 President-elect Bola Tinubu has told the presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP Attiku Abobaka, and his party that that petition against his victory at the February 25 presidential election constituted a gross abuse of the judicial process. Tinubu, in a preliminary objection, filed against Attiku and PDP's petition dated March 21, stated that it was wrong for the petitioner to approach the tribunal with the same issues they had earlier filed at the Supreme Court. Tinubu dismissed Attiku as a serial loser, saying he has been losing presidential polls since 1993. Also within the PDP, the governor, Yesom Wike of River State, who is the leader of the G5, has said that giving the governorship ticket to the People's Democratic Party PDP in Kogi State to Dino Melae is dead on arrival. As according to him, Mr. Melae does not have what it takes to be a governor. Mr. Melae, on the other hand, the spokesperson of People's Democratic Party presidential campaign council PDP PCC, is aspiring to become the governor of Kogi State in the 11th November election. And speaking in a media chart at Potakon on Tuesday, Mr. Wike said he was aware of the efforts by PDP to manipulate delegates list in Kogi State to favor Mr. Melae, a former senator from the state. Joining us live to discuss this is Angu Ongu, not Central Zonal Coordinator at Tiku Support Organization, and also a member of the PDP. Welcome to the program. Thank you very much. It's good to have me in your studios again. It's good to have you. You've even been here. Yeah, let's begin with the statement of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, that the petition before the court by the PDP and its presidential candidate is an abuse of the court processes. What's your response to that? It's unfortunate that the president that we feel to call his president a let, not a let now, we make such a very frivolous statement. But we're also in the sense that they are speaking as if they own the courtrooms. The judiciary is a totem of government and should be respected. So it's not a personality clash or a personality context for him and Bola Tinubu to go out of his way to be doing name calling. It's unfortunate, but we on the side of the PDP are saying that, look, it is a droning man holding on to every straw he can find. Our case before the presidential election petition tribunals is watertight, and Nigerians are looking up to the judiciary, being the last hope of a moment to see that justice is done, because there are germane issues raised in that petition. And it's surprising to Nigerians and myself that Mahmoud Yakubu is still at the hems of affairs at the Independent National Electoral Commission, because what happened on the 25th of February, it's akin to an embroidery, what they call, you know, haste, is akin to an embroidery attack in a bank, and we want to call it an electoral haste that are sticking place in this country. And Mahmoud Yakubu will go ahead and allows an election or a vote that clearly did not follow guidelines. And in your opening, you see Mahmoud saying that a petitioner is wrong by petitioning, that is the petition of the Labour Party, that it lacks merit. But like I said, we are before the court, and we in the PDP are before the court, and the PDP are confident. And Nigerians are watching the judiciary very carefully to see that justice is done. So what are the strongest points that you say your case is watertight? What are the strongest arguments that you have going forward into this case? One of the arguments is this. The constitution is very clear. Other liberal luminaries have come out to say that look for you to be declared a president-elect. You must have scored, apart from having the highest votes cut, you must have met the criteria of having 25% of the vote cast in the federal territory. The FCT Abuja, Mr Ahmed Bola Tidobu, did not meet that criteria. And even when there were voices that the coalition of that presidential result should be stepped down, Mahmoud, Mahmoud Yacobu still went ahead to say, look, nothing was to be done. But this was the same man that came out before the whole world, holding different press conferences. To tell Nigerians and the whole world, look, elections are going to be uploaded to the beavers right from the polling unit. They build confidence in Nigerians. And a lot of Nigerians went out to elect their leaders. But the result, we have all seen, is not a reflection of what Nigerians went out there to vote. Because it is so surprising that the people that won an election are protesting. I don't know why they are protesting. They have gone to occupy the unity fountain in Abuja protesting. You win, you are won. You should be rejoiced in not protesting to, I don't understand. But that is one of the criteria. Bola Ahmed Tidobu did not meet 25% in the FCT. And election results were mutilated across over 179,000 polling units. And those are the issues. The PDP, through its presidential candidate, Alaji and Tiko Abubaka are presenting before the PEPT that this issue should be looked into. So the APC should wait, should make their submissions before the court. And they should stop this issue of doing media trial. I know it's a stock in trade, trying people before the media. But we are waiting for the court. In a few days from now, the courts are going to sit. The presidential election and petition tribunal are going to begin sitting. And all of the cases will be looked based on merit. Okay. Well, everything is subject to interpretation by the courts of law. How much the power of argument, in some cases and all that, we are here and watching to see what the interpretation will be. Then we will understand whether A is A and not B, as the case may be. But let us go back to the PDP itself. It seems there is some kind of deja vu. What we saw before the election is still playing out in some ways because no matter how it is, whether the presidential election was lost, there is still hope in the number of people that can become governors