 Welcome back to PlusPolitik's. Leger State Governor's Advisory Council has given its approval for the second-term bid of Governor Babajide Sanolu. According to Sanolu's Chief Press Secretary Borga Akosile, the governor was also given a pass mark for staying true to the developmental agenda of Leger State. The GAC, which is the highest decision-making organ of the ruling party in Leger State to the All Progressives Congress, headed by the party's national leader, Shivaju Bola Tinibu, had in 2018 kicked against the second-term bid of former Governor Akiwumi Ambode, which led to the emergence of Sanolu as the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress in the 2019 general governorship election in the state. With this interesting development, we're glad to see we have joining us to discuss it. The Chief General of the People's Democratic Party and a strategist, Demola or Larry Wajio, and, of course, a political analyst, Alistair Wilcox. Gentlemen, good evening and thank you very much for your time. Let's tell you, Alistair Wilcox, what exactly is the governor's advisory council? Because I know we've heard about that council right from the time of the second-term bid of former governor, Fashola, if I'm not mistaken. What is this group called, the governor's advisory council, and what do they do? I guess that's that. I'm the member of the party, and I guess that question will have been best answered by Demola. But if I just have a scratch at it, it's been all about the media as one of the organs of the APC Lagos, which is like Elders Forum or Consultative Forum, whereby the parties are fair in Lagos with respect to policy of the government, of the government nomination of candidates for the governor's office and all, it's been discussed. So that's for me as a layman who is an outsider, that's what I understand because it's been on and on and there. It came to fore really for me when everyone was saying, Tinibu Tinibu is the sole determinant of Urus Lagos or who doesn't. But in 2019, when the Ambo De Saga came up, it was obviously clear that it's a bigger body and not just Borla Ambo De Tinibu as a sole individual that controls the parties and the nomination of candidates in Lagos with respect to elective offices. So it was during the Ambo De period that we all know that it's a bigger body other than just that of a woman calling the shots. So maybe Demola will help us so that I can also learn better as to what the GSE does in Lagos. Thank you. All right, Demola Rewaji, what are your thoughts on this? Are you aware of this group called the Governors Advisory Council and the role they play? I mean, the advisory council as much as we know it as it plays out in Lagos is just a group. It's informal basically because it's not anywhere in the APC constitution. It's essentially, like my brother said, Alistair mentioned earlier on, it was created to kind of create the impression that Borla Tinibu is not the one who is in control. But everybody who is appointed there is appointed there at discretion. There's no election into it. And even the standards used to appoint members into it is obscure. For instance, we know that Demola Rewaji Fasula is a member of the GSE but Akiyume Ambodi is not a member of the GSE. We know that Akiyume Ambodi's deputy, Idiat Adiranti Adibuli, who was loyal to the plan to remove Ambodi at Ambodi's expense rather than being loyal to Ambodi as does now, she's a member. But former Governors like Serah Shosun, who was the Vatadi Fasula's deputy, is not a member. Adifu Liria Rewi-Lokwe, she's also not a member. So the GSE is a contraption, an extension, as I see it, of Borla Tinibu's rule. And then supporting the second term ambition of Governor Amadidi Somulu makes it clear that they're carrying out Borla Tinibu's rule, basically. So the GSE, as far as I see it, is an unconstitutional body that is a group of people who are loyal to Borla Med Tinibu. And to the people of Lagos State or even to EPC as a party. I'm back to you Alesta Wilcox. Demolari Raju has said it's just a group created to give the impression that Borla Med Tinibu is democratic and is not calling the shots as far as Governor of Lagos State is concerned. It's just a smokescreen as if you want to use another term. Do you agree with this? Like I said, I'm not a member of the EPC. I am just a keen on watcher of events with respect to the party. Because you said that it shows that Tinibu is not the only one calling the shots. Are you saying now you don't know? No, no. What I'm saying is, what I'm saying is that before 2019, I don't want to contract what Demola said. He is a member of the party. He wears the shoes, knows where he pinches him. But before 2019, the GSE was not that popular as a matter of fact. The GSE was not very popular before 2019, when I don't know the membership or the company, but I know it's not, it's like an advisory council. Governor's advisory council is like a body of elders that decides, okay, which way forward do we go? And so in 2019, that was when we begin to see that it was not just Barlamen team that called the shot. There's a group of persons also. He might be the chairman that helps to call the shot. So that in itself makes it, it's not a organized body like every state, every people have a way of going about their business. So it's not an organized body by APC constitution. It's also, it's like a pressure group or an advisory group or a block that also What Demola is saying, and by the way, Demola is a member of the People's Democratic Party. He's saying that there's nothing democratic about this. Yes. And he's saying that it's just, it