 Vice President Yame Oshiba-jo, labeled traitor by a group. And court sacks, ex-speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Doga. This is PlusPolitics and I'm Kofi Bajax. You're welcome. The Oshiba-jo support movement says it knows the group behind the Judas who betrayed his master posters that have flooded different parts of the country. We have described the Vice President following Oshiba-jo's declaration of his intention to run for the office of President. A poster likening him to the biblical character Judas Iscariot and accusing him of betrayal was circulated on social media. And of course, these pictures were also posted at different parts of the city. Now joining us to discuss this we have two guests but we'll start with the convener of the Progressives Youth Group in the All Progressives Congress. He was with us yesterday, Idris Gibral. It's a pleasure to have you back. It's a pleasure to Kofi. Thank you so much for having me here today. All right, and of course along the line we'll be joined by Alistair Wilcox. But let's start with you, Idris Gibral. Have you seen these posters either in person, offline, or on the internet, social media, online? Yeah, the poster has actually flooded the social media. You know, posters like that are eye-catchers. They get posted everywhere, reshared, retweeted, and it's all over. We've seen it. Indeed, indeed. So you have seen these posters in Abuja? Yeah, I've seen it too. Interesting. What went through your mind when you saw the caption with the vice president's face, Judas? Well, that is how low some people can be. It actually exposed the dirty part of our politics here in this country. You know, Judas is a character from the Bible, and I don't think such character should be used to liking anybody at all. It's a new low, actually. For me, it's a new low. Interesting. Is there an indication, as far as you can send, you're a member of the All Progressives Congress and you're the convener of the All Progressives Group, is there an indication as to who is behind these posters? You see, we are not even interested in who is behind it, but definitely we know whoever is behind it is feel threatened. They don't actually like the fact that the vice president declared his intention to throw his heart in the ring, and they feel that his presence is actually going towards their lifelong ambition. So to us, we feel his presence is for national interests. So whoever feels threatened should wait and go through the process. If they emerge or we emerge victorious, so be it. We all remain members of the same political party. We do know, I mean, we're well aware in this public knowledge, we all documented the relationship between Bola and Mettinubu, the so-called national leader of the All Progressives Congress and Vice President Yemi or Shibajo. Indeed, they have a political relationship. Some would even say that Bola and Mettinubu is the political benefactor of Vice President Yemi or Shibajo. Would you believe a narrative that says Mettinubu's supporters and loyalists are behind this poster is flooding Abuja and other parts of the country? You see, at this point, we don't want to hit up the polity. We actually, we don't want to throw allegation. We actually want to be sure who is responsible for this before we go all out and throw back our own sucker punch back at them. But we don't want to throw allegation at any camps so far. We believe in the capacity and integrity and character of our own candidate and we are selling him based on his integrity and character. We don't really care about who else is doing this or that, some other places. We just want to sell our candidate and sell him based on his merits and that is what we want to do. We want to play these politics as clean as it can be. Some people have pointed to the fact that Bola Mettinubu in one of his speeches recently said that he is ready to play dirty as far as the 2023 election is concerned. He's ready to get dirty, rather, as dirty as a pig. Do you think that people should hold on to that as a reason to say Bola Mettinubu or his supporters are behind these Jurassic Skyward posters? In our own context here in Nigeria, we go as low into the gutter to ensure we make a point or to discredit an opponent. But I think that is a very negative way to go. In Mettinubu, I think you talk more about yourself than talking about your opponent. I don't even want to call names here. I want to concentrate on the candidate I believe in. I don't want to mention any name. Whoever is responsible will meet at the primary election and if it's an opposition party, we will meet at the poll. Indeed, about three days ago, the media offices of both gentlemen we've mentioned on so far on the program, the media offices of the vice president, Yamio Shebajo, and the APC leader, Bola Mettinubu, the issues separate statements on 19th of April precisely warning the public to be well-plots by unscrupulous persons against their principles. These were separate statements. So when we hear the PYO through his office saying they are plots by unscrupulous elements, you don't know whether he is referring to Tinnubu or some other person. When we hear from Tinnubu's office that they are plots by unscrupulous elements, you don't know if he's referring to PYO or his group. So is it possible that someone like Professor Yamio Shebajo and his team can instigate something like this for political gain? You know, Prof. in his character is quite a gentleman to go about drawing negative punches at people, definitely. And all his supporters, all pro-Sibangian support group have also, they've imbibed that character to sell the Prof based on his merits and to ignore any tantrum and doubts from other opponents. So I don't think Prof referring to unscrupulous elements meant he's referring to any other camp. Probably he's talking about the media castigation or the media war that has been meted out on him wherever he goes. All over the media people have brought up accusations that are actually unsubstantiated anywhere. But the latest we're hearing is... Hello, hello. Alistair Wilcox, are you there please? Yes, I've joined. I've been waiting for you. Oh, fantastic, fantastic. Nice to have you. Before