 The south-west arm of the People's Democratic Party has joined the push for the resignation of the national chairman of the People's Democratic Party, Iorcha Ayu, notable south-west members of the PDP told on Saturday that with the all-progressive Congress peaking its presidential candidate from the south-west in the person of Bola Tinibu, the PDP would also need an influential politician from the region to be the party's chairman. There are demands from the Camp of Governor Nisun Wike of the River State for Ayu to resign as the party's chairman. The demand was among the conditions given by the Wike team, who is still being aggrieved over Tiku's refusal to pick him as a running mate. Already, Wike and Tiku have begun meeting with a view to ensuring that a compromise is reached before the commencement of its campaigns next month. Also speaking to a former deputy national chairman of the PDP, Chim Bode George, he said, Ayu must leave immediately in the spirit of fairness. While joining us to discuss this is John Shwaibu, he's a member of the People's Democratic Party. Mr. Shwaibu, it's good to have you join us. Thank you. Great. What exactly is going on within the party at such a time where the party should be trying to put his house in order? It seems that things are falling apart. Can you paint us a picture of what's really going on? Well, thank you, Mr. Galeon, thank you for saying it. Well, I'm going to talk about the party. I must tell you that because the party had a hard time trying to do it, how it works out seems like a crisis, and of course, we must understand that in a normalization, there will be a certain standard of the crisis that should be resolved. That's why we also have a crisis management. So what is happening with PDP, you know, something that's akin to what it should be, but it's something that we didn't say, that has to do with the group of people and association, you know, or it was a party. So it's not strange as it were. It's a party that has its own organic mechanism that resolve issues. Yes, we can take it away that we are going to provide interest across. When politicians or politicians are of our interest, the interest could be positive or negative. So that is what we must understand. Well, if anybody is involved, they come together at the group of people, there's a leak, passion and all that, then it's from the party. We translated the pre-community time in the 6th century, even in Europe and America. So the crisis we have in PDP is not something that cannot be resolved. And I can tell you and guarantee you is the process of resolving this issue is ongoing. And I can tell you PDP will come stronger than that. It's interesting to know that the people concerned about this is actually opposition, the ruling party. I guess they are scared. No wonder they keep going to a product called trying to bring up headlines that kind of for PDP as the crisis ruling party. So for us as the party, we're strong, we're working out our challenges, which I believe will come. So APC will have a shock of their life. They've ended up turning this nation into a nation of crisis, a nation where people are afraid of their shadows, a nation where people go hungry. So they should not concentrate on PDP's issues because we're coming out strong and there's no problem I can guarantee you in PDP that cannot be resolved. It's just an issue of family challenges and it will be resolved, I can guarantee you. It's very interesting that you, I mean it's a very fine and dandy way to put it, but it's interesting when you accuse the ruling party of being the one who's spreading this rumor. But then I'm beginning to wonder, Chief Buddy George is a senior member of your party and he was quoted to say that of course the party chairman needs to resign in the interest of fairness. Are you trying to tell me that Chief Buddy George, who is well known as a PDP member, has some leanings with the APC, is that the accusation that you are making? Because these are members of your party speaking up against the chairman, meaning that they are obviously not happy with how things are going, but I'm very interested in how the APC comes to play in this. Well, for Chief Buddy George, we're respected by the member, the guilty member, someone we're respected in the party, someone that we know we hold in high esteem as a party man. Yes, he's bound to expose his own, all his own feelings about what is going on. And I can tell you, the chairman, who is a party man who is strong, who is reasonable, responsible, he'll do the need for what the time comes. Of course, we have the tiny bit of it from the nut, and it just behooves on us to do what is needful when the time arises for us to have a change in the structure of the party. So it's not so mainstream, for me, I look at it as something that we should concentrate more on what the challenges are ahead of us. Let's come as a family to work this thing out, get the center, and of course, PDP didn't mean as it is, we need what to do to ensure that the right thing is done so we can have a swap to the south when the time arises. So I guess, rather than hitting on the policy, we should be able to resolve our issues right now for Chief Buddy George. Yes, he's right. We have a candidate from the north and we need someone from the south to stay the ship of the party, which I believe the neck hitting that was supposed to be addressed so I will be deep into it. I believe they were addressed and we can be assured that at the end of the day, the party will come out stronger. So, but PAPC is actually on top like this. At my headlines, they bring out, you see nation, PDP, this, PDP, that. I can assure you, they're only catching the news. They will never catch PDP nothing. Let me let's backtrack a bit and talk about the option of the governor of Delta State as your party's flag bearer is running mate. I mean, this is obviously also at the center of some of the things that would be discussed at the next meeting. What