 The APC Convention is an indicator of success in 2023, says President Mohamed Buhari. And Governor Ayersom, the UK of the River State, declares for presidency and says he has the capacity to remove the APC from power. This is Plus Politics and I'm Kofi Bortelz. Welcome. The ruling of Progressive Congress held its elective national convention on March 26th to March 27th, 2022, ahead of the 2023 general elections. During the convention, over 70 national officers emerged with Abdulahi Adamou, former governor of Nassar al-Assad becoming the national chairman of the party. Adamou emerged after six other aspirants stepped down. And speaking on the event, President Mohamed Buhari noted the unity leaders and members of the party demonstrated at the convention on a firmer, putting the party on a firmer footing for victory in the 2023 general elections. The president had stated that the media was peddling what he called fake news of division within the party, when what exists in the party according to him is unity, cohesion and personal warmth. He also blamed the main opposition people's democratic party for trying to divide the country, leading to all manner of separatist agitations. Now joining us to discuss the All Progressives Congress elections and of course other developments is the chairman of the All Progressives Congress in cross river state, Alphonsus Eber. Good evening to you honorable Alphonsus Eber. President Mohamed Buhari has said that the media was peddling fake news as far as the internal wranglings in the people's democratic party is the All Progressives Congress, sorry about that, is concerned. Do you agree with him? I reckon you do. So you tell us how the media was peddling fake news. Honorable Eber, can you hear us please? All right, we seem to have a bit of a network connection issue in getting across to our guest, Honorable Alphonsus Eber. But please stay with us. I will try and put him on the line in a matter of seconds and to have that very, very interesting conversation. As we said, the All Progressives Congress held its elective national elections or convention right there in the nation's capital, Abuja. A lot of reactions coming to this. The president blaming the media for peddling fake news. Of course, we're all aware of what happened with the chairmanship of the, let's call it the Ketecha chairmanship of the party with Governor Mahmala Bhuni of Yorba Estate having to, you know, cut short his medical trip to Dubai to travel to the United Kingdom where President Buhari was also on a medical trip to confer with him. And of course, it was the president who came to his rescue. And that's how Buhni was saved. And of course, we now had a smooth and unified national convention, not just that. Also, the Secretary of the Party, Senator John Akpanaduari, was also under fire as well. We have, I'm glad to say Honorable Alphonsus Eber back on the line. Good evening to you, Honorable Alphonsus Eber. My pleasure to be with you. Thank you very much. The president has blamed the media for peddling what he called fake news of disunity in the APC. What do you say to that? How did the media peddle fake news? In order, there is what we call an instant lucreto. The fact speaks for itself. I am sure we have been able to prove this year and prophets of doom that APC is the party to be. Yes. We came out much stronger than we were. We came out more united. And I must tell you this. And you can take it to the bank and you'll get it in all currencies. That APC is not only a united family, but we are ready for the past hour. Honorable Eber, you're the chairman of the Up Progressives Congress in Cross River State. And I'm sure you're aware of the internal issues of the party. Where is the fake news? What the media does is simply to report what happens. And we know what was going on when or what happened when my Malabuni, the chairman of the KTACA, KTACA and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC, left the country to go to Dubai to see his doctor. Of course, we know that the Niger State governor tried to assert himself as the substantive KTACA chairman of the Up Progressives Congress. Senator John Akpanodwede was kicked out. So would it be fair to blame the media for peddling or us peddling fake news? I am sure that documents speak better than oral assassinations. May Malabuni, when he left for medical attention in Dubai, he transmitted later to the effect that the governor of Niger State and other members of the KTACA were going to act in his absence. What the media tried to do was only a figment of their own imagination. There was never a time that a little distance is in terms of interest ever graduated to become stumped. Yes, I agree. They build up to the convention. People were divided along different interest lines. However, all that came to be buried on the night of 26th. We woke up here today under a new canopy of a party that is very united and very strong. And it has been a celebration from home to home. Let's look at the emergence of the new national chairman, Abdulahi Adamu. He is a former governor and a former member of the National Assembly. Some would say you needed to have a fresh face to show the fresh direction of the party, a new direction of the party, maybe someone younger. What would you say to that? Because of course, Adamu is one of those who has been there for some time now. The emergence of a man like Abdulahi Adamu and the person of Abdulahi Adamu is the best thing that happened to our party. Don't forget, we are trying to have a meeting point between the old and the young. You are speaking to a young man who is described as one of the youngest state chairman today in the country. My emergence was not also without any rank of and disagreement and disapproval of so many persons. Oh, you are too young. Oh, you are this. At 46 and half, people said I was young