just gives him pressure. Yes, but he's seen, he just gives the impression that Barlamen team is not calling the shots, but he says that is not the case. I mean, as a logician, if you look at the composition critically, you know, you have people like the deputy governor of Bolatino, who was deputy for a short period, Otumbairia Jomali, Tadjudin Ulusi, Dr. Yomifini, basically people are point and picked by Bolametino, but there's no clear parameter for membership. Okay, so these are Tinubu loyalists. That's what you're saying. Exactly, they are Tinubu loyalists. So it's just a way of making people feel that, you know, democracy is not taking decisions and no, but essentially the people who get there are people who are loyal to Bolametino, and I've given the example, a human body who was considered not loyal to Bolametino, is not a member, but his deputy is a member. Now, if a former deputy governor of legal cities is a member, then you expect that other deputies of legal states would also be members, but that is not the case because you have about three other deputies of those who are not members of that GST. So the GST, as far as I'm concerned, is an extension of Bolametino-Bus political rule in legal. Okay, sir, now that I know that my brother Demola is of the PDP, then let's take it from the outside. I mean, that is both of us are outsiders of the APC. So we're taking it from, let's take it from observation, which Demola also do. I'm also a legion, and as a legion, I also have a view where the fact is that we know and we have established the fact that the GST is not a recognized body within the APC structure in terms of the consistency of APC. It's a quasi-body made up of persons that can drive an interest. Of course, you don't bring in people who do not drive, even in the PDP, you're not going to bring in people who do not drive their interest because it's not a legal, it's not a constitutional body. It's a body of interest. That, of course, we've established that it's not a constitutional thing, it's a body of interest. So of course, in a body of interest, you always, you have to bring in persons that will also promote your interest. But you know what that shows is the fact that, yes, it might be an extension of the Bolatino-Bus hegemony or Bolatino-Bus, but it also shows the fact that there are persons eminent. You've mentioned some good names, Ajomali. Ajomali is not a pushover. Fini is not a pushover. We are all within APC. I'm coming, sir. I'm coming, sir. I'm coming, sir. I'm coming, sir. Those names you mentioned, they're not pushovers. If a man like, if a man like former governor Raji Fashella, he's a member of the GST, then they're not pushovers. Now, if an body was not invited as a member, and a body already had issues with the party, I mean, there were bad blood brought to the 2019 election. So there was already, so a person cannot be in a body of interest. So for me, it's not a constitutional body. Yes, I agree with my templates that it's a body of interest. And in selecting those who have an interest, it must be persons of the same interest. So they all come together and say what they want. It is at the, it is, for me, it is at the detriment of legal state. No, no, no, no. Because what you are having is a condition of APC. No, it's at the detriment of legutions. Because you see, what you have is that you have created, look, the constitution, the constitution of Nigeria might be imperfect. But in line with the context of Nigeria, it is expected that the governor will be accountable to the people through the legislative of government. Now when you have another body acting as the epic body over the governor, carrying out the oversight functions of the governor in pursuit of a selfish and narrow interest of one man, then you have a problem. And that's where the problem has come for APC now. No, no, that's the one that I would not agree totally. You see, the fact remains that when the governor selects it, you see, we should be grateful that we have a legos where there is a resemblance of the fact that the legislative works. Now, can you say that of reverse state and reverse state? Do you know who is the speaker of reverse state assembly? Can we say that of Benoist state? Can we say that of those states today? So, you see, sometimes you don't understand, you don't understand what you have until you lose that thing. Now, I am not saying what is in legos is perfect. But it's in legos as shown. I'm a legosian by residence of everything. I pay my tax for over 20 years, so I can even contest for legos in legos state. So, I'm a legosian also. The detriment, if the GAC choose a wrong candidate for legosians, the PDP is there to have their candidate, the other parties are there to have their candidate. So, if GAC as a quasi-interest group, choose a candidate, it's not the detriment of legos. It's the detriment of APC. Now, that is the internal politics. When you go to the field with the PDP candidates, with the Abda candidates, then legosians will choose. Now, except you are saying that the moment a candidate is chosen, either by Bola Maitinibu or by anybody, then that candidate is already the governor of legos state. Then that means the PDP and the party submit to the fact that they can compete in a lecture. Is that not the case? Is that not the case? Because the only reason, or the only way, that Fashella was able to scale through to become a governor for the second term was after Bola Maitinibu and this group, if I'm not mistaken, but Bola Maitinibu and Shaba had to openly come out to say that he had finally agreed after meeting of stakeholders. I