 Now we're back right here with the ballot 2023, it's a great Wednesday morning, this is some people and to orders, you probably might not say it's great. However, on Saturday the 25th of February, millions of Nigerians tripped out to elect the next president and national assembly members. Earlier this morning the presidential candidate of the old Progressive Congress, APC, has been declared the winner of the just concluded elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission. We'll be discussing, you know, the alleged inconsistencies that are called priority elections on the show this morning. My name is Messi Ibupo and welcome too much. And indeed my name is Kofi Bartels, it's great to be here with you at beautiful, beautiful morning and of course we won't waste time at all to inform you that the, of course the old Progressive Congress, Bola Metinwu has been declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the national returning officer of INAIC right there in Abuja, who is also incidentally the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INAIC, Professor Mamudyakubu announcing that result. And of course it's signalling renewed hope for Nigeria and of course a new dawn for the country if you want to look at the fact that this is the first, a new president and it's not going to be a returning officer or returning president, then of course you know that this is a new time. After two to three hours ago, for those who are still awake, I have to close my eyes a bit because I couldn't keep up with what they were doing there at INAIC, I mean they were just counting their thing and we were just waiting. But of course Bola Metinwu declared winner, former governor of Lagos State, he polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election. All right, and of course the other Satiko worker came in second with, okay, Obie Pitobi, the candidate of Labour Party coming in third. Apart from Tinbu, Atikui and Obie, other candidates that were on the ballot included the Rebecca Chiku of the ADC, the AACs, Omoe Ureshiore, Kola Biola of the People's Redemption Party, Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party. That one, we didn't know where he was again because I think at some point he began to make me laugh. Yeah, to call for people to, the candidates Atikui and Obie to give Bola Metinwu a call and congratulate him. So I think he and the ACP candidate may have aligned with the APC candidate, which is his right. Malik Adoibbrahim of the Young Progressive Party, Christopher Imumelen of Accord Party, Professor Peter Umiade of the All Progressive Grants Alliance and Yusuf Maman Dan Thali of the Allied People's Movement. There are lists of other people out there that we wouldn't want to go into. Maybe as time goes on we will look at that. The last one, the last stage to bring the results in, this morning actually was River State. If you want to talk about River State, we won't go. I'm a journalist, we are all journalists, and most times we just report what we see. And I can report that what happened in River State was pure daylight robbery. Coffee, you know. I saw you. It was daylight robbery. I saw your Twitter. I would say Twitter, but I also saw your post on Facebook. I saw all of that. I saw the drama surrounding the officer. I saw everything that I saw. She's talking about the Labour Party's state agent, who instead is the chairman of the Labour Party in River State. And basically what happened in River State? Because River State in 2019 also was the last state to send in its result. So there's a wonder why River State, which is just in the southern part of the country, not far from Lagos, will send its result in before other states. Even Kanu State that has more voters and is up north. Have you been to Kanu before? Have you been to Kanu before? But the reason I'm asking if you've been to Kanu before, sorry, is that for you to move from one local government to another, even by road, okay? It's like you're travelling to another country. So, I mean, which would be the crux of our conversation? And that says as to whether people really needed to be available, you know, travel. Because originally the conversation that we have had over time with the electoral act and what have you and INEC, was that results will be transmitted from the polling unit. So as people are casting their votes, the result will be, you know, uploaded. So I really don't know how to explain all that had happened. And so when you bring the question of distance and what have you, are we even supposed to be talking about the distance? Is it that we have to travel to be... Let me just quickly, quickly before bringing to the call. That's what we're talking about, you know. Let me quickly bring into the call. Before I do that, just to give, because if I don't give in detail of this thing I'm saying, it might not be sit well with our viewers. But what I said in the river safe was daylight trauma. It was because a reporter that I spoke to yesterday told me, I mean, the trusted source, give me a breakdown. He told me that it was daylight trauma because when we announced the result for the remaining local government area, that was the last local government area, and I think it took them three days to bring the results. Now, the INEC state coalition center is in Port Hacott. This is OBIAPO local government area, which is still in Port Hacott. It took three days for the results from a local government area in Port Hacott to arrive in Port Hacott. Just like it took about three days for the ABUJA result to arrive in ABUJA. The reporters I reported there told me that they didn't know the whereabouts of the local