 On the recently concluded Anambara State Election, APC candidate Andubar has said he has grounds to challenge the election. And the federal government expresses excitement over the delisting of Nigeria from the U.S. religious freedom, blacklist. This is Plus Politics, I am Mary Anacorn. Andubar, the All Progressive Congress candidate in the just concluded November 6th Anambara State Governorship Election, has stated that the preliminary checks showed that he has grounds to challenge INEX declaration at the tribunal in line with the electoral process. He cautioned members of his party not to engage in finger pointing and blame game as to what went wrong but remain focused. While Chukumasa Ludo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance won 19 local government areas, Valentino Zigo of the People's Democratic Party and Yifan Yuba of the Young Progressive Party won one each. The APC candidate however did not win any of the local government areas in the South East State. Joining us to discuss this is Sidon Adidumbahi, the Anambara State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment. Thank you very much, Mr. Adidumbahi, for joining us. Thank you, Mary Ann. Great. It's interesting. I mean, I don't think we have spoken after the elections that happened in Anambara State, of course. Every single person is looking forward to when the governor-elect will be sworn in. But there obviously have been certain events that have taken place right after the elections. We know that the PDP candidate had congratulated Mr. Soludo, but of course, Andy Yuba seems to be holding on to something. He has said, and like I stated at the beginning, that he does have grounds to go to court. What does APCA, of course, the government of Obiano has to say about this? Because of course the government was in support of Soludo. We're a deletion observer. We are preparing to have a new administration by March 17th. As it is, Andy Obama's thread is enduring. In this case, nobody supports him. The International Community Monetary Election and the International Monetary Presidency by the EU and UK delegation is quite impressed by the processes throughout the media, local and international. We're there. We're impressed by a lot of civil society groups. We're impressed. And all the political parties, including the ABC, starting with the national leader of the ABC, President Muhammad Bukhari, who's only congratulated me now, but he says he's looking forward to working closely with Professor Soludo towards the development of not just an umbrella state, but the entire Southeast. That's a very significant statement. So the budget that came second, the GDP has accepted because we've defeated it. Andy Yuba, who's better than his friend? He's becoming a very bad sour loser. In any case, let's face facts, Andy truly is not a candidate of the ABC. The ABC did not have a candidate in that relation. But I'm sorry, what do you mean by he was not a candidate of the ABC? He was on that ticket as a candidate of the All Progressive Congress. So I do not understand what you're driving at. He was a candidate of the ABC. Yes, you and I know very well that on Thursday, November 6, 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja was going to give a package on the seats brought by George Moore, the managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority and one of the founding members of the ABC and Yuba's lawyer, wrote to the court and recently pleaded, please don't give this document. If you give it, it will have a very negative consequences for us since we have participated in that election. In that case, she's more than six to the letter the ABC has brought candidates because there was no primary election held on June 26, 2021. There were no electoral materials and there was no attempt to bring them, not one single person voted. The person who brought the ABC to Anand Prestates, Dr. Chris Gignier, who is also the former governor of Anand Prestates, a worthy one, and the Minister of Labor has announced that he did not vote not one single person in Anand Prestates votes and therefore the ABC has brought candidates in that election. For these reasons, on two occasions, Yuba announced that the president will attend his flag-off. The president refused because he didn't want to canonize the liberty. On the third occasion, Yuba announced that the vice president would attend the flag-off. The vice president was not anywhere near because as a pastor of a Christian church, he knows this would kill a mortal blow to his personal integrity if he seemed to be associating the public with people who came about in the most despicable manner. In other words, the ABC has brought candidates. I'm asking you, did you see any ABC governor coming to Japan for Anand Yuba? Did you see one single ABC senator? Did you see one single ABC minister? Did you see one single person from the presidents? The ABC did not have a candidate and regards Anand Yuba as not having the local standing to speak. Talking about the alleged fake YG results, I'd like to quote the lawyer to Anand Yuba. He'd say that any controversy regarding the name of his client, the result in question, was resolved when he, Yuba, swore an affidavit that captured the changes. So as far as he's concerned, that is a non-issue. What if a change is forgery? Is a non-issue? I'm quoting his lawyer. I'm asking you, wouldn't you know the homeowner of Charger Bell lawyers around him? Who had extra money from Anand Yuba? Somebody said he wrote the school site in 1974 and he said he wrote senior certificate. That's what he called it, even though he means senior second of year certificate that came into existence in 1989. So how could he have written it in 1974? He said he wrote further marks, by 1974, there was not like further marks by white, further