for this. How did you arrive at this conclusion? Well, I mean, those who live in the locality must have studied the situation and observed. I mean, there are things that you see with your own eyes. I wasn't there personally and I wasn't one of the most enthusiastic men. But the people who witnessed it, you know, made us understand the situation that is going on there and hence that petition. They have been willing, you know, to put that on record, you know, basically. I mean, it's one thing to come on air and make allegations. It's another thing to actually write a petition to the Inspector General of Police and then to the Lagos State Governor also. So, I mean, what we should do now or what should happen now is that pressure should be put on the IG and the Lagos State Governor to respond to the issues with that petition. It was raised formally, names were put out there, invites the person for a discussion. That is where it should start from. And again, I'm personally not surprised and I don't think you should be surprised too, Maria. And anyone who followed the chain in the last election in 2019, you know, were doing the presidential election in Lagos State, you had the situation where talks were making people upset in ethnicity because they felt those people were going to put on people's democratic party. It happened around the Kota area, it happened in Suriniri area also. And we saw those things happen. So, it is synonymous with what the APC does. On lesion talks against people, it's synonymous with what the APC does. But the APC had a response. I'd like to read it out to you. I'd like to quote them directly. In a reaction from the APC, they said, and I quote, it is a localized issue and it has not been brought to our notice or the notice of the State Secretary. But when it is done, they will deal with it. So, the APC is saying no such thing has been reported. So, they do not know anything about it. I mean, you just mentioned that a petition was duly submitted, you know, put out in the media space and also put with the IG where names were mentioned specifically and then the APC says it is not aware, you know. I mean, that's only acting in line with what is becoming the ideology of their political party where they are not aware of these things and they want to live in bliss and ignorance. But you see, since 1999, votes in Lagos have continually been on the decline. The last time we had high votes in Lagos in 2011, was in 2011, yeah, in 2011 and 2015, where it came to a peak. In 2019, it went on the decline. We discovered that, if you look at those voting results, the truth is the APC does not want the voter base to expand. It doesn't want more people voting in Lagos. How do you mean? The more people vote. I mean, the APC has a consistent, they've always had a consistent range of figures that they score in elections. 800,000 and 900,000. The only time it went higher was when the time of the fashion law was running for a second term. That was when it went to be above 1 million. Now, if you understand how the APC itself operates, young people are not captured adequately in legal states. If you look at legal states, you have a vibrant young population, but they really... Is that the fault of the APC or the fault of the young people not willingly wanting to be captured? Because it's one thing to say, blame a political party, but how many young people really show up at the polls on election day? I mean, we had a president in this country at some point in 2011, we had a president who deliberately went after the young folks. Many young people voted for the first time in 2011 because of the then president, who was on the Philippine platform. Those young people came into politics and they were so disgruntled with the system that they ended up removing that person. So, what you usually have is this. Politicians generally like to keep their votes a bit. They like to keep it straight. They like to keep it straight. They don't want too many people coming into the political process. But some of us are here to break that. We are here to break down those doors and say, basically, let more people come into the vote. And the consistent trajectory, and it doesn't happen anywhere else in the developed world, the constant trajectory is that more and more people turn out to vote year after year. But what happens in Lagos is it's actually declining. That's a commentary on the... Is that really just a Lagos state problem or a nationwide problem? I mean, it's both. In 2011, you had more people coming out. More people than in 2007. In 2000, as you've seen, you had more people coming out. In 2019, there was a decline because people felt that their votes would not count. Where people come out to vote, and a ruling party decides to use the powers of the state to go after people, you know, send talks after voters, disrupt the voting process. You have distorted people from voting. So, you see, it's more of a systemic thing. That voter suppression issue, it's more of a systemic... And that's why PDP was raising the alarm, you know, as far as it seems I was concerned. But look, there is a deliberate voter suppression system. And again, for those of us who care about legal state, we see it as a dangerous trend because in the last election, Mary, Borno State had just about 50,000 voters less than Lagos State. Lagos State used to be regular. One of the top three voters on our state all across the country. In the last 2019 election, Borno State, where there was a bomb blast, you know, turned out just about 50,000 votes less than Lagos. It's a dangerous trend. But it shows you that what is going on in Lagos State is not fair to the interest of Lagos. It's not fair to the interest of the people of Lagos. And it is in my call to the purposes of democracy. So, for me, this voter suppression issue is something that really needs to be talked about. And we will continue to talk about it today. All right, lastly before I wrap up, because we're almost out of time, Lagos for Lagos, we hear, has moved from the APC into the PDP. In fact, the leader of that group, Olajide Adediron, had said that he joining the party was to resurrect the PDP to win elections. Does this pretend that Lagos for Lagos is what the PDP has been missing in time past, or this is what the PDP needs to win the elections come 2023? Now, he's also aspiring to be a Lagos State governorship aspirant or candidate for the PDP. Will this not ruffle the feathers of those who have already been in the party that may also be nursing the same kind of ambition? Well, I mean, any politician who's not ready for conflict or who's not ready for a clash of aspirations is not ready for politics. In politics, you have to always ready to test your aspiration in the field. And I think, you know, all our politicians in the People's Democratic Party, and for governor, are ready to meet with anyone in the field. Having said that, I think, you know, Dr. Adediron's defection from the PDP through the PDP is a sign of a third factor. You know, I mentioned two factors earlier on, but now you stumbled on what I can call the third one. The first was the people, the second was the party, and then the third is the ruling party itself. Dr. Adediron's movement from the PDP is a sign of growing this conflict within the all-progressive Congress. He's just the only one who is young and vibrant enough, who is excited enough to, you know, jump chic from the APC to see what the APC has become in leadership. He's the one who's young and vibrant enough to defect to the People's Democratic Party. And we commend him. I mean, welcoming him to the whole attorney. He has also said it very clearly. And that's talking about Adediron himself, Dr. Adediron. He has also said clearly that he's in this party to stay. He's going to vie for the ticket. We've also explained, we've explained that, you know, People's Democratic Party is not a party of Godfathers. It's not a party where, you know, one person sits in his house and the attorney becomes the gubernatorial candidate. You are going to go to the field, delegate to cast their vote, and eventually you would, if you made the flag bearer, then so be it. And he has said he's ready to submit himself, you know, to the Democratic process within the People's Democratic Party. So he is welcome. But for me, it is defined that the third factor, you know, in winning elections is falling into place. The first is that the people are ready. The second is that the party is ready. And the third is that the ruling about is finally breaking down from the inside. So for us, it's a positive sign. Well, I want to say thank you. Demola Olariwadu is the, he is aspiring to be the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the People's Democratic Party. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Thank you very much, Miriam. The pleasure is mine. All right. Well, thank you all for staying with us. We'll take a short break now. And when we return, we'll look at the issue of the Executive Order number 10 and the Supreme Court's decision to nullify President Mahira's Executive Order. Stay with us.