 Presidential candidate of the new Nigeria People's Party, NNPP Robbyu Kwankwaso has unveiled the party's presidential campaign council, called the RMK PCC, noting that zonal rallies will begin on January the 12th. Addressing supporters of the party in Abuja on Monday, Kwankwaso noted that the NNPP is working around the clock to kick-start a campaign towards a new Nigeria that will take off May 29, 2023. Joining us to discuss this and more is Ladikwa Johnson. He is a spokesperson of the Kwankwaso campaign council. It's so good to have you join us Mr Johnson and happy new year. Happy new year to you. Thanks. Yeah. It's interesting that many other political parties had inaugurated their campaign council but the NNPP is just inaugurating its campaign council. Why did it take so long? Yes. Well, we have taken a different path. Each party has its strategies. Each candidate has his own or her own strategies. What we've done is that the presidential candidate has taken a deep penetrated toll of the country. He did this going almost Senatorial District by Senatorial District. He's covered about 400 local governments, some driving through, stopping to talk to people in market places. Some are actually meeting with stakeholders. So we went the other way around. He's done this. In fact, in one of the places he's talked by in Sokoto State, he was told that the last presidential candidate they saw was the late chief of Bata Miawoloa. So we felt that it was necessary to go to the grassroots to the people. Now that means that people have been working. But this inauguration of the campaign council is a mere formality really because now he wants to do what the press has been calling for, which is the big rallies in the cities. But you find that most of these rallies, most of the people there are your people and then you go to this. That connection with you, Mr. Johnson. But if you can hear me, can you hear me, Mr. Johnson? Mr. Johnson, can you hear me? I think that we lost that connection. We're going to have to get Mr. Johnson back on the line to continue this conversation. Stay with us. It's still plus policies and we're still talking about the NNPP campaign council that's just been unveiled and I guess is the spokesperson of the new Nigerian People's Party, NNPP, Mr. Ladikot Johnson. Mr. Johnson, before we went on the break, you were telling us about the NNPP strategy being different from every other strategy. And that's why you've taken this long to create your campaign council. But let's talk about the campaign in itself. Like I said, many others are already having campaigns. They're moving their campaign trails from one place to the other. There are many people who have described your presidential candidates as a Kanu state candidate, being that they're saying that is the only area that he's popular. What's he doing to change that narrative as he begins his campaign fully? Well, you can see from the pictures that you're showing him, and we've seen all through. He's not just popular in Kanu. The campaign in the party is around the entire country. He had the Kwan-Basia Movement around the entire country. I became coordinator of the Kwan-Basia Movement in Lagos in 2013-2014. So the campaign and the party and the candidate has spread around the entire country. Now, what we've done, as I said, is that with the presidential campaign, it's gone round. And you find, you can see, you see all the parties have been campaigning. They've been going to city centers, having rallies with their own members, talking to them. Some don't even talk. They just dance on stage and it's been. But Mabye Moussakou Mokoso has gone down to the queer pastures. He's gone round. It's only three states, I believe, that he hasn't been to. And then the campaign that you all post to seem to understand as campaigns, we will begin those ones this week. The rallies in the major cities were beginning in the northeast. In Bochi, then we're moving to Kaduna for the northwest and Latia for the north central. After that, he's going to honor the invitation at Chattelmouse. And when we come back, we'll continue with the campaign. So we're doing all that is necessary. And we believe that in the next two, three weeks, Nigerians will see that Moussakou Mokoso is more grounded, better grounded, more on-ground than virtually any of the other presidential candidates. The reason I believe that this mistake is being made by the pundits is because intentionally, when it made all these moves, we didn't take the press alone. But you see the pictures from our platforms and videos released from our platforms. So we are confident that we have covered the ground. And now we're ready to start the rallies. And Nigerians will see and will connect the messages together. And I believe by February 25th, we will see the results of the hard work that we have embarked on. Now, also talking about his campaign, how is Rabi Moussakou Mokoso funding his election campaign? A lot of people have asked questions around that. And how is, because he presents himself as this very straight and narrow politician who has, in his words, a place in his heart for education and educating the populace so that it would be a springboard for all the kinds of development. But the question continually is, where is he getting his money to run for this election? Knowing that running for this very revered office takes a lot of money, who are his funders? We're curious. Well, I'm not sure that, I'm not so certain that his major funders were going to be named. But look, the Kwan Kwan Sia movement, and that principle has followed us into doing NMPB, has basically been a movement of people sacrificing, volunteering for the campaign. Oftentimes, my friends tend to say, well, what do you mean you're trying to pay for your flat? You know, you're supposed to work at the beginning of the system we operate is different. We believe that we have to serve the people. The slogan is Kwan Kwan Sia, and the answer is the manner, trust. And that came from the people. Yes, it started in Kano, and it must start somewhere. It started from Kano, and it has spread around. So you find that members are funding, friends of the candidates, and our friends too are funding at different levels. But just yesterday, we launched an app for the campaign, and it is there, and people can get the account numbers and funds. Nothing is too small. So we believe that everyone can chip in, and as they do, they will be more committed to the fact that together, we must bring about a better country, and not rely on big business or big donors to donate and try to control those in government when they do get it. This is a very kindly contested presidential election, as you can tell. Your presidential candidate, it falls as part of the four top front runners for this presidential election. And as it's kindly contested as it is, Nigerians are interested in what separates him from the others. Every single