marks was, it was called additional mathematics. And he said it was a school in Enubu State in 1974. There was no Enubu State in 1974, not even Anand Press State. What he had was 19th by 1974, was East Central State. By the way, can I pick up another mark? Anand Yuba said he was born in December 1958 and he wrote his school site in May, June 1974. That means he was 15 and a half years when he wrote his school site. But somebody coming last in every subject, this is very funny. But worse than this, is that Anand Yuba lost three years during the civil war. From 1957 to 1974, there were no secondary schools in Biafra that were open. In other words, if not for the civil war, Anand Yuba would have written his school site at the age of 12 and a half years. In what I'm saying in fact, is that the day, the year he claims to have been born is false and forged. If you have not been born in 1958 and wrote his school site in 1974, after losing three years during the civil war, it's not possible. Let's move on to... Anand Yuba. Yes. I'm actually... I don't want to waste so much time on it. I wish you could ask me questions how we are preparing. Well... Anand, please turn around. Definitely. We will get to that point. But let's quickly move on to what his lawyer again, speaking about the grouse that they have about winning one or several local government areas. He says that's not his grouse. That his grouse is that they discovered that INEC had a loss of irregularities during the elections, during the conduct of the election. They're saying that INEC was grossly understaffed, number one, in so many polling units that social media, social media, social media, social media, polling units, that so much so that the elections did not hold. He said, we have 5,720 polling units and in most of them, INEC did not conduct elections at all. This is what the lawyer said. He described the elections as one of the worst ever conducted in the history of Anambra and said they would ask the court to nullify it. Can you tell me how many places where the elections did not take place? How many polling units or what? Well, he used the word several. You know, there are a lot of people who just make you money from Anambra and you buy so much money through Anambra and these guys kill is an opportunity to make money from him. And I say things which not one single journalist, whether local or international, can collaborate, not one single international observer, not one single local observer, not one single political party, not even a piece. So from where are they getting these ideas? I'm asking you. Well, this is the case that they're making. The whole thing is absurd. And I think everybody has said the freest election, the fairest, the most transparent for which reason the people and government of Anambra state have congratulated President Bari. This is extremely called for the APC, or particularly a new party to read that election because of the new technology by a medial voter of the education system. It's extremely good for them. They did everything to read on each occasion. They were found out and they were caught in their tracks and some of their cases actually before the police. I will give you two examples with my own local government area. And from me here. On Saturday, April, as the election was going on, the APC wrote a fake election result. Brad and the officials tried to smuggle that election result around this time. Seven o'clock that very day they were caught. The name of the electoral officer who collected the thing to smuggle it in is Paul who called on Jack the electoral officer and in the gym of Enubu I need to talk a little bit here. The police are resetting I can show you the video right now go through. And I said to the police it's going to be a prosecutor who in whose role did he try to write the election result and who grabbed him and he took place in my hometown. So I'm giving you full disclosure. We're not hiding anything. On Tuesday, 9th November on the day they had the election in the local government area. My own local government area. And Yuba was threw out to the home of someone who I don't want to mention but everybody knows him. A very controversial politician all he was trying to do there was to rig the elections. The police got their report moved in, arrested folks in several buses. I repeat, arrested these dogs in several buses before they could use these dogs to disrupt the election and these dogs are today in the city. Let me ask you a question. I hope you are aware that from September 28 which was on a one essay for the whole month that APC did not conduct any deletionary campaign. They said that we are afraid of security issues and unrest. We all laughed at us by saying that there was no security in Henan they were actually indicted the president who is the leader of the party who is the commander in chief of the armed forces and to whom all intelligence and security agencies in Nigeria reports. But who important he? He was campaigning everywhere. He was the first thing he did as you know very well on March 31 he lost three of his police orderlings yet he kept on campaigning. We lost the chairman of ABDA in World War I we continued to campaign we did not stop. We are not afraid of anything. We campaigned in all government area and you are about to campaign in all government area. He ran away so how would you expect people to take hand you back and this group? Seriously? Do you even see one minister there? Did you see one senator? Did you see anybody from the presidency? Is party people deserted him because he is an imposter? He was not a candidate of the party. The APC have looked at that in that election in the next few days the federal high court formally nullify his candidate therefore hand you back we cannot we cannot preempt the court so we will