 A weak endorsement of Songolou morally inappropriate says Atiku's aide Osita Chidoka. And our government attained a past mark with high-impact projects, says President Mohamed Bahari. And this is Plus Politics. I am Mary Annacombe. A special advisor to the presidential candidates of the People's Democratic Party, PDP Abu Atiku, and the party's presidential campaign council, PCC Osita Chidoka, has described Governor Nyesung Wike's endorsement of Governor Baba Jirai Songolou of Lagos State for a second term as morally inappropriate. According to Chidoka, the moral burden is more on the Wike, Governor Wike, than the PDP. And the party needs to review his processes and procedures. He said and I quote, Governor Wike has the liberty to do most of the things his doing because he has no skin in the game. In what would be described as an endorsement of the second term bead of Governor Baba Jirai Songolou of Lagos State, the River State Governor Nyesung Wike said Songolou had performed well and he had no regrets supporting him. He, however, remained silent on the People's Democratic Party's candidate, Alajide Adediron, popularly known as Jandor. Joining us to discuss this is Chidi Lloyd, the chairman of Emoja Local Government Area in River State. Honourable Lloyd, thank you so much for joining us. We're still discussing, of course, the endorsement of the Governor of Lagos State, Baba Jirai Songolou, by the Governor of River State, and again being joined by Dr Chidi Lloyd, who is the chairman of Emoja Local Government Area in River State, and Honourable Mushud Mayagun, vice chairman of the APC in Lagos State. Thank you so much once again, gentlemen, for joining us. Now, Dr Lloyd, before we lost the connection with you, I was about to ask, many people, including members of your political party and the Atikou Campaign Committee, have kicked against Governor Wike's stance on somewhat endorsing the Governor of Lagos State, especially being that Governor Songolou is a member of the APC. Can you tell us if you have any idea why the Governor did that? Well, Mayagun, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to react to this topical issue. We recall that Governor Baba Jirai Songolou was in River State some time ago at the invitation of the Governor of River State to commission projects. And also recall that Governor Songolou is also a Governor of the southern part of this country. And together, across party lines, they had met at different forums to emphasize the need for power to rotate to the south. The first meeting was held, of course, in Asaba, and the communique of that meeting was read by the vice presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party and Lagos State who said the next meeting. Now they have been a rapprochement at the level of the governor between the Governor of River State and that of the rest of the country, because River State has a lot to learn from Lagos State and vice versa. So if the Governor of River State honors the invitation of the Governor of Lagos State and looks at the mood of the people and says Songolou has gone very well in Lagos and that you do not need to change the winning team, that is his own opinion. I recall that the Governor of River State will not be voting in Lagos State on behalf of the governor seat election. And of course if the governor of River State goes on a different path, it is left for the voters to decide. The governor of River State can't really express his own opinion as to what is governor's experience, is his performance. If the governor of River State goes on a different path, why would the electorate re-elect him? So I do not see anything serious in the, you know, what the governor of the United States said. What we should be talking about is that the statements of the 50% of the country are clearly the importance of the euro bars and the e-bots. But of course, you know that it is that to form the public administration and not the collaboration between the governors. We have a presidential candidate to vote for him because of the matter and that results in the credential. And we are going to pass that. Those are those that should form the kind of discourse in your studio. But let's not deviate to that. Let's come back to this. Your governor is a member of the People's Democratic Party. In the middle. It's a very proud one. It's a very proud one. In the middle of an imbroglio. Let's not forget that your governor has and some of his supporters have withdrawn from the presidential campaign committee of your party, the PDP. But then you come to a state where you know that your political party has been struggling to find its footing, to even displace according to them. You know, the APC that has been in power for so long. And then makes such a comment. Do you not think that that's somewhat tantamount to anti-party practices? I'm just asking. I'm just wondering. You don't believe that the campaign of the PDP. It won't be so. You must situate what has happened. What were the demands of the political party and its team? The same flow. You cannot have a situation where you have all the organs that take the decision in the party come from one part of the country. These are come from the north. The director general of the substance of the north is only appropriate that the chairman of the party will come to the south. So that when we go to campaign, we will have what to tell our people. And another, it seems to portray the attraction of the governor of river state. You have the presidential candidate who wants to. That's not the other day. I made the kind of statement that they have described to him. Even to my chagrin. I thought it was not true. I thought he was quoted out of context until I heard him. Okay. I'm going to come to you now, Mr. Mayagun. You're a member of the APC in fact, the vice chairman of the APC here in Lagos state. Let's turn the tables. If this were your governor in a river state, oh, I think we lost Mr. Mayagun. Unfortunately, we lost that connection with him. But let me. Okay. Mr. Mayagun, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you now. Perfect. Like I said before, we lost that connection. You are the vice chairman of the APC in Lagos state. So let's spin the table. If your governor. Wait, wait, wait. Let me first correct the impression. I'm not the vice chairman. I'm deputy state chairman. Oh, you're the deputy state chairman. Yes, deputy state chairman. Okay. Great. So. Imagine if the governor, Songolou, went to river state and endorsed the governor of river state if he were to be running for a second tenet in river state, being that he's a member of the APC and there is an APC governorship candidate in river state in the person of Tonya Cole. How would that sit well with the APC in Lagos state and the APC in river state? Fine. Actually, I know that you are trying to choose the quest of any narratives simply because of what governor Wike has done in Lagos yesterday. Since then, what governor? I think that we also, again, lost the connection, Mr. Mayego. Do we have Mr. Mayego back now? Okay, Mr. Mayego, can you hear me? They've lost that connection. Back to you, Honorable Lloyd. Since we are unable to get the APC man. Honorable Lloyd, you're still taking me to what the presidential