 Pick your running mate from North-Central, North-East, APC-Tales-Tinnable, while coalition rejects the Muslim-Muslim ticket and urges Tinnable to pick La Long. We took a closer look at the speculations of 2023 being at Tickle and Tinnable's last chance at the presidency. For this, it's cross-politics. I'm Mary-Anna Collins. The National Coalition for Democracy, Peace and Unity has rejected the idea of the all-progressive Congress, APC's presidential candidate, and former state governor, Asiwaju Bola-Amet-Tinnable, picking a Muslim as a running mate. Now according to the group, there was no need for the palpable tension caused by the Muslim-Muslim ticket rumors as this critical period when APC has the Christian governor, such as Platter-State Governor, Mr. Simon La Long. Now it also urged Tinnable to avoid being put under a few selfish persons to pick a running mate against the wishes of Nigerians. While joining us to discuss this is Chris Feinborn, Publicity Secretary of the All-Progressive Congress, River State, and Oppenabole Incotira, a political analyst. Thank you so much, Mr. Tara, for joining us. Thank you so much, Mary-Anna, and good to be in Nigeria. So Oppenabole, let's start with the speculations. The APC, what the APC has in place right now is a placeholder, which is Masari, and the speculations have continued to come on mainstream. Even some have speculated that it might be the Kaduna State Governor, Nasser El-Rufai. But one is wondering why it's taking the All-Progressive Congress this long to pick a running mate, especially for the presidential ticket. Well, first of all, let me say that it is staggering that for a man who has been in his life-long ambition, it's finally a little bit difficult to pick a running mate. If it is really a life-long ambition, and the method that you do that, you open the contest in the forthcoming general elections, now it's really the 20th general elections, one would have presumed that you already have a running mate, because it is unexpected that you would have discussed with your associates on who the running mate will be. So a lot of folks wonder, and finally difficult to fathom, why it is difficult for a man, like Sinebu who said in his life-long ambition, to pick a running mate, which after the conclusion of the APC Convention, but what does that tell you? That's too much of a man that is not actually ready, is a man that is gluttonous for power without having a vision or a focus. And that is my conclusion, because it's not difficult. I mean, you must have consulted the persons that you are going to contest. Even before consulting with those associates, you already have a conviction. Don't forget, this is the same man who said, or who to come bridge at President Buarri. I think in one of the West, in one of the, yeah, West town states, when he said it was instrumental to Buarri's enlightenment of the President, and I was not, you know, I don't get into himself the power to enthrone such a man, why I like it not to have somebody that is close to his heart. I'm not talking about the Buarri's closeness to heart, where he said a man who is going to still write candidate is close to his heart, and it is his closest dialect of that person, that person might be killed. That's what kind of process I'm talking about. Because obviously, the man that speaks from, is the man of double speaks from both sides of the mouth. We are talking about a professional candidate, aspirants, who eventually became a candidate. I suspect that definitely he has one or two persons that will be his preference for running me. And so one is a surprise, the deadline is to work. One is a surprise that until now, what we have is somebody that is going to fill in the gap, because the man who's made me over that to island, it's not, if the President is not running me, but rather somebody I was supposed to work for in order, in order not to be guilty of transgression of the electoral act. Because the deadline is tomorrow. So it's summary, it seems to us it's Marianne, it is obvious that Baratini Mu has no focus. It is obvious that Baratini Mu lacks what it takes to be a President. And why am I saying this? When it comes to decision making as a leader, you take a lot of issues, don't advise me. Arrive at the conclusion and down consequences. That's like what I put in the activity with the choice of a court. Let me quickly come in there, because you said a lot of things and I just want to break them down. Now you say for a person who's always wanted to, who said it's been his lifelong ambition to want to be President, it shouldn't take so much. But then he's one man compared to the number of people they have in the political party. He might be one strong man, but then he cannot work alone, can he? And I'm not in any way trying to hold forth for the ABC. Let me just get to my question. How easy is it knowing that in some instances, most of the time, the party reigns supreme? I mean, we've seen what the trials that, you know, the PDP presidential candidate is going through before, he's even very swift choice of a color out of the number of names that he was given. And we see how they're putting a committee together to try to appease one of those people who was who wasn't picked. Do you think that this is just Tinuble's choice to make? Or it has to be a choice that the party is satisfied with that can help them to win the elections? If you listen to me carefully, I thought of a man who said it has been his lifelong ambition. If there's a holdback, so I hope you don't expect him to... I can hear you, there is none, we can hear you. Good. So a man who said it has been his lifelong ambition. Now, the issue of the PDP, as far as I'm concerned, is what I refer to as dismissed as a high sound of the voices of victim's loyalty and the sheer grandiosity of their claims. Let me tell you what to do. When the law of the Constitution clearly states that the choice of the running man, the illegitimate of the standard of the people who are talking about, Mary Ann, anything to do tomorrow, I said Mary Ann is my running mate. That's the thing that you have for position. As we speak today, I'm a Christian and you have those who belong to the Judaism religion, the Islamic religion and so on. And you also have the hate, whether you like it or not, not everybody believes that Jesus was a Christ or is the Christ. So you are definitely going to have dissenting voices. This is the beauty, this label of democracy. The leader, you have a conviction