under the umbrella of the PDP. And houses of assembly or national houses, anyone that is still to be contested for every party is hoping to still win something. Now, a candidate or an aspirant has come out from a Kogi state in the person of Dino Melae. He's not a candidate yet. It's an aspirant. Yet somebody from faraway Potakot, a river state, is saying that he has insight into the workings of Kogi PDP and that it's child's play if they are going to give to Dino Melae, who eventually was a spokesman of the PDP, a high-ranking member of the PDP and a governor of the PDP, still fighting. Just like the G5 fought with the Tikua-Bubaka and a lot of people have said it resulted in the kind of results that we had and that's why Tikua-Bubaka lost. It has started again. What is PDP doing about this fight within the party that seems to portray the party as the party's whose center, borrowing the words of Chino Achebe, cannot hold anymore and things have fallen apart? It is quite unfortunate the wranglings going on within the People's Democratic Party. And those wranglings have been around one Govno Nyesom wiki and from his last outing around the Kogi election that is to hold by the 11th of November, clearly shows that he's an interloper. I've watched his interview. I also read and watched the reply of Senator Dino Melae to him and we the younger people in the party ashamed when elders like Wiki that are supposed to guide the younger ones directly and doing everything to pull down the party. And Wiki it is the same party that made you whatever and whoever you are. So why pull the rug on the feet of the same party that made you? It is quite unfortunate but I would like to say that look Kogi politics is different from that of a reverse state and Kogi people are going to decide the delegates by Sunday are going to decide who their governorship candidate for the PDP will be and that will not be decided in reverse state. So Govno Nyesom wiki is to stay clear of Kogi politics. It should allow the people to do their local politics by themselves. Him saying that Senator Dino Melae is not qualified to be the governorship candidate for that for the party in Kogi state is it's most unfortunate comment to have come from him because Senator Dino Melae is highly qualified. It has all the credentials necessary for him to context for the president well sorry for the governorship even for the president of this country. He has all the credentials. This was a one-time senator two-time senator of the federal republic of Nigeria. This was a one-time house of rest member. This was a one-time special assistant to the president of this country on Utah first during the tenure of general. So what stops Dino Melae what makes him not to be qualified to be the president or the governor to contest the governorship of Kogi. Dino has all the credentials and just like he would say if he wiki can become governor right Dino also can become governor because putting them side by side they've all paid their dues in politics they've all had one position all the other in their political career and in one way or the other they've been able to distinguish themselves. So governor on this on wiki issues stop these politics of a of a crimony when someone is not on his side and Dino we come out to say and look because I didn't side you to become a president and I didn't give words for you to be picked at the vice presidential candidate that is why you are making this noise you called me 19 times you know Dino kept those records and I'm praying that maybe soon he should give us a voucher of this 19 times of no wiki called him. So politics should be devoid of bitterness or personal ego and the moral flexing. So wiki should stay clear of Kogi politics. I like Kogais to choose their leaders by themselves because nobody Dino was not you know an interloper in his own state so he shouldn't interlope and you know we say look this was the same man that supported me in 2019 what has changed the only thing that changed is because I didn't support you to be the president of this country I supported a larger article that is my only problem with you now. So I'm advising of no wiki that we the younger people are not totally ashamed about some of his latest outing about the party. He shouldn't destroy the PDP for us. He has used that same vehicle to attain everything he has attained in this life. So why would he want to destroy that vehicle when some other younger people are on board? He shouldn't destroy the PDP. There is there is a recurrent question that everybody asks. Yesom wiki is one man and PDP at one point in the history of this country was a judge to be the largest political party in black Africa. It remains the largest political party in black Africa. Yeah okay granted why people still keep asking what does wiki have on the PDP that he cannot even be disciplined because I remember that recently even someone as high ranking as Anjim Pius Anjim and so many other people were sanctioned. The Ben West state governor was supposed to face a disciplinary committee and do you know who let the G5 was not touched? We didn't hear anything about it. What kind of role does he have on PDP that he remains untouched? And that is the question we should be asking the NWC of our party because this man has engaged in several anti-party activities, has made several inflammatory comments against the party and that he's not disciplined up to now. It's surprising to me and I don't think it has anything against the PDP as it were but it is I feel it is the leadership of the NWC that is not pragmatic or proactive in disciplining Governor Wiki because he's not the only man in that party even if he has contributed the whole of reverse money to the PDP he shouldn't be treating the party the way he's treating the party as are today. He shouldn't be demarcating the PDP the way he's demarcating the PDP the way he goes about it in the most brazen manner. He goes about demarcating the PDP in the most brazen manner and it's surprising that up to