and I was too young. At 60 something to 70, people said, Abdulahi Adamu is too old. Whatever you do, people will always talk. But again, like I told the National Chairman yesterday, I say your excellency, sitting in this place from morning to early hours of this morning without blinking your eyes, I am sure naysayers have been proven wrong. The capacity we obviously in you today, the world is watching and seeing us. That man did not just blink his eyes, he was moving around very strong and I kept so strong from that Saturday to early hours of yesterday through the afternoon and even evening receiving guests. That is what you need. The name of this man is Bridge Builder. He earned that name many, many years ago after he left as governor of the state. Only recently he became the chairman of the APC Reconciliation Committee. The role in the APC, it is for him to return back and complete that work of reconciliation and taking us to the proper next level, which is progress. Alright, talk about the chairman of all progressives Congress in Cross River state. Some people are insinuating that Abdulahi Adamu, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, former governor as well, was imposed on the party by the leadership, particularly President Muhammad Buhari and those in his second. If you agree, of course I don't know, I would be surprised if you do. But what do you say to this as a rank member of the party that this was not the will of everyone in the political party and that this man was imposed? You see, what you call imposition, if you check the dictionary meaning of imposition, it is completely different from the political meaning that is given to it. What we try to do in our party was to aggregate all the different shades of opinion, all the different interests. Don't forget, before we zone, more than 15 persons came out to indicate interest around this election. When we went into zoning, the number reduced to an imaginary level of about 6 or 7. When the sales of domination from started, it further reduced to about 5. It became clear, like all the governors, the senators, the red members and all political leaders, in respective communities, from the polling unit to the work, to the chapter, to the state level, we always have who they want as their interest to be either their work chairman, their chapter chairman or state chairman. When we graduated to the national level, it was only wise for us to say, Mr. President, who do you want among this whole person? And the President said, I want all, but in my thinking and estimation, you had given an assignment to Senator Abdelayad Amou is excellent. For us, it is for him to go back and complete that work. So as much as I want everybody here that is running, I would prefer that the mandate has concluded work, should go and conclude it. That was not in position. The governors came together and saw reason with that and that was how we all surrendered to that view. It was a popular opinion and it became the interest of the day and everybody had to drive the consensus process. It was not an imposition. All right, all right. All about Fonsu Eba, chairman of the UP Progressives Congress in Cross-Reverse. Are you there sir? I am with you. No, and the People's Democratic Party has refused to keep quiet about this national convention and of course the emergence of Abdelayad, the chairman of your party. Don't forget the current PDP national chairman when he was elected at the PDP's convention through a challenge to the all-progressives Congress to try and hold a national convention which your party has done. But they are saying that the former governor of Nasser-Rasid who is now your chairman is tainted with a history of corruption. And that what your party has done is simply impose somebody or brought in somebody who has a record of corruption or with rather the anti-corruption agency EFCC. The PDP put out a statement through its national publicity secretary saying the imposition of Abdullahi Amman arranged in court on not less than 149 counts of alleged fraudulent award of contracts and stealing of public funds estimated at 15 billion Naira. And they say you brought this man in as the national chairman of the all-progressives Congress thereby telling the entire Nigeria that your party celebrates corruption. What do you say to what the PDP say? Anyway, when a party that has a chairman who in his own testimony had before now made a confessional statement made an admission to be a super juggernaut of corruption. I am talking about Senator Iyocha Aiu who told the whole world and its own record that he collected 345 million from the then national security advisor Major Datsuki as consultation fee to support his excellency Goodluck Jonathan knowing clearly that that was money that was meant to procure arms to fight insurgency in this country and that money was stolen by the chairman of PDP for a man like that that is lacking in character, in content, in conscience to make an allegation against a man who has not been proven to have committed any act of corruption. Are you saying the PDP might be corrupt? You're not just the only corrupt party or the only party that has people who have questions to answer regarding corruption, but also so are you saying you are both you are not worse than them? Is that what you're saying? I did not hear you well, you say what? Are you saying oh well we have someone as a chairman who is tainted or who has questions to answer regarding corruption, but so does the PDP, so you are saying you are as corrupt as they are? I have not, you did not get me, you did not get me to learn very well, as the allegations may have been made against our national chairman, but they remain unproven, they remain in the realm of allegation, but the national chairman of PDP, Senator Iyotcha Ayu, in his own admission and confession, told the