and that conviction, you are supposed to be driven by that conviction. Even if tomorrow is a deadline, don't forget. Now, even at the execution of time, 12 midnight or either 6 p.m. tomorrow, the issue of the running mate would have been brought to an end. I look out to that 6 p.m. tomorrow, I tell you that any evening you bring God, as you are running mate, there are people that would be opposed to him because I just said you have the hate. And so you also are consulted and you also are consulted widely. Widely. You promise this, you promise your political commitment, joining. You also are consulted widely. And you also are not one or two persons at mate. Taking into consideration the influence of a person, the impact of a person on your election and eventual success. You also are taking all the variables into consideration. On that, you are advised more. So as you are going, all you need to do is talk to one or two, not politics. Simply, what is politics? It has to do with interest, articulated interest. Even if I say Marianne is my family, I know I belong to the same political family. I tell you that even within the same political family, you are people that are not agreeing with the other faction or this other faction. It is natural. That is what is called politics. But you as a father, even in your home as a father, you have children. If you have up to three children, I bet you, on most issues, agree with you or disagree with you and one will agree with you or disagree with you. But unless you're a father, you have the final say in the interest of the family. So in this survey, we expected Baratini to have his running mate because the issue of consolidation would not predict heads with the measures as the standard there are. But for political reasons, he didn't want to step on votes. He didn't have any votes. Immediately after the convention, he would have meetings on who is going to be his running mate. Immediately after the convention, and if you know that I agreed to that, then please check not before now, not to tell us that until today, we don't have a running mate. Where I mean we are, like I always say, I'm not a member of PPC, I'm not a member of PDB. But until today, children would not have a running mate. That means his government is actively going to be wireless. Let me, let me, let me, let me, let me come in there. Let me come in there. It's, it's, I mean, everything that you're saying is all fine. It's dandy. But we also need to understand the fact that Nigeria is at some point in its life where these issues are more than ever. I'm talking about religious, you know, essential issues. These issues are more, they're more obvious than they have ever been. And so people are touchy on that subject. Now there are also those who have a school of thought that look, we had the Biola tickets, which was a Muslim Muslim Muslim ticket and we saw Nigerians troop out to vote for him. But that was then, this is now. Many would also say that why are we even having this conversation? It's not about the religion. It should be about, you know, the capabilities of the persons who hold the ticket. Okay. May I respond to that because of that? Please go ahead. Yes. Is it that, that argument suffers from a, a treatment of exodus of reason and poverty of logic. That's the most you cannot compare your, at your last time to now. You see, today we have been sensitized to the actuality of the individuality of one nation. Anybody who come to back that is living in denier. At that time, there are lots of issues at stake. We had the military government. A lot of people were hankering for democracy. They wanted a cessation of military rule. And so everything democratic was acceptable. Like a lot of people would argue that the worst democracy is better than the best military treaty. I defund that because all government, it's all about governments. That's the truth about it. We have a Gaddafi in Libya. And I tell you, if you don't ask Libyans today, they will tell you they regret they have something that would have perfected a Gaddafi to continue in office. Why? Because of the social warfare. There was really no power in Libya. The exact issues are given to us at the bottom of the touching other. Why? Because of the citizens. Why? But then, you know, we had this belief because we had an abadger who was a dictator. And life was hard in this country. But then suddenly, we had a democratic president who was an abadger. Abadger tomorrow. So a lot of people felt we must get passed. We must consign into a military rule. So whatever it is that I've said, that is why. No matter who you are, I have your life. You may see whatever my question. I just want to make a distinction between legitimacy and legality. Legitimacy simply means accessibility. It's different from legality which has to do with law. Now, you had an abadger who's legitimacy was appreciated by the court. God forbid it. You had an abadger who's legitimacy was appreciated by Nigerians. They were consigned. Don't forget the vice president is always seen as a specified. Apart from they were consigned, you just need a president that will be there in the image of Nigeria. And Abadger has symbolized that. But today, the religious defying, the divine, Abadger has said, we have been sent, maybe we can not, the embassy today, you have to come in a mass center, not west, not this. But yesterday, there was no such thing as mass center. It was not that promote, what I didn't exist. It was not that as entrenched. And so, if they are from the north or from the south, I believe that from the north, the non-native believe that you're with them. But also, like I said, the non-native always had partnership with the south. Now, I haven't said this. That was an exit of meaning and poverty of logic. That was yesterday. As we speak today, if you get a Muslim-Muslim ticket, I bet you it's going to be political macabre. The issue of religion has been thrown from us, I said later, as the dimension of the killing of the Catholic priest. When I was one, I was killed just how many days ago, and all that are activity, deny that you have the Muslim-Christian dichotomy in this country. You have a not certain dichotomy in this country. If you make any attack, a Muslim, a Muslim, they're running this. And if there's a candidate, oh my God, I can bet you that Nigerians will, but no matter how good those candidates are, Nigerians will walk against them. Because we are sensitized to the actuality or the artificiality of what is