 With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria is the most populous black country on earth. We are diverse, strong, vibrant and mostly young. We are yet to reach the land of our dreams. We can write, tell and be our own story. From the economy, education, security to politics, you name it. We can build the Nigeria of our dreams if we work together. Join us on the run-up to discuss and prove solutions to the issues confronting our quality every weekday. I am Bayo. I am Uchi. And I am Nyamug. We invite you to the run-up, 11am Monday to Friday on this channel. You're welcome back to the final lap of the program today. It's still the run-up and we're taking you to what is happening in PDP. And this time we're talking about the statement made by the River State Governor. He's been on the news for a very long time, for months now. It started from everyday launching of a project and which we commend him for, to installments or news installments. I nearly used the Nigerian version of that word, installmentali, which they say never exists anyway. So giving us news in installments, what is happening in the PDP and what is happening possibly in River State. But he just made a very important statement and said that River State has not decided who they were going to vote for. I'm sure it's not the entire River State but the entire PDP of River State because it cannot talk about the other parties. So the entire River State PDP is still undecided who to vote for as president. They know who their governor is supposed to be, who to vote for as governor and every other position that people are vying for in the state. But presidency, they are still keeping their fingers crossed and they don't know yet who to vote for. I have Mr Achike Chude here to comment on that, how he feels about that. Good afternoon and welcome to the program Mr Chude. Yeah, good afternoon everyone. I've just told the people that Wiki has been on the news for a very long time. Sometimes people say for the right reasons, sometimes people say for selfish reasons, whatever divide you might find yourself. But this statement he made that even though his PDP and a very strong one at that before today, it was known as a backbone in PDP. The whole PDP in River State is still not decided who they will vote for. What's your take on that kind of a statement in the level of politics that we do in Nigeria now? Yeah, well what is essentially saying is that he is not going to abide by any party affiliation. You know people have in the past, especially some big rigs, including the PDP have been calling for him to be sidelined from the PDP, for him to be expelled from the PDP. They've accused him of anti-party activities. Obviously that is where we are right now. If you're not working for the interests of your party and you're working in ways that are synonymous with somebody who is in the opposition, then you are not a party person. Though you might be in my name, but in words and deeds he has shown that he's not a party person. So obviously he has made it very clear where he stands. He does not stand with the structure of PDP at the national level with regards to the presidential election. He is going to work against the interest of the candidate of the PDP, he has made it clear several times. We don't need to be a sootsayer. All these were to understand his leaning, you know, his direction. But as for reversible, not knowing who to vote for. The reversible know who to vote for. Their minds are made up. Reversible are going to participate in elections just like you're going to have people from other states participate in the 2023 election. The number in terms of the percentage you might not know. But those people, you know, because by now people are made up their minds. They already have their political limits. They already have an idea of who they are going to vote for and who they are not going to vote for. So Wiki already has an idea, you know, just as he has an idea who is not going to vote for, who is going to vote for, for the president. So also the reverse people. So this is just semantics. But it is very clear that there is no longer a party man in the practical sense of it. Okay, but I don't see that as a very bad thing. A situation, not just what Wiki is talking about, but a situation where people can decide to vote for people according to the individuals, not the party they belong to. But my worry is, is the Nigerian populace educated enough to be able to select, you know, that they are voting governorship, for instance, for somebody in some other party voting presidency. They are voting for someone else in another party. Have we reached that stage? Because if we have, it would have been a good thing, but have we reached it in your own opinion? Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that if adequate education, you know, is done by members of the PDP that are loyal to Wiki in the States, if they do a rigorous campaign, then definitely they'll make people aware. People will be able to make that choice. Don't forget that it is exceedingly very important for Wiki, for him to have a successor. Also, if you look at, I mean, a successor of his own enmity, and if you look at the way politics is played in Nigeria, governments, because some of them are the politicians who get elected into positions of, you know, positions of authority, always want people, the anointed candidates to succeed them. For the purpose of, like people have speculated to hide their tracks, what their misdeeds. And so, I mean, from that perspective it is important that they send the message out and that the message gets to the right people and the people will act accordingly and they vote on the basis of the, you know, the enlightenment that has been done by the party. Of course, you're always going to have those people who might not be able to read. And so it's always part of the challenge of politicians and political parties, part of their duty and responsibility is to create awareness, is to educate the voters, you know, about the activities of the party and the ideological leanings or the leanings of the party in general terms. And so that's why I said it is a yes and no. If once they have sufficiently