world that he stole 345 millions. Excuse me, did he tell the world that he stole, did he use those words, I stole, as he be convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction? It is in his testimony. All right, all right, you are criticizing the People's Democratic Party who had released a statement criticizing your party, saying that your party is a corrupt party for celebrating corruption by pointing up to like that was your party chairman or electing him as you said, but if you're pointing an accusing finger at the People's Democratic Party, what about the fact that out of all those who are appointed or elected rather as members of your party holding key roles, a lot of them are former members of the People's Democratic Party. For instance, Abdu'lai Damuidaman we were talking about, who is the national chairman who was in the PDP, Iyotcha Ayu, who is the national secretary, a new national secretary, was in the PDP, Fesos Fuanta, who is the deputy national secretary, was in the PDP, Effano Woso, who is the national welfare secretary, was in the PDP, Mustafa Saleh, who is the national vice chairman, Northwest, was in the People's Democratic Party, Muazu Bawa Rajau, a national vice chairman, North Central, was in the People's Democratic Party, your pointing fingers at Honorable Ebba, Inzei Chiduru, who is a national deputy national organizing secretary, was in the People's Democratic Party, Ahmed El Marzuk, who is a national legal advisor, was in the People's Democratic Party, Uguro Matthew Foka, national treasurer, was in the People's Democratic Party, Betah Edu, national woman leader, was in the PDP and criticized and lashed the APC during the NSAR's protests. And finally Abdu'lai Damuidaman, who is the national auditor, was also in the PDP. What is the difference, Honorable Ebba, between the PDP and the APC, or should we now call it the APDPC? I think your line of question is different from the submission you are giving. In fact, if you want to follow the line, I was myself a member of the PDP. Today I'm in PDP. So what is the difference? No, no, no, get me right. Get me right. You said the PDP spokesman came out to make an allegation against our national chairman, and I was only telling you that the national chairman of PDP, whether speaking through his public secretary, do not have the moral fiber to stand to make any accusation or allegation of fraud, because himself had admitted and has confessed to have stolen money that was meant to you that broke your arm. I think we had moved on from that, because I did say, and of course I did say that whilst not trying to take away from your point, because of course you said it's on record and I need to check, but I did say that in your chair you had not been convicted by any court yet. But talking about the people's inquiry, but it asks you what's the difference between the APC and the PDP, because you have not less than 11 members of your national executive committee, your national working committee rather, coming from the people's democratic party. Now you yourself, as chairman of the party in Cross River State, you were in the PDP. I do wonder what the likes of, well let me not go there, but so what's the difference? The difference is that the human beings and the character you find at any particular time are the people that make a party. It is not those parties that make the human being. Today, myself and the likes of all those that have moved from the PDP, we are moved because there are tendencies, there were practices in PDP that we could not live with. And so we have only come to add voices, to add our strength to making the APC, the party that is going to be the dream of what we have all the time. But what is the difference between the PDP today and the APC today? Look at the names I mentioned. I have not even talked about the state party chairman like yourself. We are talking about the gathering, the gathering of progressive minds. What is the difference? The APC is a body of progressive people that are set and concerned about the development of Nigeria. Honorable Ebba, you yourself, you yourself, Honorable Ebba, you yourself, a few months ago were attacking the APC. What changed? Check my record and tell me what I have attacked the APC about and let me know. During the 2019 elections, you attacked the APC? I never attacked the APC. I attacked the people that were running the APC in cross-unit. And I did my best to only market the candidates of my party. And do not forget, I was head of mobilization for the campaign. So what I was doing was not to attack party, but to sell my candidate. All right. Very quickly, very quickly, just in a sentence or two, what does the emergence of a northern chairman of your party mean going forward for the presidential primaries of your party in the discussion on zoning? Very quickly, please. What it brings to the table is that we have a culture that the moment you have a chairman of a party from the north, invariably, the presidential candidate of the party will come from the south. And that aligns with the aspiration of all Nigerians that power should shift to the southern part of Nigeria. Whether it is going to be the south-south, the south-west, or the south-east is another category of discussion for another day. Because the air pieces have given a clear direction ahead that power is coming to the south. All right. All right. We'll come back to that particular issue for a part two, because I'm sure it's still a discussion we need to have. Thank you so much for your time. Honourable Alfonso Eba, ASA Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River State. Mr. Eba, thank you for your time. Thank you very much. It's my pleasure. We'll take a short break and when we return we discuss Governor of River State in some week's declaration for the 2023 presidency. We'll be right back.