 Governor Yosemite of River State has punctured speculations that he and his allies in the People's Democratic Party's G5 forum met with presidential candidates of the all-progressive Congress, Bola Tinibu in London, and struck a deal to support Tinibu against PDP's Attiku in the 2023 elections. Now on the same day, at a rally in Abal, PDP's Vice Presidential Candidate, Delta State Governor Fianna Okawa declared that his party would still win in the 2023 presidential election, notwithstanding the schemings of the G5 governors led by Governor Wike. Also the Benioff State Governor Samuel O'Tom has thrown his weight behind the Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Albi in the forthcoming elections. Now this comes barely 48 hours after former President Lucia Gorbas and Joe Beggy had released a six-page letter endorsing the former Anambra State Governor. O'Tom is one of the five aggrieved governors of the People's Democratic Party known as the G5 or the Integrity Group. Others are Ines and Wike of Rivers, Sheyma Kendi of Oyo, Ifai Ngwaini of Enugu and Okeze Ikwazu of Abia. What's running us to break this down is Benga Olonpomi, he is a public relations consultant and an APC member. Also joining us is Ilemona Onoja, he is the head new media department of the PDP presidential campaign council. Thank you so much gentlemen for joining us, good evening. I'm going to start with you Ilemona because your party seems to be the one on the chopping board today. The G5 governors, some people would see them as a thorn in the flesh of the PDP and your presidential candidates. Some others would see them as those who were fighting for the rise of the southern caucus in the People's Democratic Party but then when the story broke that these men were going to be meeting with the APC candidate it did not necessarily sit well with the PDP. We've also seen people asking that these five governors be disciplined within the party. What's your position on this whole, in Broglieu? Our position is on very well. More than they are quite a number of people and justifiably so, we are unhappy with the fraternization between the G5 governors and the not just the APC candidate but also the Labour Party candidate and the justification for this content or this unhappiness with the fraternization is very simple. We've got an election to win and we'd rather be going to the election with the United House focused solely on the task of taking our message to the Nigerian people and telling them why after seven and a half years of maladministration and misadministration, which all the G5 governors agreed on, we'll just rather focus. So we see this as what it is, it's a distraction. It's a distraction as we are compelled over, we now have to, we're compelled to deal with. We'd rather not be dealing with this. It's already a considerable fight against an undemocratic, the undemocratic disposition of the APC in the first place but we have to deal with it anyways. Now, it comes down to that very simple thing, okay, we can walk and talk at the same time, we've let out the door, open for these governors for as long as possible while we are chasing a reconciliation internally at the same time speaking to the Nigerian people and telling them our plans, policies and projections for the future. But I think it's come to that point where people have to make up their mind one way or the other. I don't think that there's any worse damage that these G5 governors can do to the party. There's already, they've been in the media for several months, they've been in public for several months, they've held all sorts of comments and made all sorts of statements for several months. I think that the worst that they can possibly do to the party from their position is behind us. I think that we've taken our message to Nigerian people and it's been very well received across the country. I think that, you know, more than anything, they should be more worried about, you know, what they do with themselves after their 10 years elapsed than what the outcome of this election should be. We're still here, we're still confident that one way or the other, with them if they finally decide to come on board or without them if they decide that they want to face whatever decisions that is within their constitutional rights to face, then whatever it is. I think we believe that the message of our presidential candidates has been very well received across the country and that we are in the place where we're confident that this election has been won, will be won by the presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party, Al-Ajad Skwabaka. Benga, let's talk about your presidential candidate. Now we've seen, just like Eleanor has said, a little bit of hubbubbing of the G5 governors and your presidential candidates, and that also has been seen with, of course, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. But then many have queried the belated response by Boa Med Tinibu rejecting the fact that these governors were built to meet with him outside of the country. Many are saying that this is also some tactic that he's, you know, employed to try to hide the fact that this meeting actually held, even though the governors have also said that, you know, the meeting did not hold. But would your presidential candidate be open if you, you know, you were inside and privy to this information, but be open