candidate of the PDP said at the Arawa forum in Kaduna state. But that's not the issue now. He wasn't in Lagos. He didn't attend a gathering of people in Lagos with the governor of Lagos state. He's not here. The issue that we're discussing. No, no, no, no, no. We will get there. We will get there. You will get your five minutes of fame to talk about that. But in the meantime, let's dwell on this. If the tables were turned, and for example, your governor was running for a second tenor and somebody else came from another party to endorse him. Or let's just say governor, let's say governor, we wanted to run for a second tenor. And somebody else came from, somebody from his party came to an APC event and endorsed the APC candidate, but he was a PDP person. Would governor Wike take that sitting down? I'm wondering exactly what played out in Lagos. If he played out in river states and the tables were turned, would governor Wike take it sitting down? I'm just curious. Are you there? Yes, I can hear you. I was beginning to wonder if this question makes everybody go silent. We all know he's not going for a second tenor. But I'm asking a question. If the same scenario were to play out, and if governor Wike were the one on the receiving end, how well will he take it? Yes, to answer you. Hello. I'm listening. Hello. I can hear you. I would only be able to answer you if I am governor Wike. I am not governor Wike. I am not governor Wike. I would only be able to answer you if I am governor Wike. I am not governor Wike to know how he would react if the table were turned away around. But it's just like asking Maryam, now on the 21st of this October, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would be conferring a distinguished award of the best infrastructure on governor Wike of the People's Democratic Party. It's just like asking the President, why would you do a thing like that? Every eye beholds the backshot call. Even the President understands that the governor has performed and has lived above the sentiments of party policy and understands that he's the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And he's going to give this well-deserved honor to the governor of the country. I think these are not the kinds of these words which we haven't. So you don't see anything wrong with the timing, the sensitivity of the situation that the PDP has found itself, especially with the governor at the center of it. And then of course with the southern caucus with the issue, because again, let's not forget, you have a governorship candidate in Lagos State. I'm just asking the questions here and I hope that you can help me answer. You have a governorship candidate here in Lagos State. Who's also running against Governor Sao Olu. Nobody is actually arguing with Governor Wike whether he thinks that Governor Sao Olu has performed or not. But when you say he will win, knowing that you have a PDP candidate in this state, does that not amount to anti-party? And does that not also look like your governor is pitching his tent already with the APC? No, it doesn't amount to any anti-party because the governor of previous state spoke as himself. He didn't speak as a party official. He didn't speak as the national chairman of the party. He went to honor the reputation of his colleague, who is of course doing very well in Lagos, and says that because he has performed, he was pleading that he be reelected. I do not see that as anything that we should cry foul about. Like I said, a good example is people will ask why is President Buare going to compare Governor Wike the best performance governor in terms of the past culture in Nigeria. This shouldn't be the kind of discussion we should be having at this time in Nigeria. We should talk about capacity. We should talk about performance. We should talk about delivery of the dividends of the good governor. Those should be the kind of people we should be having. And we should also be probing the kind of comments that were made by the presidential candidate of the Federal Democratic Party, Paduna, where he is now a public government president. You seem to be hung up on just one thing tonight. And it seems like you already have a narrative. You just want to talk about that. I'll move on to the APC Deputy Chairman. Mr Mayagou, welcome back. We lost that connection for a bit. Mr Mayagou, I ask the question. I hope you heard me. Unfortunately, I think we have lost that connection again. Okay, since you want to talk about the remarks of the presidential candidates of your party, I'd like to ask Mr Austin Chidoka has said that the governor of River State, a man of his stature, remember when we started this conversation, you said he's a strong member of the PDP. As a strong member of the PDP, should Governor Wieke's position not be trying to build the party up, trying to make sure that the party wins the election come 2023? And of course, winning means that it's going to show in his body language and the things that he says, or is that not a priority for the governor? Well, Mr Austin Chidoka did not make any mistakes when he referred to the governor of River State as a strong member of the political party. We remember shortly after the same district general election, a lot of those who had been elected. Also, some went and joined other political parties. He took the likes of Governor Wieke to remain in the PDP. Because he has no history of depression, so it was only political parties who remained in the PDP and salvaged what was left of it. And they made the PDP very attractive and a very formidable position in the country. And you go to logical Governor Wieke like him, you will not be able to fact that he is a very strong member of the People's Democratic Party. He is not in the party or to apply their flag in any relation. He is in the party because he lives in the party. He has never abandoned the PDP at any point in time. So he is a role to Mr Chidoka who is in his right. For the likes of Mr Chidoka, you don't see anything wrong in the cabinet declaration of the presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party. It is most unfortunate. I am very annoyed because we do not have time. Do you see Governor Wieke making a U-turn of sorts? Meeting the party, whether it be the chairman of the party, your presidential candidate, members of the board of trustees, on this particular issue that the Southern Caucus has been pushing for, do you see a U-turn happening anytime soon as we head to the elections? The issues are clear. The governor of the United States and his team have made demands until the party meet those demands that we will be talking about what we should do. The issues are clear. We need to start making decisions in the room of the PDP. That is our demand and we are ordered to work on that. Okay. Well, I want to say thank you. Chidi Lloyd is the chairman of Emonha local government area. He is also a former member of the River State House of Assembly. Thank you so much for speaking with us. We appreciate it. All right. We'll take a quick break now. We apologize for all the hiccups. When we come back, we'll be talking about the president's self-appraisal the president had spoken about how well his administration has done in the past few years. Thank you.