person is giving us promises. Some even sound as an outlandish is wanting to turn water into wine. But what does the Kwan Kwan Sia, what is the strategy, the campaign strategy or direction, or what's the trajectory that he's bringing to the table and how believable is it? Yes, the first thing is basically Mary Ann, what sets Kwan Kwan Sia apart is that he has the capacity. Mr Johnson, are you there? Mr Johnson, can you hear me? Oh dear. Can you hear me, Mr Johnson? I think that we have lost that connection once again. Unfortunately, these things happened, but we'll try to get Mr Johnson back. Mr Johnson, can you hear me now? Yes, I can hear you. We lost that connection first. He has the capacity, competence, and the political will go to get things done. Most of all, he brings to the table what it's ranging experience necessary for a time like this. Rabbi Kwan Kwan Sia was a civil servant for 17 years. He went to the constituent assembly. He was a member of the House of Representatives. He was deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. He became governor for the first four years. He became minister for defense at a time when insecurity is killing us. He became after minister for defense. He was also a special envoy to Darfur and Somalia, giving him international experience, diplomatic experience. He was also a governor again. Before that, he was on the board of the NDC, representing the Northwest. He resigned from the board. Who does that in Nigeria? He resigned from the board because of things he felt were uncommon and things he didn't want to partake in. And then he became governor again, as I said, and then went to the Senate for four years. He's changed. I'm sorry, Mr Johnson. I don't know if you can hear me. Resigning is one thing. I know that that's very laudable. But when he resigned, what steps did he take to make sure that things changed in that particular government agency that he resigned from? Because again, if we must vote for him, then there has to be some precedence. Mary Ann, he was a board member. As a board member, if you do resign, you tell the president why you're resigning, which he did. He wasn't the executive and he couldn't have brought about the changes you are glued into. So he had played his own part. You get what I'm saying, he has played his own part. And if you give him a chance, and Nigeria has to give him a chance, he will sanitize the system. And that is what we are asking for. How do you intend to sanitize the system? Because you see, Nigeria, as we all know, has so many things happening under the watch of, of course, Mr. President, was seeing that oil theft is on the rise. You see, when I mentioned the things that were necessary, I spoke about, apart from capacity, competence, I spoke about political will. The point was here, ideology that we believe in talks about leadership. Leadership. And he has the leadership. You see, without that leadership, being constant and being fair to the people, you cannot bring about the change necessary in Nigeria. You're correct. There are many interests in this country. There are many people, many groups, cabals, that have not had you, that wanted to be business such a man that is known not to be one who performs with business as usual. He is an athlete. They know him. You will notice that the candidates have been tackling each other. No one has said so much about him because they know his track record. Okay. Quickly, before I let you go, Mr. Johnson, because we're having connection issues, let's talk about the insecurity that many people are concerned about right now and the fear that there might be a cancellation of the elections, even though the federal government has stepped in to say elections will go as planned. And your candidate talked about promoting peace and unity in the country. How does he intend to do this? Because the country, as it is, is already divided along ethnic and religious lines. And we're seeing acts of violence perpetrated not just against Nigerians, but against government facilities, the burning of INEC offices and all kinds of things. We're seeing agitations from all parts of the country just a few days ago, a train attack, just almost similar to what happened on the Kaduna, Abuja train trail corridor, has also happened in adult states. So again, whoever wants to be the president of Nigeria does have to understand what we're facing right now. And he has to give us solutions, play by play. So what is it that he's going to do about this? Party from the attack. Party-faceted attack. Firstly, you look at the security situation. Now, inequalities have led to agitations. That is why you have the agitations. There's no fairness. There's no equity. We're more divided than ever before. And naturally, you will have agitations for the Eurobankation, for iPod, et cetera. And also, the fact that the economy is not in a good shape, you have people who are going to turn into banditry, kidnapping, and what have you. So all these things mixed together have given us a terrible situation. And as you say, it will be very difficult for whosoever emerges as president. That is why we need someone like him. But very quickly, what he intends to do is this. One, you look at the military, you look at the police. The military at the moment, you have about 250,000 to our population. The police at the moment, you have about 300,000 men and women to police over 200 million people. The ratio is just not good enough. We are going to have a search in the short to medium term to make sure that we have boots on the ground. When we have boots on the ground, then we can have forest guards, coastal guards and border guards to strengthen the Navy, strengthen the immigration, et cetera, et cetera. When you have that, one, you are creating employment. Two, you are ensuring that things like oil theft, the things that you are going to need to increase your revenue are stopped. Are stopped. You have to have someone that has a political will. We in the MBP understand that if we are unable to do that, if we do not have the will to deal decisive with oil theft and other things like that, then the government will fail. The debt burden is so high. But if you look at it, if you look at what our quota is with OPEC, the fact that we are not even meeting up to that. We have lost connection with Laddipa Johnson, but unfortunately we have to let him go. Laddipa Johnson is a spokesperson of the Kwan Kwan Sill Campaign Council and a member of the new Nigeria People's Party, NNPP. Well, we want to thank you all for being part of the show tonight. That's it on PlusPolitics. Don't forget, go get your PVC. It's now been devolved to wards and registration centers. Go find out where your ward is or your registration center, where you registered initially, and pick up your PVC because you know what I say. It's a passport to the new Nigeria that you and I deserve. I'm Marianna Kuhn. Have a good evening.