do you say that the agreement or the grievances of the Governor WK team is at the core of the problem that the PDP is facing today? And what are your thoughts on that particular issue? Actually, I believe that our candidate, Elijah Tupobaka, has actually touched on these issues and we all know to choose a vice to you or to walk with you is your choice, a priority. Every other person that was nominated, a respectable man, someone who is a party man, strong, someone who is a mobilizer, or dumb, all men in their own rights are comfortable. But then, choice is choice. It is choice that we should be able to respect that and then walk together. I don't think that the issue with our vice presidential candidate is at the bottom of this. Probably the way things were handled, who knows. But I believe that there are people who will be happy to see crisis, but I can tell you, when you see crisis, they are just trying to kind of light up the situation to make you look as PDP is crashing. Like today, Governor WK said that nobody can manipulate the party from the center and come in to the university and think they can get the seat of power from PDP. That tells you the personality of WK and the fact that he is a PDP man. He cannot afford to trade away the investment he has put in PDP over the years. No, no party man should do that. Even if she does that, I believe we have to tag along and also be able to work together with people in Lagos, with the national, to ensure that we resolve this amicably. There is no need for any drawing out the issues as a proportion. So for me, I believe at the end of the day, we are going to come out strong, we are going to come out better, more united, because our issues have been resolved amicably. Delta Governor is also a perfect choice, all of them good in their own right, and it's good in his own right. A performer to the core, a strategist, cool-headed, they're all there. Everybody has his own advantages. But to me, for me, all our candidates that were nominated were viable, good to run the country with a strong backup, but the choice still remains with us. Let's look at some of the demands that the weekend team rolled out before the weekend. From off the top of my head, they asked that the Chico Abubakar Candidacy run for just a term. They also asked for the removal of the party chairman and a couple of other things. But I'm stuck at the first one where the candidate is being asked to run for four years. How fair do you think that this demands are? And again, is this in the best interest of the party? To run for a four-year term, for one term. For me, I believe we should get to the brink before we cross it. We have many of us that would discuss this at different strata of the party. I think they know what best to do. And that, for me, will suffice. I cannot actually dwell on this. I can actually come to a conclusive end to what their demands are. But I guess everything about the decision... If you were a presidential candidate, if you were an Chico Abubakar, you were the party flag bearer, and these demands were presented to you. Let's role play now. And I were a governor, Wiki, and my team is saying these are our demands for us to feel like we were not cheated out of the vice presidency ticket. How well will this go down with you? And what would be your response diplomatically, of course? Well, I would tell that only for the old life. How many of those know how we're going to reach for four years? That's it for me. Interesting. Let's quickly talk about the PDP in Lagos. Now, many would say what the elections come 2023 for the governorship in Lagos might be a two-horse race, even though there seems to be a Labour Party sticking its head also out there for the elections. But let's talk about the situation within the PDP in Lagos. Now, there's also some infighting. Apparently, many have moved to the Labour Party because they have decried the fact that an outsider, a former APC member has been shipped into the party and given the governorship ticket, which has aggrieved many members and some have left, some are yet to leave. What do you think the party should be doing in dealing with this issue, being that the PDP has been playing a position for far too long and they have been saying that this year they want to take over power. But how will the PDP be doing that if they're fighting within themselves? Well, I can tell you, the PDP are not fighting within themselves in Lagos, right? Now, the candidate from get-go after the promos went to all stakeholders to meet them for reconciliation, for media, for what I call a next step to take. And from all indications, they are all in tune with him. But you see, you know, in politics, which is of self-interest, sometimes when you lose, you kind of feel hot because you invested a lot. Don't forget, it is in the interest of Lagos politicians to know that this is a time for the party to get out of a position because the candidate we have there, Dr. Awolajide, popularly known as Jandong, this is a man that knows what he's doing. This is a man that's ready to condescend to anyone and a man that's ready to say enough to the women party. That is the hegemony of the TNB, I call it, hegemony. Now, if you look at it, for me, looking at people that have left the party, I can say they should have been magnanimous even in losing their ticket. How? It is in what you work together, where you put hands together that you can defeat your common enemies. You don't go to a place in which you don't want to start afresh. PDP has the structure already. PDP has the grip already. So for me, I see as something that they work together, they should have stood back, work it out together. And for someone that left the party to the other party and saying that the party is full of injustice, someone that left the party from PDP, went to contest at the governor, came back and were given a central etiquette, they leave to leave the party. Come off it. Come off it. Let's be fair. When