wait for that judgment to take place but let's move away from that and talk about let's not discuss issues that are in the court hand you over who preempted the court to stop the court and give that judgment on November 4th we will we will run away from the courts you know what they did. Let's move on to the governor elect now that's the man of the hour like I said at the beginning all eyes are on Chukuma Soludo and the plans that he has spoken about that he has for now a number has had very interesting governors and now of course the Obiano government is grinding to its halt but let's talk about Soludo you know that government is supposed to be a continuum but in Nigeria that's not necessarily the case because you see governors coming with brand new ideas and just where the predecessors had stopped there's no continuity we hardly see that do we see I mean you campaigned for this man you've been everywhere with him do we see him continuing some of the policies and programs of the Obiano government that would help to bring some form of progress about in an amber state well that is the only difference from the other political parties let me please come back to a statement in May the Obiano administration is grinding to its halt I think the more appropriate thing to say is the Obiano administration is feeling strong delivering an airport just commission built in less than two years one of the best in the whole of Africa international airport without a couple borrowed from any bank anywhere in the world that's a record is that airport functioning now as we speak well functioning but very soon we start commercial operations I've met all the requirements I repeat all the requirements for commercial operations the operations were suspended for security reasons because of the threats by some non-state actors to stop deletion now deletion is over here we expand the office of the international security advisor to say please go ahead we expand operations no more threats to the passengers and no more threats to the airport or any of the quick can I inquire quickly can I address your question of continence continence please yeah before we get to that I just want to probe you a bit about the airport I haven't been to that airport I haven't been to that airport what is the road network like to that airport because I hear that it is located somewhere in the hometown of the governor yes the governor from Anguilere the airport is nowhere which is a memory community incidentally the airport was originally marked as to be at all back in Idemili San Gokul province since 1962 by the federal government when when somebody was the minister of aviation it was taken away from our bank to the present location by the administration of PTOD which is from Agolo in a new channel of the government area the total development area PTOD got a land there is some part of the conversation about the project the present administration came into being and received work on it and completed it so about road network fantastic we have just delivered a what do you call it highway express work on a road from across the junction complete with street lights set of light to the airport beautiful we are going to start another realization program from the airport to the right furniture so the two road to the airport one has been completed the other is about to start now can I address the question of continuity we do not talk about continuity in Abdul we call it the first scenes what are the first scenes the first scene is continuing the second scene is called completes the third scene is called commission the fourth and final scene is called commence the first scene is continuing complete and commissioned projects inherited from your predecessor the fourth scene is commence your own projects and programs it is on the basis of this philosophy and policy there is a lot of projects inherited from you to me have been completed and I will give you one example the Abdulik hotel it is a a beautiful five-star hotel I'm sorry how is a hotel a project that would benefit the people of Anambara state I'm confused it's a hotel it's not a hotel did you just say a hotel I say a hotel in this hotel on the lake on the famous Abdulik it did only the foundation that's about five percent how does this benefit Anambara people wow I will explain starting with the employment the rate of employment indirect employment there are people who distributors water food stuffs and they get the money from there they generate taxes and that's a lot of work they get the money from there beyond that development of tourism tourism is the biggest employer of labor all over the world and what important we are talking about Anambara what is Dubai with the Alps is five-star hotel 7-star hotel in Dubai what is Dubai with the international conference center we are about to deliver the biggest international convention center in Africa the city capacity is 13,000 the biggest in a lot of Africa I'm hearing that we have to go we have just a few minutes I'm sorry Mr. Gumbak we have to go quickly I want to ask this question again what should Nigerians and of course Anambarians look forward to in the Saludo government quickly two things that are related number one quality of governance Anambara has raised the standard of governance for the first time we have a former central bank and the second is the government most president Mr. Gumbak are you there I think that we have lost that connection but Sidona Gumbak is the information commissioner in Anambar state and I want to thank him for being part of the conversation unfortunately we lost that connection but thank you all for staying with us on plus politics next we are talking about Nigeria being removed from the US list of countries with religious freedom concerns we are talking about it stay with us