today the NWC has not called him for discipline or for questioning but you understand that he also ran to court to say that they restrained the PDP or any of our agents from disciplining him. You tell that he knew exactly what he's doing and he's looking for lacunas within the law to hide on that but like I said before Wiki should not destroy the PDP for the younger generation But having this panel Because if the government had me used to attend anything in its life it shouldn't destroy the PDP for the younger people I don't know with such power that he seems to have we go back to the Kogi election and you're saying that tomorrow on Sunday the congress will be held or what the primary election will be held for to choose who is going to represent the PDP don't you fear that since it's still within the time that he is in office and controlling whatever he has been controlling to help the PDP grow in other places he could be a very very great influence in the Kogi election Have the PDP grow in other places? Well what would I say? It supports us in Osho State and Governor Delike won So we have indices and data of where he put his hand in the PDP And PDP also lost in Cross River He supported the PDP candidate and he lost to the APC woefully He didn't support Adelike in Osho State and Adelike won None of the G5 governors was present during the campaigns Ibn She'imakile for your state that is enabled to Osho did not attend the campaigns What Adelike won? So what are we talking about? It is your ability to convince the electorate If you are able to convince the voters if you are able to go to the Adulter Give them a convincing blueprint of what you want to do for them Then we vote for you So we cannot sit in a river state and dictate anything that happens in any other state Or even seem to rejoice when any other thing happens in any other state So that is very far from it The contestants of the PDP are already talking to the delegates Already they are bringing them, already presenting their blueprint for the transformation of Kogi State To them and we believe that by the special grace of God By Sunday a credible candidate will emerge for the PDP That will wrestle power from the failed APC government in Kogi State And give Kogi State dividends of democracy That is what the PDP is known for The PDP gives the people dividends of democracy They bring governance closer to the people And that is what I believe are very highly qualified candidates Of the PDP there that are going to deliver Antenato Dino Melae is one of them And he towers high above several and many of the candidates That are presenting themselves to serve the good people of Kogi State So I believe that the family is in touch in Kogi And Kogai, we do the writing We the PDP family there will let a candidate And give them a candidate And won't be the foes by November I'm hopeful that the PDP is going to have a landslide victory Just a quick one From 1999 till 2014 PDP towered above every other party And it was, it had this pride that the internal mechanism that solves problems Was so tight and that is why everybody was staying in line Now after 2014 from 2015 till now Like a lot of people have said PDP has not done well as an opposition party What happens to the PDP's mechanism of solving problems? Because whether we run away from it or not We know that that problem of the G5 And so many other things that happened Give PDP a very bad name So what happens to the PDP? We discuss some of these issues The parties Can you still hear me? I can't hear you We've discussed some of these issues before And that they have Particularly financial autonomy Is because most of those governors Contribute hugely financially to the political parties And they feel that they have the political parties at the back of their pockets And that is one of the reasons why I believe someone like me, Sambuki Will not be quickly disciplined By the party leadership Because if we hear story that he bought Prado Jeep for this person He bought this one for that person He bought this one for that person And it's very clear in the Bible also That there are times you refuse gifts So that your judgment will not be be clouded So the parties need to be financially independent Party members need to learn how to pay dues to the party Right from the world level You know So that is what I believe is one of the problems The party needs financial independence The parties don't need to be at the uproarmed streams of state governors Moving forward Supplementary elections are coming What are the chances of PDP? We are fully prepared Our candidates have gone back to the field within this Three weeks break we had To talk and convince the electorates to vote for them And I believe that in Kirby, in Sokoto, in Adamawa We are hopeful to cringe some of the many seats available That of the governorship in Adamawa particularly Okay The cemetery vote In Sokoto and Kirby We are hopeful We are going to come out victorious And I want to use this opportunity to advise The military and INEC to do the right thing The military should not be joining Miniaturizing elections INEC should do the right thing INEC should not be seen to be a bias empire INEC should be seen to be unbiased In despite of their duties Okay, thank you very much We can only wish you good luck In whatever election comes up next Whether supplementary or one-off thing Or off-season election We can just wish you good luck Thank you so much Angu for being part of this Thank you very much Good evening Thank you very much Thank you Okay Thank you Thank you We've been talking with Mr Angu Ongu Not Central Zonal Coordinator at Tikku Support Organization And also a member of the PDP We're talking about the internal wranglings Within the PDP And so many other things around the party We'll take a short break now And when we return We shall be discussing the APC's request To dismiss the Labour Party's election petition And also the supplementary elections holding Soon In fact, in the matter of hours Stay with us