people want to go into leaving the party, they should be fair enough. PDP has given everybody a level 20 show. So we should look at it as something that we should work together. Because getting APC out of Lagos is a paramount thing to do right now. And to tell you, I was telling someone today that PDP is like a trainer. We train them, they leave, they go there, they see that we are better, they come back again. Now they will come back and what happens at the end of the day? Jandong that we have in Lagos is a uniting force that can actually give us, before we're doing 35% now, we're doing 25% and that's with 5%. Now I can tell you that Lagos is ready for us, right? For us to take fresh breath. That is the way we are giving Lagos. And don't forget, if we do where we came from, or his form rather, it's the same place where some of these are people came from. Now you'll find that, Parallelia checks about her popularity. I don't know. But what I'm very sure is this, Lagos is right for PDP to take. How will the PDP ever be able to wrestle power from the ruling APC? I'm sorry, but I seem to hear this all the time. Every election cycle, the PDP is ready, we have the structure, we have the people, we've done this, we're fair, we're just. And we end up seeing the APC win again. Now there's been a lot more talk here in Lagos again with Jandor saying, oh, he will be, he's the man. There's also people criticizing his running mate and his decision for who he's taken as a running mate. That's on the one hand. But will the PDP survive 2023 in Lagos? And how will they be able to wrestle that power? PDP will survive it. PDP will be allowed, sir. I can guarantee you that. You know why? People are tired. People are tired of one man running a show in Lagos. It's no longer what we look on. It's not fresh breath. Full care in our own rights has all the quality to be a leader. To tell you this, and it's strange that some women will come on the line and say, oh, full care is women, but how will she play out as an illustrator? Don't forget, this is a movie. There are programs all the time in TV, a world winner. It's not a choice play. It's not a choice play. So for her, in her own right as a lawyer, she has the capacity to bring in the table what can governize Lagos to the next stage in development. And don't forget, Jandor, as a person, is a grassroot person. He wants to reward the grassroot of full governance. In Lagos, there is the grassroot of full governance. You are not feeling governance. He's only at the center for the high class. Now, Jandor wants to blend it to that loop. Also, the people at the grassroot should feel governance. And I believe that if the people at the grassroot have full governance, then the people high up there will be at peace. There are so many programs that are so loaded that Jandor is bringing them both to get to ensure that the grassroot full governance. Right now, nothing like governance in the grassroot. Go there and see what's happening in Lagos. And you tell me that whether what APC has been doing in 23 years is right. PDT is coming with Jandor to give us fresh bread in Lagos. And I can show you, all heads are on there. People from APC guys are calling me. Look, you know what? We're ready for this guy. We're tired of one man sitting in one corner giving orders. This time around, Bivas is at work. No more rigging. So the rigging they used to do before is out of it. So Bivas will come to our aid. And Lagos is what it's taking for Jandor. Finally, the PDB always boast of having the grassroots. And we saw, I always like to use the Lagos state to just conclude the local government election as a point of reference. We saw almost no turn out for that local government election. Yet the PDB claims the grassroot. How many seats was the PDB able to win in Lagos state? And what does that say about your grassroot touch? Are you losing it? We're not losing it. The way I look at my election is wrong. Most families in states that are wrong look at my elections. I know what happens. Most people are not actually interested in what goes on at the local government level. But let's take that out. We're concentrating on the center, which is the center of power, where governors will come to the grassroot. So when we get it there, we'll get it at the grassroot. You're concentrating at the center, at the detriment of those who need government most, which are the people at the grassroots, the people who mostly show up for elections. You're telling me that you're more concerned about the center as opposed to these people who need the government more. Center, as we have, we need to transmit the programs of the party to the grassroot. Don't forget, at the grassroot, at the local government elections, states want it to the detriment of other parties. So let us say something like that. There are poor people there, because they are in control of the states of the state, what's it called? Of the state party, what's it called? The electoral structure. So they can want to defeat themselves to get their own end. But this time around, I can tell you that we're ready. The grassroot is with us to take over Alousa. The party is ready. And our candidate is quite ready for that. I kind of guarantee you. Well, I want to say thank you. John Scheiber is a member of the People's Democratic Party, and he joined us live from Abuja. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. All right. And that's it on the show tonight. I want to thank you all for being part of the program. We will be back tomorrow with more political stories. And of course, we're always talking for development. But don't forget, if you missed parts of the show, you can go and watch again on our YouTube. It's Plus TV Africa on YouTube. And don't forget, you can also subscribe and like our pages on YouTube, which is Plus TV Africa Lifestyle and Plus TV Africa. I am Mary Anacorn. I'll see you tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Have a good evening.