 Well, we are now being joined by Muhammad Abdul-Lahi for some of these burning issues ahead of the 2023 general elections. Hello, Muhammad. Good evening to you. Good evening, Nigerians. It's always my pleasure to be here. Okay. Well, let us start with the back and forth between the River State Governor Nisan Wike and the National Chairman of his party, the PDP. The PDP crisis has become quite phenomenal at this point. What's your take on this? Thank you very much for that question. For me, it's quite laughable that a comic that the leading opposition party in Nigeria is employed and engaged in such things that doesn't hold water rather than fight for how to compete favorably with the Incubant APC and the emerging powers of the Labour Party. The PDP has since enmeshed itself in a comic fight, and you really cannot blame anyone but the PDP itself because for a very long time now, since they took upon the mantle of opposition in Nigeria, they've really disappointed Nigerians in terms of the critique of the current government, of the current policies of this government and so on. So what they've been engaging on is like infighting. Having said that, I see both parties, I mean, the Governor Wike's side of PDP and as well as the National Chairman's side, I mean, the Chairman IU's side. You know, have on so many occasions breached some of the rules of partisan people will use that word because I remember two weeks ago or less, even Governor Wike endorses the governorship candidacy of another party, of course, whereas there's a PDP candidate here in Lagos. So, you know, it's just a back and forth which shows that the PDP, they are never serious, you know, and at this comic attitude of the party costs, the party, a whole lot of chances in the coming general elections, they should have no one but themselves to blame. So it's really, it's really unfortunate. Okay, well, same with the issue of elections, well, the issue of funding has been brought to four by Sarah, you know, asking the presidential candidates to publish their funding. And first of all, what does the electoral act say about campaign funds? Now, that's a very, very interesting question. We know before time or before now, it's one big challenge that we have to face in Nigeria, how we source for campaign funding. In fact, I remember IEK mentioning that even before campaign begins, campaign kickoff, we've had a whole lot of the parties. I don't want to mention a particular party now, but you know, a whole lot of the parties have already exceeded what is expected for parties to spend, you know, during campaigns. So it's quite challenging and it's one area, one great area that needed to be fixed. I can't categorically tell you what the electoral act says, but I know it's one challenge that IEK is really battling and facing because of our kind of system in Nigeria, you know, our kind of system of lack of accountability. So I think it's something that we need to be serious about. It's something that if there is no law backing what IEK has, we need to have a law to like punish people severely, you know, if they are not accountable, you know, in terms of what they get and how they get it, where they get it, you know, the sponsorship of funds for their campaigns. So it's quite disheartening, but I think I need to do more in order to checkmate what parties are doing, whether internally and externally, how to generate funds to service their campaigns. Yeah. OK, well, because time will not allow it to explore that further. Let's let's go into the campaigns or, you know, itself. The campaigns have officially begun. What's your assessment of the campaigns by the candidates, the major candidates so far? Would you say they are issue based? It's, you know, it's the regular back and forth of comic and satires. If I may use that phrase, you know, I see, like, for instance, two days ago, the supporters of a particular party uploading photos of the LB presidential candidate, perhaps allegedly sleeping, you know, at a campaign ground or at a particular palace. Same thing happened some two months ago as well, where a particular supporters of another party uploading the photos of the FEC flag bearers sleeping elsewhere. You know, it's been it's been non issue based. We have a whole lot of challenges in Nigeria, the issues of basically insecurity. I think that should be one thing that should be on the front burner in Nigeria. How these flag bearers intend to tackle insecurity. In fact, I was so disappointed yesterday, I listened to the presidential candidate of the LB in Nassaraste mentioning, you know, why Nigeria must always qualify for the before World Cup. And I know we are not born, but it's not our best right. You know, there are so many issues affecting Nigeria directly in Nigeria, like I mentioned insecurity, poverty, challenges of dilapidated roads and so on and so on. Even electricity, these are so many things that basic infrastructures that we want to hear about these candidates have to cover. But isn't it sad, though, that in as much as you said that they are not talking about this, they are talking about this since, but isn't it sad that time after time, these are the same things that politicians come to promise Nigeria. We've not moved from this level, water, light, roads. These are things that politicians time after time, election after elections, you know, come to promise us. What does that say about Nigeria's growth as a nation? Yes, you are right. They are not talking about it. And even if they are talking about it, we need them to talk more about it because we don't have them yet. I'm sure in your house, probably you provide your own water, you pay a megal to use that word, blah, blah, blah, and so on. In fact, you even generate your own electricity by having a generator. So we don't have these basic necessities. So in as much as we keep talking, we have to keep talking about these things because it is not yet available. So anyone that will come to provide Nigeria's 24-hour electricity today will become like a messiah. These are things that the developed world have gone past, even South Africa have gone past except now, even Ghana and so on. They've gone past probably five, six years ago, 10 years ago, and so on. Some developed world probably 50 years ago, but we don't have them. So if you have anybody coming to tell us, giving us the blueprint and making sure, telling us how he or she will provide these basic amenities, that person becomes a messiah. So we can't stop talking about this and it tells us that we are not going. In fact, it's like we are stagnated. So it's really important that this candidate tell us how they are going to achieve these basic necessities that Nigerians have been deprived. Yeah, Mohammed, when you listen to them speak, as much as they have spoken so far, as you have rightly also observed, we need to hear more from them. But if you go to their websites, you see some things in terms of manifestos. How do Nigerians sift out and determine who to trust among all these people who are promising them? How would you advise Nigerians to choose from these lots and their promises? Who to trust? I think it's simple, antecedents. I would say in my own opinion, antecedents. What he or she has done in the past is not necessarily that the person must have held an electoral office, an elected office in the past. No. Even as a private sector person, what has he or she contributed in terms of where he or she has worked in the past? What is the human capacity development of that person? When he or she held an electoral office, what did he or she do? So because you know, like you rightly mentioned, we've had a whole lot of promises back and forth. But I think the best way to trust people now is to say, okay, if you are promising me this, you were once governor in so-so-so, yeah, what did you do? Can we go back to Berry Park and check what you did? So that will spur us to give you our trust and then elect you in the forthcoming general election. So I think that is it. Antecedent for me is the bedroom of what Nigerians should look at in the forthcoming general election. And like I mentioned, antecedent doesn't necessarily mean political office. No. We have so many private citizens. What have they done that are buying office at this moment? Well, thank you so much, Mohamed Abdul-Lahi, for joining us to take a look at the forthcoming elections and the issues surrounding it. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.