government coalition officer. He was nowhere to be found. Even the political parties who tried to track him down after the voting on Saturday and were chased away by my thugs, political thugs who whisked away the INEC officials, they didn't know where he was. Now, if you're doing the four levels of coalition that the INEC chairman talked about, local government level, state level, national level, at each level of coalition, there should be a party agent. If they have to raise objections, they raise objections. And of course, even from the polling unit level, they are allowed to recount the vote once, the ballot paper once, another time, recount for any party that has issues with the result. Now, the man, this Professor Cleave is his name, arrived the INEC state coalition center in a tinted vehicle with no number plate. And our reporter says that he feels the belief that that is a government vehicle. He was also with a company of heavily armed police escorts and DSS details. Now, from our reporter in Puhakot, they say that INEC never gave the man such heavy escorts. He was also accompanied by, I'm sorry, he was also accompanied by the government House press call who followed him into the building, the premises yesterday night. Now, the state coalition officer in the river state had to say he wasn't going to announce any result anymore because of threats to his life. And he made the resident electoral commissioner in the river state come out to address the press there at the state coalition center to tell them that he, the state coalition officer, is not in charge of how the results are written there. He's only there to tell you the results. That was only when... Sorry, let me just make this passing information. That was when the state coalition officer now agreed to come continue because he made it the point to say, see, I'm not in charge of what results are written. I'm only in charge of how the election is conducted. I'm only in charge of, you know, receiving the results and announcing what we had. We call it. He even had to edit his Facebook post about four times to say, may I know day or a hair so that people will stop threatening him now. He also made sure that the local government coalition officer who came in with those results which turned the votes in river state in favor of the APC, he made sure that he said he agreed that he was responsible for those results and that those results, if anything happens, he should be held accountable, you know. So these are some of the things going on in river state. And my reporter said, as far as the results were announced, PDP had about 360-something votes in the entire Obia political government area. He told me yesterday that when that was announced, that everybody in the hall laughed, started laughing. That even the state coalition chairman started laughing. It was laughing because it is impossible from what they saw on the field on Saturday messy for the PDP to have 306-8 votes in the presidential elections river state. So the reporter concluded based on the preponderance of evidence before them that it was daylight robbery. But this is the same result that Professor Bamudia Kubu has accepted and said there is nothing he can do about it. In other words, he says his hands are tied. Kofi, which is the crux of the conversation? Which is the reason why you have a lot of people who are protesting? And at the end of the day, the conversation is if you have the electoral act, which stipulates how elections should be conducted and the constitution, the big question here is the 2023 elections, whether conducted in accordance with the 2022 electoral act as amended and the constitution, did we follow the law to the latter? There's been a lot of complaints. These are not just mere speculations, but you have evidence to all of this fact. I mean, if you look at the polls of the people and you go out there to fill the polls of the people, because it's mostly the people. So the fact that whether the results for reverse state is very close to the FCT and all of that, should we even be talking about that because what was the mode of transmitting the results from the elections? It was supposed to be from the polling unit, but the reports across almost every part of the Federation is that results were not uploaded. And when you wake up and say you couldn't find the electoral, I mean the agent at the time for polling unit for how many days and all of a sudden he resurfaced but this results uploaded. It was very explicit. It was really explicit. I mean, there's a lot of evidence and conversation to that. It's not even rocket science. It wasn't written in Swahili. I'm sure that the electoral act was not written in Swahili. But this is when we joined Tinde Kolauli, a legal practitioner to share his thoughts on the entire electoral process. The fact that the former governor of Liga State Shuadri Bola, Tundebou has been declared the winner by the Empire, that's Einig. Tunde Kolauli, it's good to have you join us this morning. It's a beautiful Wednesday morning and it's the festive match. Good morning. Tunde, it's good to have you join us this morning. It's a very festive match. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. I quite didn't get to you but that's okay. Let's head straight to the conversation. Really, how do you feel with the declaration of Ashwaju Bola Atma Tundebou who was the, or who was, you know, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress? He was declared just a why men slept as the winner of this elections. How are you reacting to the results of Ashwaju Bola Atma Tundebou? How are you? Yes, please, if you can hear me. Well, any disclaimers that would have seen it coming, all the structures, the machinery of states and all those things that makes people want to be less in Nigeria, when it's stable. It's part of the APCs at the center. It's the ruling party, the party at the federal level. It also has its internal governance behind it. Furthermore, most times, people only need their own money to fight and win in Lecce in Nigeria. It is the safety resources that are deployed in what are left and right. So if you have the federal mind behind you, if you have the internal governance behind you, if you also have the apparatus of this, the police, the theater, the airmen and all that, all behind you, chances are that you might lose your mind at the election. But notwithstanding that we should give credit to him, to the extent that he is a massive politician, he is also a man, he's very good in strategy and tactics. Furthermore, the position that we are already in the game scene was one, just the only look at the legal parties is not a poetic party. It's a party that was originally co-posed together by young people of Nigeria as a kind of demonstration of the anger and displeasure with the Nigeria state and out of my town, the state is in their money. The PPP has an internal scene, a kind of internal war that was ravaged in their structure until the very last minute of the election to start it. I suspect that all these things are for the world to be able for the world to be able to make a new book. But in that case, we must be alive, we must be low. Now this election has the two devices. It has polarized the country or divided those 50 countries into three parts. Even though evenly, you have the south-western now and it's only you have the south-western now and then you also have the north and then the south-western. It's been a highly penalizing election. If I could be said that Nigeria is not like a broken egg. That's what we all are missing. We're going to put the eggs back together. We require a lot of tasks, a lot of wisdom and a lot of diplomacy. But it is in our collective interest that the country is put together the way it should be. Anybody watching what is happening in Ukraine today will not wish for view that you and others should bring down in Nigeria. So as loyal as to you believe in the deep process of the law, whoever feels a bit about it can make sure about the APT in one year. So in the interest of peace approach the court for the capital of the law, let's hear the anger and grievances and whatever decision that the court arrives at the end of the day, we should abide by each. That is our injunction to them. For INAIC, I think INAIC has done a very good job and we can also give INAIC too much in the sense that I can say that in your situation of the electronic election day until the very last minute INAIC was still going cap in hand to beg the Central Bank of Nigeria to release funds for her to be able to conduct the elections. Furthermore, there was a scarcity of fuel. Secondly, some of the machinery is really designed to do that or whatever they call it that's what we saw it. It didn't function optimally that we saw it functionally because it could be that INAIC never had any profit from time to train those who would use those gadgets and devices to conduct the elections. Then another issue that this election has raised is divisors. What the material who says is that the paper was that might be conducted with the attack and that is the technology that we are going to rely more on. As soon as the elections are conducted votes are cast and then recorded the driver will use to transmit the election results to the INAIC further in the future and then automatically be calculating and collecting and transmitting those results. But you know why but you see that has failed all very well fully. So what has happened we change the use of drivers in our city, INAIC and then it used as a machinery could it be that is the cost of the large landmines that INAIC have to cover could it be the lack of money could it be lack of fuel could it be the inability of the service provider the empties of these walls the air cares and then the glow truck comes that failed the INAIC that you know gets it as big as mine and the situation of both grass and lake will begin to get people what's really happening during this election. But the trick of the matter is actually whatever you do is whatever politicians, whatever shop promoters can solve this election we are things that we forget and assert we were certain we forget the interest which not also has happened. This is in Condosa Investments in 1999 and then there are almost 30 years but in now it should be 30 years. It should be coming the masters of the election. But again, Nigerian politicians are incorrigible elements as soon as you take one step to beat them against another they would take 10, 20 steps and make sure that whatever plan to put in place doesn't work I'm beginning to fear that we might not know if there's an election in Nigeria again when there's no going time to come. Your attention to the statement of the report released by the EU Observer Group who came to cover the election it was a damning report total opposite of this is what was put out by the EU and the EU but we'll leave the EU and the EU because if they knew any better Africa wouldn't be where it is so let's see those reports for now but the EU mission election observation mission to Nigeria released its first preliminary statement they said the election was held on shadow but lack of transparency and operational failures reduced trust in the process to challenge the right of many to vote if you read the details