to have any form of meeting with these G5 governors, knowing that they're members of the People's Democratic Party and would obviously be making sure that their party wins and holds sway in the states that they govern? So, I'm happy to be talking about this very profound transition. And it's funny that the man who alleged to be in the fire, as the candidate of Boa Med Tinibu, is one that is having to deal with the party where post a very good job of his party are not in support. They are clearly showing that they don't want it. So if the man who says that he's in the fire and he's coming on the platform and says he wants to be in the fire, he can't even be in the fire, the members of his whole party, then it means that his message is dead on the ground. And that is what I've got to say. And the one that is on him as the person who is the candidate of his own party, who is a foundation member, who is a foundation member of the party, can't get up not of his own party tonight behind him, then there's a problem there. Nigerians should know that as they read it. That's to start. Now, the honest, yes, the candidate of my party knows to win it. He knows to win the presidential election, where he needs as many votes from across the country as possible. So if it... And he's entitled by all rights, and we have this statement on that, entitled to reach out and meet as many people as he feels he needs to win the presidential election. So if the different or whatever name they call it, are available for conversations of possible... I'm not saying that he met with it, because the statement has been issued that he has not met with his mental illness. But in fact, they are citizens of Nigeria, they are party leaders and they are statesmen, and they are stakeholder. If my candidate thinks that it's important for him to reach out and meet again, but what I want to just take away from this question tonight, Ma, who says that he's a unifier cannot unify party. That is a red flag, that's what... Okay. I just want to take you up on some things that you've mentioned. You're talking about the fact that his unable, Atikua Bubakai is unable to unify his party. But of course, if I recall, then the APT also has had his fair share of drama. Recently, the former speaker of the House of Representatives has just moved to the PDP because there were he and of course Babachele Lawal and some other people who seem to be Christians in the North stood against the Muslim-Muslim ticket. That somewhat also is a chunk of the party that has broken away. Can you be pointing fingers without the others pointing back at you? I'm just curious. And secondly, talking about the fact that your presidential candidates, if he were open to this, he has every right to go around and try to get as many people to believe in his ticket. But let's take, for example, River State. River State does have an APC that's also somewhat imploding and that seems abandoned. How does it look if he's hobnobbing with a wiki and there is an APC that needs the presidential candidates backing of sorts? So you are trying to mix apples and oranges and I understand that you have to fail your role here. But you can't compare five sitting goblins to a former speaker. Five sitting goblins to a former speaker of the House of Representatives. Five sitting goblins, you want to compare them to a former chief of staff of Nudo-SGF who is currently facing legal issues in court. What are the issues that these two men he mentioned have against the government? They supported him wholeheartedly when they thought that they would be beneficiaries and come out as presidential candidates to him. They thought that it was their opportunity to drop out. The man looked beyond religious iterations and decided to go with tests and supported running media he could find. And that is their only ground. The only reason they are supporting other candidates today is because it doesn't personally benefit them. So it's the fact that my candidate might be interested in working with me. It's down to the fact that election is in general. And for you to add to the role mix that there's an inclusion in reverse things. I think you should reject your facts. Reverse APC is in very good hands. Reverse APC is well catered for. Our candidate there is running in very, very ways. So again, to pull us back to where the issues are. The only impression that I see today is the one way long APC, where there are five governments. And this is a party that has five less governments than the APC to start. Five governments. And the APC was going to take over the media. We had defections from the PDP to the APC. That is how, that is one of the major ways that we took over. Many government, chief candidates, senators, House of Web members, elected PDP, the APC. Have you seen that happen? Have you seen it happen? Have you scaled it up on them? No. Why? In our party, we have a candidate that has been in, who came for so long, that understands what it means to be in the pipe, truly in the pipe. So we have more issues in the APC. What, where the issues are, where the drama is, and they should deal with it as the election. Before I go to Lemona, because I know that there's a lot in Lemona, I should speak. Yeah, I know you want to respond. But quickly, but quickly going back. So if you say that your, the APC in River States is doing a great job. And you know, they're not