enlightened and educated the people, the people should know what to do. You know, but you're always going to have those people who are going to make a mistake. So you're always going to have that. Don't forget that in, in, in, when Obasanjo was going for the second time, that was exactly what happened. He had an arrangement with the, with the, with the AC and then, you know, those that were in control of the politics of the Southwest, you know, had an arrangement with the governors then and with the national leadership of the party and that they are going to vote for the, for him at the presidential level and that they would vote for, at the other level, they will not vote for PDP, they will vote for the AD governors. I think it was AD then. But that was not the case because the president, the PDP carried both the presidency and the governor. The people would tell you that there were intrigues there. So it's always very risky. If you do it that way, you could create confusion in the minds of the people, you know, and so, but I think they are willing to take the risk. But this education that you're talking, the awareness campaign, should we leave it or should it be left in the hands of political parties? Should it be the PDP educating people on how to select wisely or there should be a neutral body that can educate people generally on how to decipher between what they want and what they are being impressed to do, impressed upon us? Obviously in the education, the PDP is going to insist that if you're talking about wisely that, you know, voting for the PDP candidate is a wise decision. You know, but the reality as it is, is that education of the electorate has never really been left in the hands of the political parties. We know that it is their primary responsibility because they are the ones that are conversing for votes. INEC is not conversing for votes, you know, single-site organizations are not conversing for votes. So the people that need the votes, the people who are either going to be the major recipient or beneficiaries of elections or the major losers of elections are the politicians. You know, so when they educate, they are going to educate their own voters and they are going to try to educate other people to try to look at their own parties as the parties that are best, that will be best in terms of a meaningful engagement with the Nigerian politics when they are in government. But we have the national reputation agency whose responsibility it is also to enlighten people and to make them aware of their duties and patriotic responsibilities as citizens who participate in the election. And the civil society have also been engaged in, you know, enlightening and educating the public. They have done that consistently and they have done a very good job of that. And then the media, you people also have also played that role. So it's not something that can be left in the hands of political parties. It has never actually been left in the hands of political parties. But we all need to do more, both political parties. But those ones are partisan. But for civil society, you know, the national reputation agency, you know, the media and the rest, they tend to be less partisan. So that kind of awareness and education, I think, is much more important. So what is the joint action front doing? You are less partisan. No, no, we have always forced, you know, we have always called the Nigerians to be patriotic. We always call them to be discerning when it comes to making their political choices and making the right kind of choices. You know, and I'm also, you know, a member of the Guild of Public Affairs Analyst Japan. You know, under that platform, just last week Saturday, we were on the streets of Ikeja with banners and with the leaflets, you know, to enlighten and educate the citizens on their, you know, responsibility, urging them not to succumb to the, you know, to the sale of, to the buying of, you know, or the sale of their votes and to also ensure that they are still violence. So this is what we do. That's what I was talking about, the actualities of civil society. So we have been doing that. Okay. And we'll continue to do that, even long after the election itself. Okay. Thank you for the good work. And thank you so much for being a part of this show today. Thank you. Okay. We've been talking to Mr. Achikay Chude, who eventually is the last guest for today. But I'd like to also remind you what we told you yesterday, what the information we brought. But the song we talked about yesterday is being played everywhere now. But maybe if you were watching it with another set of eyes, watch it with the eyes of the fact that whatever talent you have, use that to contribute to making Nigeria better, to preach the gospel of one Nigeria, the gospel of freedom, the gospel of free and fair election, whatever gospel you need to preach to make sure that Nigeria stays proud. Nigeria stays united. Nigeria stays as the giant that it should be in Africa and even in this world. Now, musicians came together to phase very many known names. To phase Simi, Timidakolo, and the rest of them, they came together. I did a song that blew my mind, not just because it was good enough for dancing, but the lyrics told us a lot of things. If we're able, we'll take that song in the end. But in the meantime, this is where we draw the curtain on the show. We're hoping to be here again tomorrow and meeting you in good health that we can be together to talk about what is happening in our country. My name is Nyamgul Agadji. On behalf of my entire crew, I say thank you for being there. Let's do it again tomorrow. With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria is the most populous black country on Earth. We are diverse, strong, vibrant and mostly young. We are yet to reach the land of our dreams. We can write, tell and be our own story. From the economy, education, security to politics, you name it. We can build the Nigeria of our dreams if we work together. Join us on the run-up to discuss and profile solutions to the issues confronting our quality every weekday. I am Bayo. I am Uchi. And I am Nyamgul. We invite you to the run-up, 11am Monday to Friday, on this channel.