it's more damning than what even this one I read said and is Bola Mettinbu can he claim to be the legitimate president of Nigeria looking at what these observers are saying that people had their right to vote challenged and I mean there was lack of transparency and operational failures as well I didn't quite get that can you summarize it? looking at the report the first preliminary report put out by the EU mission to Nigeria which said that the elections held on shadow but lack of transparency and operational failures reduced trust in the process and challenged the right to vote is what they're saying and they criticize the stages of the election up until the tabulation of results basically saying that people could not express their will and that election cannot be said to be valid that's basically what they're saying so looking at this report by the EU which has put a big question mark on the results of the presidential election can the winner as declared by Anik can he say he's legitimately the president of Nigeria your lawyer so tell us what you think about this and to a legitimacy now based on the I haven't said I have not already pulled me up of the EU but the preliminary report that is not the elimination of the three things and war as well and also says that on this by and large more than there are many opportunities of choice but the truth of the matter is that I'm not to enamble that Adelaide wants to kind of play too much premium on whatever any of these elections of that day most of them are diplomats presented their respective countries and others and here I now know that diplomats Adelaide will come out to talk in a very short time and speak what is called a diplomacy when they tell you the truth is they can be sure that you attended the Black Great who attended towards more Black than the great like I said further money more importantly too most of these elections are there in the city capital you are there the local government they are left with gold in Italy because of insidious so if you say the case like Lagos and then and then in Osaka and you begin to use that to rationalize you begin to make concept and to reach conclusions with regards to modern local government that we have in the country and modern things thousands and tens of thousands let's talk about the call by the opposition party we have seen the Labour Party, the PDP the NMPP calling for the cancellation of this result because it was not conducted in accordance with the law Kola Wale can you hear me well we're just hoping that we have a reconnection with Tunde Kola Wale and then we'll continue with our thoughts but some of the developments from the 2023 election presidential and national assembly but mostly is that a lot of persons are calling for not just those in the opposition party I mean you have the PDP, you have the Labour Party you have the NMPP but a lot of Nigerians have taken out some improtest asking that these elections be cancelled and this call was made while the National Collision Centre was very very open active putting out the results has been brought out by different starter but we will continue to have this conversation despite the outcome because there's several instances I mean a lot of consents that have been raised and people say that if you have the electoral act there's also another part of this conversation Kofi where we haven't talked about if you remember Mike he made reference to whoever becomes elected, part of the electoral act that you have to meet you know to a third of it saying you have to have 25% in 24 states I'm told we have to recall it back on the line so we'll go back to him can you hear us please Kola Wale can you hear us I'm hearing you alright to the police can you hear us because we would like to just listen to the acceptance speech of the President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Shiwaju Bola Ahmed of the All Progressive Congress when we come back we'll talk some more with you please stay they hear us they hear you first let me repeat that I hear you loud and clear loud and clear what do I say than clear whatever the cops we're going to charge the path together we're going to embark on this journey together united no one is too small to be creative it shall allow when we walk together we pay attention on the funded attention to your education be creative credit will be available 4 years court will be 4 years court cannot be to be able to upgrade your slumber position be creative no more selling of hand out false the most right and grateful the nation I know we are in pains and believe me you will see the reward of your election this is a serious mandate I hereby accept it to serve you be your servant and not be your leader to work with you and make Nigeria a great country take this opportunity or so again to appeal to my fellow contestants let us team up together it is the only nation we have it is one country and we must build together we work together to put broken pieces together we must work for the unity happiness and harmony we must not act like that orchestra that has no direction of a conductor we we and we have a elected a conductor named president elect let's collaborate to create a symphony that we made the rhythm of music and prosperity and history for our country we have what it takes we have what is needed knowledge creativity the mind determination we are the same country performing wonders in other countries we can do it here I promise I work with you to make Nigeria the destination of returning home to contribute to the development and that's the speech of the president elect of the all progressive congress with his wife with his wife