dead. They're not imploding. Okay, fine and well. Can we say that your candidate, because you said he's open to speaking with anybody. But if the APC is so certain that they're on ground, why do they need PDP governors? And, and it's, do you, can I say that there's a sense of desperation? Because most of the Southeast and South South governors may not necessarily be voting or looking in the direction of the APC. Quickly, if you can answer that for me. Okay, so we're very, very, very close to being in the US. I will, I'm a politician. So I will never use the words and say, oh, we don't need a certain set of people. What we are doing, trying to do is to show up our number. If taking away from the, the numbers of the PDPs, when we access my candidate, you can't ask him not to do that. The Democrats and Republicans in America always go after people within the opposition party or the party, the other party, such that people can take from those that are undecided within that other party. So it's a normal thing. One, and when you talk about desperation, I don't think to find somebody more in charge, more confident than the APC candidate. And as I said, again, I lied the fact that you're trying to push things in that direction. But the only party that has a problem today in Nigeria is because, first of all, five of your members, five of your governors are working against their own candidate. One of the running mate to this same advocacy is the front-runner, this is the ticket-raider in the Labour Party. His running mate is another former PDP member. And today, as you said, one of the people, I just endorsed him. So why should the APC have anything to worry about? Okay. They said that he wants to define Nigeria. Let me start by... Okay, let me come to you, Lemona. I know that you have lots to respond to. But recently, Governor Wiki had been called to say... First things first. First things first. Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. The... Bengai in his commentary reveals the rather undemocratic disposition that the APC has towards politics. That somebody is a unifier does not mean that there will be absence of disagreements. It doesn't. Is you expecting that in a political party that has as broad a base, the people's democratic party, that there will be no disagreement of any sort. There's a beach in Borneo that I won't sell to you. It's simply unrealistic. The disposition that, oh, people saying, oh, I don't agree with you, or I want to do things a different way, means that you don't have the capacity to pursue dialogue. Means that you don't have the ability to find common ground. Means that you are not willing to continually pursue negotiation so that you can carry as many people as long as possible. And then you should worry. If anybody comes onto national television and says... And because people say no. People in your party that are saying no. And anybody who comes and says to you that the people in ABC are not... There are no people who are sufficient enough to discontent. We're seeing defections on a daily basis. In KTATSINA, in KB, in Sampara. Who is so koto in Borneo, in any command. They are all over the place. More. Let's also talk about the registered state. You say the thing about your numbers. No. What Palatino Bush shows when he's so confidently or so brazenly chasing after the G-fight governor. He's a lack of confidence in the ABC structure to deliver an election for him. That's what he's doing. He's saying to Otsumi and Meiji, I don't believe you can win registered state for me. Or give me good enough numbers. That's why I want years on weekend. He's saying to the people in wherever their candidates are. In Enbu. In Benwe. In... You know, all over the place. In these five days in Oyo. I don't trust you guys. And I believe that there's a better structure. There's a more acceptable structure. There's a more like Ibuku face in the PDP. That's why I'm chasing those faces. It's really simple. Nobody is... Listen. I understand chasing as many folks as possible. I understand that. But I am also... I'm not well. I'm not a necessarily politician. I'm also a little bit aware about these things and how they work. Negotiations of this nature require you to take one risk. Trust risk is that you don't settle your party structure. There's a reason why Rotimiamechi is not popular. It's not seen on any of the campaigns. Because in river states, he's been told on the daily basis where some weekend means more to us than you do. Right? There's a reason why he's not joining the campaign too. But I also know... So one, there's that risk of running your... You know, upsetting your party structure on the one hand. On the other hand, there's also the thing that this... This support doesn't come free. Their negotiations is give and take. You give something. That's the reason why they had their first meeting several months ago in London. You give something. It's the reason why there are ongoing conversations. There are negotiations that are going on where the ABC can get these things. I will give you this, that and the other. If the man in the living room, if he was confident that his party, his message, his candidature, was acceptable, politicians are by nature the selfish people, the real body. The real body. The real body, who will go and negotiate to give you an advantage, who will run the risk of upsetting his party structure