I come over to you, let me just quickly round this up with Gabriel. The latest is that your Shebajo support movement OSM, which I know you know the group we're talking about, is saying that they know the group behind the Judas who betrayed his master poster. They're saying this is the latest. This has been dragged over the last six days. The latest is that they're saying they know those who are behind this particular poster. And they've also gone on to say that in a statement that the prime suspect is an Abu Dhabiist graphics designer from Ocean State who has denied working for the former Lagos Governors campaign team. But they're saying that records of his phone chats with a member of the team contradicted his statement to the police. You know. Aditya Wambaba Tunde, who is director of media and publicity of the Shebajo support movement in the statement, claimed that chats and call logs of a suspect arrested this graphic designer by the security agencies indicate that a campaign team working for Tinibu was responsible for the posting of these what he called blasphemous posters. I think we will direct that question to Alesta Wilcoz. Alesta, what do you say to this? That they have discovered that the campaign team of Tinibu is behind this? Hello, can I hear you? Loud and clear Alesta, yes. Please go on. Thank you very much. I want to salute my brother who has started the program. I joined it so I'm not a member of any of the campaign group. I will speak like an observer. As an observer, what is happening within the politics, especially within the APC camp, and not even down to between Tinibu and the Shebajo, is very unfortunate. The issue of Judas and no Judas came up in the wake of Easter. The week of Easter. It started like a joke. All the social media has a lot of comedians. It was like, oh, this is the week when Judas betrays Jesus, and that's also the week. Prime Minister Shebajo was declaring his interest to run for the presidency and thus betraying Tinibu. So I took it as a laugh, of course. I laughed over it, and I never gained this much of a crown. But people should be as cheap as they could get. Two men involved here, and the vice-president there, they are no mean men in politics, in terms of support. Now in terms of Judas and Jesus Christ, he's not only blasphemous, he's very, very childish, and that would not give anybody any mileage. And that would only reduce the mileage of Hebajo. He wouldn't give any mileage. Sincerely. Maybe people would have to whip up sentiments. Yes, I might fall for it. I think the future is less, because I might be cheated towards that direction, but I don't think it would give any mileage. Just like I heard your other guest talking about, it's issues-based now, the post you've been talking about. If you ask me, am I happy that the vice-president is contested? I'm neither here nor there. I also know the sacrifices by the parliament Tinibu has made for the country and for the party, right from the summer of ACN. And I also know the vice-president March as the vice-president during the election. Some of the things that's made him to a man. But would that now stop a man from a surgeon, right? For me, I don't think so. And so anybody starting to judge us and to Jesus Christ, for me, it's rather too petty, too low, and it will even be a negative to anybody who is thinking about it. And I'm not worried about, I don't think the police has any issues, anything to do about chasing who, printing a poster. It's all over the internet. I mean, when Puhari was sick, his obituary was over the internet. I mean, even when his son had an accident, his obituary was over the internet. So those things do not matter because the internet has become a junkyard for all kinds of nonsense. So it shouldn't matter to anybody. Aleister, apart from being on the internet, these posters are also seen around Abuja? Yes, I mean, like I said, it's low, as far as I'm concerned, it's a low point in terms of an election campaign. Yes, of course, like the man said, like the man said, the policy itself is a dirty game. So people want to go to debt. But for me, it's not a low point of being debt. It's something that wouldn't give anybody a mileage. I mean, the posters are in Portugal right now. I'm not seeing the posters. Let it be in Abuja, let it be anywhere. Posters don't sell campaigns. Posters only help people. They really do not do not matter in campaigns. When they choose a brother, say for me, the two gentlemen have enough issues to sell themselves. They have supporters to stop all this madness. I think the supporters are talking about this problem. Aleister, you're blaming the supporters. You're blaming the supporters saying that they should stop this madness, as you put it. But the Tinnaboo support group, sorry, the bola of Tinnaboo media came out to say that he is not behind it. Their team is not behind it. That this is those behind the posters intend to provoke anger against the president's aspiration of Tinnaboo. But that has been proven wrong by the Oshiba support movement who are saying that they were able to apprehend the graphic designer behind this and that when the police went through his call logs, his chat, what they saw was that he was having WhatsApp interaction with a key member of the Tinnaboo campaign team. Well, it doesn't match for me. Yes, if the perpetrator is found and again, what are they finding him for? Is politics their play? What are they finding the perpetrator for? Is politics their play? And if you choose to call Oshiba Joe, it's politics. But it's no. But for a police to now start saying it's chasing whoever published that article. For me, it's also a distraction and not even the work of the police. If in political campaigns people have called names, people have called worst names, people have called all kinds of names in political campaigns. So I do not understand why the police are even searching who published that. But for me the gross off it is the fact that this thing is being done and perpetrated by the support groups. Sometimes it could also be the opposition. Because really, I would tell you for free the opposition is more happy that Oshiba Joe should run against Tinnaboo than even the