president elect of the federal of Nigeria with his wife if you can still hear us before we get to that speech and you know get your thoughts on it really I like you to quickly respond to the thoughts of Mr. President President Mohammed asked to the he said that the election that produced to Nibwa's president is flawed and he's also encouraged the parties those who are involved the PDP the Liberal Party and other parties you know to support and challenge the process as long as they have the as long as they have the evidence can you put my right down again so I like you to share your thoughts on Mr. President's position he's admitted that the process that brought the president elect to Nibwa is flawed and he's also encouraged those in the opposition to approach the court to seek and challenge the process as long as they have the evidence the speech of Mr. President elect is a beautiful word that's not what I'm asking I'm asking you to react to the thoughts of the president who's very incumbent president Mohammed I'm saying before we get to the speech of the president elect let's talk about the thoughts of Mr. President where he communicated that via his aid and he's accepted that the process that produced the president elect is flawed he's encouraged the PDP the Liberal Party and others to approach the court of law and challenge the irregularities and the shortcomings of this election the lack of transparency I know you've been wearing what you could expect from President Bawali I guess you're right this is what we've been saying this morning that there is no abiding PDP and no other issues not in quality to resort to self-help whoever has his facts and figures certain things have not been done properly but there is no compliance with the electoral with the constitution and then I make regulations they should go to court and then the election whatever project the presidential tribunal comes out with the government in power will have no option other than to improve the position of the presidential tribunal but because otherwise and I must say we require to praise President Bawali for what we are saying with this election to the person when on a list why not in any old bad actions any apparently old bad actions on the part of the president to influence the outcome of the election say for example someone who defeated the president in his own state of casino in the past that wouldn't have happened also look at giving the man who won the presidency in Lagos in the past that wouldn't have been possible and also look at what's happening in Cardinal where as far as the important with the leader Cardinal to the FPC it was badly one of those places without the transparency without the commitment of the president to at least a substantially free election those things that we have seen some of these places that I have mentioned would have been very critical the president is a good guy so we call it those who are disagreeing with the top of this election we've lost to Nicola Walea I was going to go on to ask him what a bulletin with presidency will be like and what he should expect I mean the presidential candidate of the Uprogressive Congress President-elect of Nigeria gave some mixed interesting points and I think commendable points in his speech he said that he's profoundly humbled that he's been elected to serve as the 16th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where we can just roll that aside and he says it's a shining moment in the life of any man in affirmation of a democratic experience from my heart I say thank you I forget he said this has been a lifelong dream to be the president of Nigeria I think the positive from this is that he's shown that if you have a dream you can achieve it if you want to be the president you can get there how? how you're asking me it depends on you he says something very interesting he says whether you are batified whether you are articulated whether you are obedient or conquistier or have any other political affiliation you voted for a better, more hopeful nation I thank you for your participation and dedication to our democracy so he's even reaching out thanking obedience he's thanking articulated thanking conquistiers and indeed his base the batified which is a quite hard one he's making some promises he says you decided to place your trust in the democratic vision of a Nigeria founded on shared prosperity and one nurtured by the ideals of justice, peace, and tolerance he says this is a promise he made renewed hope has dawned in Nigeria a message what he said quite interesting our thoughts but he also had some words for the electoral empire, INEC, I think also the way of bringing credibility to the process through this speech he says we commend INEC for running a free and fair election he says the lapses, he analogies that there were some lapses that did occur were relatively few in number and were immaterial to the final outcome you see these are certain speeches that the politicians make most times they used to give legitimacy to their victory you know doesn't do anything to take away that they won but we have to Nikola Oli back of the line I mean Nikola Oli if you're there let's look at the speech of the winner, the third winner of the election he said that he's reaching out to those who voted for his opponents and thanking them as well, what do you think this means you know for the country moving forward hello Mr. Kola Oli can you hear me please are you hearing me yeah loud and clear, nice to have you back I don't know if you are using B-Vas to call us are you hearing me yes I hope it's not a B-Vas our control is using to reach out to you because then