if he did not know that he was likely to do this election. All right, Ilamuna. That's the first thing. Speak again, that's also great. Quickly. Let me come back to your party now. Still talking about the problems that are brewing within the party. Wikia has recently been quoted to say to the PDP, Sack me if you can. He's daring, of course, the party to sack him if they think that he's involved in anti-party activities, et cetera, et cetera. Again, still talking about the crisis. We hear that the party chairman, of course, Yocha Ayu, is fighting back and he's blocking the G5 governor's nominees for polling duties because many would say that, well, he's not necessarily going to give or allow these party agents to be accredited by INEC for polling stations and coalition centers. Does this not further dent the already somewhat relationship that they already have, the shaky relationship that the G5 governors and, of course, their followers and the party chairman has? If the people were saying that they're not going to support you and that they're simply going to use and they try to get the party structure to work against you and they're openly consulting with your opponents. But I don't know. I don't know that it's an act of aggression to seek to ensure that the party structure remains with its integrity and that it focuses on its core objective, which is the delivery which is ensuring that it delivers as much success as possible on election day. I don't know that that's an act of aggression. It's not a sword. It's a shield, if you will. Again, the party has always insisted as recently as this week that the door to reconciliation is open. There's several party leaders all over the place who are pursuing reconciliation talks as much as possible and there's as much effort being put into that as could possibly be done. I would quickly like to talk about something like being that said about selfish ambitions and personal ambitions. Everybody knows that if the presidential candidates of the People's Democratic Party are picked one of these G5 governors as his running mate that we wouldn't have been having this. It's the same thing, the same thing that BINGA very easily tries to wish away in the APC. It's pretty much what is playing out in the people. It's the people who have found their own, what everybody knows through the G5 governor was potentially who could have been running mate wars and he didn't get that. And this training tantrum and it has been a continuous tantrum says that everybody knows who this is. So it's making this about the candidates of Antiqua Borca making this about the character of Antiqua Borca making this about the competence and the capacity of the presidential candidate rather than what it is. Somebody who is unhappy that he wasn't picked to be running mate and who has since then gone on this path. That's what it is. This is not a reflection on the presidential candidate. It isn't. The vaccine will change what it will face and I would like to come here and this is where I'd like to end. Quickly because we're out of time I need BINGA to respond please let's just let BINGA respond because we have to tell you. If I may, if I may you are trying to say that I would end the election I would end here. You are saying you would end the election on the candidate. Let me ask you a little bit. I would. Maybe it is a reflection. It is a reflection. I want you to pack for me and you can pack for me. Let me let BINGA pack for me. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Let me not. Please hold on. No, no, no, no, no. I will not have that. Please let BINGA respond so that we can go. Please. So this is what I want. This is out. He has tried to push it away from the fact that it's not an election on the candidate. Okay. It's not an election on the candidate. Maybe it's an election on your party that conducted a very, very unfair primary because that is what the man is saying. That's what BINGA is saying that he was unjustly treated in that primary. And it's quite funny to see where you have a party chairman who is going on and congratulating the person who stepped down and saying, hey, it's not the same party. That's what they are. You have a party that has been unjustly treated and the members are voting. It's not the same thing in the APC. Everybody accepted the result of APC primaries on the day off. On the day off. And everybody is fine. Everybody is happy. Gentlemen, unfortunately, I'm sorry to repeat. I'm sorry to repeat. Lastly, I want to say that nobody has ever won the presidency in this country without these three states. We have to go, BINGA. We have to go, BINGA. First of all, we have to go. We are forced to both have any of these three states. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Unfortunately, time is not on our side. I want to say thank you. BINGA alone, for me, is a public relations consultant and an APC member. And Eleanor Nodra is the head new media department, People's Democratic Party, presidential campaign council. We will have this conversation again, gentlemen, and we'll have more time so that we can draw draw. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you very much. All right. And thank you all for joining us on plus politics tonight. Tomorrow is another day. But don't forget, go get your PVCs because that is your passport to a new Nigeria. I'm Mary Anacone. See you tomorrow.