need to check if it's the GAC that Fashella can go for a second term. And that's how he made. You remember that history very well. And when the same group said, of course, that legosat Amode would not go for a second term, it didn't happen. No, we are not saying this. I think you are meeting up the issue. You cannot ascribe hours to GAC that GAC should not have. It is not only unrecognized by the Nigerian constitution. It is unrecognized by the APC constitution. And I'm telling you that if you are here defending the interests of a body that is protecting the interests of one man, then display me disconnect. Because when the interest of that man is a variance, for example, the government of legosat presently should be going all over the place, commissioning projects, street projects, market projects, housing projects to deserve a second term. What we are seeing him doing is showing more interest in the presidential ambition of Bola Mehtinubu in the lifelong presidential ambition of Bola Mehtinubu rather than furthering the interests of legosat. Because he understands that as long as he protects the interests of Bola Mehtinubu, he is guaranteed a second term. He believes he's guaranteed a second term in that regard as long as he's protecting the interests of one man. And so he doesn't feel any sense of loyalty or commitment to you and I as legos residents, to you and I as legos indigenous, to you and I as legos voters. His sense of commitment is more to Bola Mehtinubu. And now that he has the approval of GAC, he will not fix your roots, he will not fix your water, he is not fixing our housing. He doesn't care about those things because his loyalty is strictly to one man. So let's say he doesn't miss the role of GAC that same glance of credibility for the second term, you know, and we are not doing you because I know that you know the differences in these things when it comes to politics. You know the reality and you've explained it that you know that you have to protect the interests of one man. But when they have to do so, they have to be explained on legos, they have to become the problem for some of us. All right, and let's say you want to My response to that is the fact that if you go on charity table, I'm very, very absorbed to say that Sao Wulu is not commissioning projects. He's not fixing legos. He's not, he's only fixing maybe Bodlong Road or I don't even know where he comes from. Maybe if he said he's fixing Bodlong Road alone and not fixing legos, then that's for me. I mean, I mean, I mean, we're not selling the entire picture of Demola. I am not, I'm not oblivious of the fact that Senator Bala Maitinibu has a big command of legos politics with respect to APC structure in legos. But that is within APC. That is within APC. And so even if the governor choose to have his own allegiance to the governor, to the, to Bodlong Maitinibu. That is still within APC structure. As for election, PDP has always given APC for you around for their money in legos elections. So why are you making n Gesellschaft? Why are you making n Elections? What we are saying now is that we are exposing to legations that the reason that inasmuch as this is happening within the APC, the reason why the governor of your state, legal state, who is not just a member of APC, but also our governor of everybody who is in legal state. Oh sure, sure. The reason why he is not allowing to hear to us as expected by the constitution is because it is only for those things. By the interests of me and for you, the government has been fixing your road. The government has been fixing your roads, the government has been fixing your roads, is only for those things. The government has been fixing your roads, is only for those things. Before we round up this brings us to this brings us to, German hello okay these brings us to the final point this group the governance advisory council has given Baba Jireh Song on the PASMAC as a governor of Lagos State for staying true to what they call the developmental agenda of the state. So we have development and we have PAS. I will start with you, Demola, very in one or two sentences. Does GD Sao Paulo deserve a PASMAC as governor? Demola, are you there, please? Because anybody keeps talking about this development plan, but there's no developmental plan anywhere. We are not seeing the developmental plan the idea of handing over all the PAS in Lagos State, 20 or more, as the enforcement of the APC. I think not. And I think the negotiations are going to make it clear in 2023. All right. Buu Kok's PASMAC for GD Sao Paulo. Yes, I think I will ask Demola, please go and recharge, let the PDP recharge their machinery or what they would tell the negotiations because if you can't tell us what you just told us now, then sorry, you are heading back to the many oblivious in Lagos. GD Sao Paulo deserve a PASMAC, just like Cambodia did. You can discover that in Lagos, since the advent of Amethyne, but there has been a progressive developmental plan in Lagos and each governor comes and tries to surpass the other. Even Cambodia did quite extensively and Nassau Paulo is doing- Nassau Paulo is doing- Nassau Paulo is doing better than Cambodia. Yes, sure, we are taking it to the next level. Negotiate with the next governor. Yes, yes, we are taking it to the next level. I'm a negotiator like you, Demola. We are taking it to the next level. I'm talking about the path. Demola, can we allow Wilcox land? Wilcox, you have the floor. Just very quickly so that Demola can respond. I would say in a nutshell, sir, that if you judge all the governors in Nigeria, maybe you can only