real supporters of Tinnaboo, of Oshiba Joe. The opposition is more interested in the PYO sorry, even Oshiba Joe running against Tinnaboo than even the APC establishment is interested in them running. So as far as I'm concerned it could be the opposition and the support groups that are overzealous in the activities. So that is for me and I'll tell you it's a very low point in terms of the position. Because it has no issues it's just some of the yabis and the businesses that are tantrums that come to politics. And it's not for the police or anybody to judge this because it is mere political statements. I'll come back to you Idris Gibril. What do you think this says about the Tinnaboo campaign as a whole? But the media office, the same media office that came out to say that their principle was not behind this. From what we hear from the Oshiba Joe support movement they've seen records of charts phone charts between the graphic designer of this Judas poster and the media office in fact two key members of the media office for Tinnaboo. What does this say about the Tinnaboo campaign and their strategy? Well I think as much as the OSM decided to dig deeper to find out who is responsible for this which Alesta has actually said is actually unnecessary it's not necessary to go that deep to find out who is responsible for this. Definitely when a statement like this or when findings like this come out there will be a disclaimer. And the Tinnaboo campaign organization just disclaimed you know this support groups sometimes are overzealous they want to prove a point. They want to be seen that they are working towards this particular goal or for their particular candidate and sometimes they step out of line and sometimes they go contrary to the strategy that they have mapped out for themselves. I am not standing in for Tinnaboo campaign organization but I just want to believe that the person of Tinnaboo personally cannot come out and castigate Anushiba Joe. He has repeatedly spoke so vitiously about Usiba Joe. So I believe he will not come out and tell us today again that the same man has spoken so beautifully about that he is a Judas. So that is not Tinnaboo. He cannot do that. The records are out there in public. We can check it out. But Jibro, you aware that a week ago Bola Tinnaboo was approached by a reporter who asked him what do you have to say about your son who is contesting for the office of president and he vehemently responded saying none of my sons is old enough to contest for the office of president and some people took that as a very strong and hard statement against the vice president from his S1 political benefactor Bola Tinnaboo. So this picture you are painting about everything being between them, is it really the case looking at that statement by Tinnaboo? Well, the vice president, Professor Emeo Shiba Joe is not his son in that sense. I know so many statements like this can be given many interpretations, but I think their relationship is more of a mentor and a mentee, and this is the norm of politics globally. Tinnaboo himself was mentored by the late M.K. Wabiola and Wabiola himself received his mentorship from somewhere. So Tinnaboo gave Aroh Shiba Joe a chance because Aroh Shiba Joe was actually qualified and competent for the job. He was not just picked up given the favor. It wasn't a favor. He was given a job, a tax to accomplish and a tax he accomplished beautifully. And before even Tinnaboo he had other mentors who had exposed him to the legal profession and have taken him to higher grounds before Tinnaboo met him there and gave him attorney general of the state. So for Tinnaboo to say his son is not old enough to contest an election, I believe he's talking about his biological children and not his political associates. Alistair Wilcox some political observers, indeed members of the All Progressives Congress have said that Tower Q is the vice president of derailing from the plan the plan that was set in motion when he was pushed forward to represent the APC as a running mate to the flag bearer at the time candidate Muhammad al-Buhari. So some accused the vice president of derailing from the plan which was you're going there because Tinnaboo cannot go there. Tinnaboo himself has said that he could not be the running mate because that would mean a Muslim-Muslim ticket. So is the vice president biting the political hand that fed him? Well, I have always been an observer all my life. I have not been in the tick-and-tick of politics so I don't know how the positions think but from a casual observation and the king watcher and a king ardent supporter of the APC some of the issues that led to the emergence of the vice president is very clear to me and to so many people and to the entire public. Like he said it was obvious at the time that Tinnaboo contracted who was the major brain or arrow behind the APC and contracted him to be the president and even worked towards him a margin. Of course, he used all his all his what he calls as structures and everything. For example, Saga city to ensure that the president emerge. Of course, the idea was for him to be a vice president but most of the coming of years, most of the years the so-called Muslim-Muslim ticket could not last at that time. Of course, he has to nominate somebody and nobody would know the fact that he nominated only the vice president who haven't excelled as attorney general of Lagos State from 1997 and after that the vice president very very has been has just left he was not even in politics, he just left and was continuing his legal profession and Tinnaboo went and bring him back he was very competent and very competent and he can vouch for to run the office and of course, in all fairness, he did that so if there was an agreement between them and Lester Wilcox and several observers are not aware I'm sure even my brain is still not aware if there was any meeting discussions behind the scenes between the two men, of course which can also be inferred to have existed but my brain is still not aware because I'm not aware of any meeting that stays particularly you are holding this office in trust for me and all what not but looking at it from the general perspective and that's