who will be surprised that these situations are happening so I'm saying that second speech of the president-elect as declared this morning by INEC yes, yes, yes, can you hear me sir yes so he's made some statements the first I'd like you to talk about is he's reaching out his thanking BARTIFIEDS that's his supporters but also thanking articulated, obedience Kwa Kwa Sihez and those who voted for other parties what do you think this means for the country moving forward well what I would not say is that kind of adumbration in that the speech of the president-elect in my humble opinion it should be when you are the mother's president you require to begin to make speeches like a statement like a diplomat and then you also have to be very humble and victory so as not to bother in feeling a passion when to be able to fight for a position it's elementary not that only one person in cases and the other people would have to speak their words and lead to fight another day as you are used to when you look at it politically I think it's called the entry and it is written and it's also the kind of speech that one would respect from him furthermore he's beginning to make some promises I hope he's able to work the talk when he gets in there remember that when Kwa Kwa also came in he said to be for everybody and will not be for nobody and we had them we had them to that and not but the performance of the president in so many areas tend to negate the speech that he made when I was this one as the president which is our prayer and hope that that you would be different or that you don't behave or be different from what we have seen because the president he left in the past the gratifying thing about that he as a way gives it to him whether you like it safe or you don't like it and all that at least we have the way of assembling some of the best brain and then put it into task and then the structure that he has put in place in Lagos when you compare Lagos it's still working the Lagos that are assembling the most proactive assembly in Lagos the executive arm of government in Lagos the most proactive executive arm of government in Nigeria you could say this is because they have money to spend but I tell you that they are out of state that also have money to spend who are not performing a legal thing take Riba state for example take Faisal for example take Dessa for example they also have a lot more in their hands but the kind of results you get in those places they are not compared to the land that they also have you can compare to what you are getting so if I see what he is able to assemble the kind of things and same time that he was able to assemble in Lagos when he was governor and which is seen that are working to today Nigeria may be better for it the problem he will have seriously speaking is that the country with due respect to the managers of the country that the country is now legit in debt the country can be set to the bankrupt how he is going to take the country out of debt of debt it will take a miracle to be able to do that of course they also have a security which is leading the country not just in terms of women in terms of life that has been done but also in terms of material resources the quantity of money that we are spending for security to keep the soldiers to provide ammunition to keep them on the fields and to keep them at water here there are so many of them to import machineries, arms and ammunitions all these things are leading the country it is my prayer that we will find solutions to some of these things so that he is able to free some of these resources to be able to provide them with education into health, into infrastructure and into overall development of the country and one other area I think he has to pay attention to is the house of school children on the way to solve that problem we will help shop that all the children that are born in Nigeria whether in Paris, out in Sokoto and Kazina and other we agree have education up to second school level university could be optional but primary school to second school should be not negotiable for all children of Nigeria and could be back to go to university at any time in your life but it will not go at all it is not possible to let it turn out to be some of the best some of the best in Sokoto and some of the best even in Nigeria that you have all over the place we have all these things together trust to be able to get a good result for the country I wish him the best of luck and I congratulate him that is very fantastic of you thank you so much for being part of we do appreciate your thoughts and your time we look forward to have you thank you yes he is still here alright thank you so much we appreciate your time and congratulations to you as well thank you yes indeed alright we have to go, merci it is one of those days where there will be a lot of celebration and of course jubilation in town and we will definitely send our reporters out there to see what the pulse of the people is and what the reaction if what if they report that there is no jubilation then there is on my timeline as early as this morning I saw some boys jubilating they were already taking cigarettes and they were chanting I think we would jubilate more than any other state our CC boy is now president ok I will make my way to the house this morning to see if I can join any party and any of my APC viewers who wants to invite me to eat maybe amala I will be rejected we have to go we need to join the news room in the next 4 minutes thank you so much we will be right back to talk some more and when we return it will be time for us to talk sports and speak with us, good morning