going on. Let's move away from that. If you have to address, come, excuse me, if you have to come from there, you have to come straight in this country. You know the scarcity going on, the entrepreneurial issue. And that is what, that is the movement. Look at it. Look at it today. Let me use this. So before I ask a question, you know that the lawyer who went to court in Judea, Tyre, because we know that you can get a job is a classist of nationality, a matter of discrimination. Why will you... I do not want us to veer off, I do not, Mr. Gattara, I do not want us to veer off on this conversation. So let me bring you back to the conversation. Yes. Yes, I get it, but let's not lose our train of thoughts here. Let's come back to the candidature of Borame Tunibu. Now, certain people are, even within the party, are asking, even this group, are asking that he take a look at Simon Lalong. But let's also put Simon Lalong on the table right now. Let's look at his political spread, his structure, what he brings to that ticket and the acceptability and notoriety that he can also give the Tunibu ticket. How winnable is a Simon Lalong and a Tunibu ticket? Maria, I'm not here to do an appraisal of the candidate, but that's none of my business. Guys, if you are all be fortunate on the appraisal of the standard ticket, I don't give a damn about that. I have my vote as candidate. I have those that believe in a vote to send in to Tyre. If I'm not confident with your running man with a pair, I just tell my pull-up, damn this human being. I'm not serious. I'm not here to deliberate or eulogize that, say, Lalong. If I'm brave enough about this, not that there are very few. All I want to let him understand is that it has to be a Muslim ticket, a Christian ticket. If it doesn't do that, it suggests political mockery. People, there are those who like it, there are those who don't like it. I don't hate Lalong. I don't like Lalong. I mean different when it comes to Lalong. The only advantage a Lalong will have is that he's a Christian. Now, if you go into the benefit of having a Lalong that you may within the agency and the standard you have come on, because this is not for him, I'm not saying that he has to start to log out of Lalong. I'm not saying that he has to start to demonstrate that he has seen things on Lalong. That's not on my business. In a lot of the agencies that are there, let me tell you, we don't know all those that are saying his advice us. It's not about business. What we know is that he will make a decision. We'll make based on that, we'll make a decision. We're going to have to tell you the advantage of having a Lalong or disadvantage of having a Lalong. That's not on my business. I'm not going to talk about that. I'm in 12 votes. I'm going to start carrying out an appraiser and we are okay that we have a Lalong in school. You know, let's get it through. An agency counsellor, a PDD, house of rep member, an agency, house of assembly member, and a right to be president. I'm more interested in the quality of the candidate. I'm not interested in the party. And that's why people say they belong to political parties and therefore, whatever I say, it seems extremely clear as shit and that is what has kept us where we are today. I'm not interested in that. I'm more interested in the candidate. So I'm not interested in the politics of the Lalong. I don't give a damn about that by their sister. I don't give a damn. That is the concern of the ABC, most importantly, the standard there, not just the ABC. Because if anything goes wrong, it takes the blame. If anything goes wrong, it takes the credit. And that is why the law says that it gives the exclusive pizza of the standard there to chooses running this. Yeah. Now, you've touched on something that I'm very interested in. Now, you've talked about how you might vote because you're looking at the credibility of candidates. And with the number of people we have seen so far who have been running or rushing to get their PVCs, do you think that we've gotten to that level of voter education where Nigerians would vote along those lines as opposed to voting for a particular party because of who the standard bearer is for the presidency? Do you see a spread of votes across different political parties? That's why I teams the NOA of the election of the police. Because it's the only system that can light a nightmare. But unfortunately, you can't expect that from the NNA because for you to be appointed in this country's case of party, you have to practice that. Oh my God, the American president, he was with them again, Obama, political trade. He appointed two, a great team. Yeah. You talk of the Nigerians are impeccable. Nigerians are hungry. And so they want to give their future, their children's peace. They don't have money to pay for the next level, how to fit at the... So when they come up to say, this is how much I have, and because of the style of leadership, they don't get into office. They abandon the masses. They come back to the masses after four years. As a result of that, Nigerians believe that let me get what I have to get. Because they believe that if I get into office, they mean that if I support them, seriously, I just will abandon me. Their situation or better their situation. That's when NOA comes in. Not just NOA. It's about a job they're liking their electorate. Money, collect this money. When you collect this money, vote your conscience. Okay. Even if you vote your conscience and it was the wrong choice, there will be a mistake. No man is perfect. But it was my conscience. I'm not compromise that conscience. And that is what I did today, but I am. I lied to the electorate. I lied to the public. And in the episode we deliver, like that, collect this money from that little man, I'll go to the episode. That is the secret ballot. That is the beauty of secret ballot. Okay. But collect this money and vote your conscience. I want to say thank you. Upon a point called Tyra is a political, political analyst and a former aide to the governor of River State. We want to apologize on what our second guest was unable to join us. But Mr Tyra, thank you so much for your thought to appreciate it. Thank you very much. All right. Well, thank you all for staying with us. We'll take a short break. When we return, we will be discussing speculations of the year 2023 being maybe the last opportunity that the PDP and the APC party presidency flag bearers might have at that seat. But we'll be right back to this break.