compare, you can only have two comparison. I mean about three. Gandujie in Kanu, Zulom in Bronu and that's only Lagos. That's the proof we can talk about. Are you going to talk about that? So where do we want to talk about? What do you call him? Ifan Yokoa or a weekend in River State or you want to talk about Sheema Kende in the Oya State, you can talk about them. You can talk about Zulom, Zulom, yes. You can talk about Gandujie, yes. Oh, okay, maybe you can talk about Imawer Lodom in Akwaebom. Okay. Oh, you can also talk about this man in Eboni. This guy we can talk about in terms of governance. You want to talk about the man in Nabiya, you can compare them. So I think we, Lagosians, we should be grateful to God that we have governors that are to continue on the track. I'm not saying the PDP cannot present a good candidate that can defeat the APC. No, they should be right if you can't be. Lagosians are watching. So he says, he says. We must appreciate what we have. Yeah, we should be grateful to God that we have the likes of Gideson Olu as governor of Lagos State and appreciate what we have. This is a joke. That's it, that's it, that's it. That's a very, very joke. It's a big joke on the coverage. You know that we should be expressing gratitude to God for giving us somebody in a state of so many people, in a state like Lagos State, where we are not seen, we are in a state where basically your electricity, your housing, your water, everything you do it by yourself. I hope that this situation changes in 2023 so that Lagosians can finally see a difference between good governance. Because what you continually have in Lagos State is governors who are more loyal to a cabal within the APC than to the people of Lagos State. When that chain is finally broken, Lagosians will for the first time enjoy good governance. Because right now what you have is a governor who is more interested in opening the post. I mean, if you go online right now, immediately you will see that the first person that paid for his form, for the nomination form, and the money has been made available, you know, 100 million Naira. By the time you look into it, you know, within the APC, by the time you look into it, you will find out that this thing is one way or another connected to the treasury of Lagos State. And it's bad for the people. So for me personally, you know, I'm not here to express gratitude to anybody for coming to govern Lagos, it's not me that he's not Lord and Savior. We want better governance as Lagosians and not just as a political thing. We want a government that is loyal to the people of Lagos State, a government that puts their interest ahead of the interest of any cabal, ahead of the interest of any individual, and ahead of anything, except the people that voted you in. And I think we should be clear on that because that is the standard of democracy. And it's how advanced countries move forward with democracy. All right. Okay, so finally for me, I wonder how payorship pays for his 40 million. If Balamaic women cannot pay 100 million, I wonder how we pay his 40 million. I wonder how people to be paid the 40 million. If a man of Balamaic women cannot pay 100 million without Lagos Treasury. I mean, come on, Demola. Let's, we know better. Why are we going to benchmark? I'm telling you that online there's a news and certain honorables to lie on. But that's the online news. That we have received from the millionaires. No, no, we will confirm that. Hold on, hold on, let me explain it to you. Demola, you can confirm that he has received you. Demola, you can give that money for him. Demola, you can give that money for him. Well, it makes me go down Lagos State. If my loyalty is to him, if my loyalty is to him and not to the people of Lagos, then I will open up the treasury of Lagos. You know, because now it seems that the qualification for you to be governor of Lagos State is your loyalty, your sense of loyalty to that political interest, which is what happened to Ambadi. Ambadi was building a building of bridges. Believing that he can, if he can please the people, then the people will vote him into office. If he had known that all he needed to do was to be at the airport where Demola met, you know, which is running from sick treatment abroad, be at the airport and get to the reception venue, be at the airport to receive him and also get to the reception venue before him. If he knows that that is what he needed to have done, then perhaps he would have done it and he would have gotten a second one by you. Gentlemen, gentlemen, we have to call it a day. We definitely will have both of you back sooner than later. A member of the PDP and a political strategist, Demola Olariwaju, thank you for your time. And Alesta Wilcox, a political analyst who has told us which political party he sympathizes with. Thank you very much for your time, gentlemen. Thank you for having me. It's always my pleasure. Demola, thank you very much for this. Thank you. For the nice discussion. Thank you very much. Alesta, it's a pleasure to see you. Thank you very much for being here. Maybe we have you both in the studio next time. I think that'll be an interesting one. So Alesta, I would like to know where you are back in town. And that's so much you can take right here on Plus Politics. It's been quite interesting with all the conversations that have been ongoing right here on the program. It sure promises to be interesting all through this week as we count down to the 2023 presidential election. So on behalf of everyone right here at a studios in Victoria Island, Lagos, my name is Kofi Bartel. See you tomorrow.