why I say I think the supporters are the cause of this problem I'm sure the supporters and the opposition are the cause of this problem looking at it generally I mean, natural common sense detect that look, if a man gives you an opportunity and as and then in the fact that the man is entrusted in an opportunity that you are holding in trust it's also fair that you don't bridge that trust politics or no politics mentor or no mentor mentee or no mentee father and son or no father and son if somebody has given an opportunity for you to excel in the position and that person needs that position I think it's also fair that natural justice and natural consequences that you don't buy that figure that fed you. I'm not saying I'm not saying in totality that the the vice president is a very competent man in all to his right but if you go and watch Echiti state, Echiti campaign 2014 the campaign in Echiti where actually what you said I am qualified for this position I am very the tape is there but for the interest of the country and for my party I stepped aside and pushed others forward. I think something like that I'm practicing it I mean Echiti campaign 2014 of the all political congress in Echiti I think 2014 I can't remember the exact time the video are all in there in there so this is a man that has made sacrifices so for people now for people now for people who do not know the little gritty of relationships between these two men for the people who are pushing either side of the party to break the both of each other I think it's not fair to even the vice president under Ashwaji himself I'm not taking sides in this issue both men are competent and Ashwaji is not a mean man in politics then he pushes over so he can even rightly say that none of his son is growing up enough to be the to challenge him for the presidency he has so many sons politically but if I may wanted to I'm also going to seek to contest so that's also his son and so if he says that he might have different meanings because this same man that has a beauty man and the way you are a beauty man I mean you cannot say that you are their father he doesn't have to be biological but as far as I'm concerned really it is the supporters and the largest in their position to create this issue between these two men these are two men that has gotten along in life very well so whoever is pushing each other I think they should stop and it's time that common sense should come nobody should begin to belight I mean belit to Ashwaji or belit to the vice president or begin to cast as passion on each of these two men these are men that have accomplished policies in terms of political sagacity Alissa thank you very much we can't forget that speech not push part in the will of their progress thank you Alissa and finally from you I'm sure you remember that speech where in the 2015 campaign Bola Mehtimud did indeed like Alissa saying say that he was qualified to be the vice president of Nigeria running mate to Mahavada Buhari candidate at the time but he decided to sacrifice so does this not therefore cast the vice president as a betrayer as somebody who is not a team player as somebody who probably is selfish and cannot be trusted and isn't loyal because he wouldn't be there if people were not said ok not at all not at all Kofi you see BCR candidates autobiography captured a lot of events for us to go back to maybe the event that happened prior to the merger of the ACN and ANPP and some of the legacy parties that met together to form the APC that book is rich with a lot of history for us to go through we understand very well and we appreciate the sacrifice that Teemud has made for the party and also for the emergence of vice president Yemi Oshibajo who asks people to go back to that book read it and see what transpired it was succinctly captured things that transpired were succinctly captured by BCR candidate who was the major player in the event of 2014 to the merger and to the emergence of APC in 2015 and he captured everything that transpired in his autobiography so I will ask audience and other people to go and read exactly what transpired between them and we know that the Muslim-Muslim ticket will not fly because the country is already polarized religiously so he was asked to nominate people no one behold none of his nomination was given Yemi Oshibajo according to BCR candidate's book so it was much later that Yemi Oshibajo came into the equation we appreciate what Teemud has done but none of this amount to betray we think the way we peddle the world betrayer we make young people like us start doubting who will take jobs from I think it does you think that Teemud didn't did not recommend Yemi Oshibajo to be the running mate to Buhari there were three names according to the book three names were recommended and there was a favorite and it was much later that people like BCR candidate and Muslim had to prevail over reasons that Yemi Oshibajo should be included in the list and sent to General Buhari to make his choice and those three names were sent to Buhari General Buhari made his choice and chose Professor Yemi Oshibajo so young people like us will start doubting who will take our jobs from because tomorrow when you want to grow somebody will say no you shouldn't go into this area this field before is going to amount to betrayer why should that be the field is quite large we have not actually gotten a candidate yet they are all aspirants within the political space within the political party until a single candidate emerge which we all are going to come together to support anybody that emerges in the party at this point the way we peddle the word betrayer if one candidate emerge alright alright we have to leave it at that I want to thank Yemi Oshibajo convener of the Oshibajo youth group I want to thank you very much for your time progressive youth groups I apologize thank you so much thank you very much for joining us Alistair Wilcox fantastic job how do you again today thank you for joining us on thank you for staying with us we will take a short break now when we return XP Kalvniger's house of representatives Yakubo Dogara sacked by a court we will look at that and the tricky things behind that