In politics, events could be racy and take up new dimensions on the hour. That best sums the developments in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where some of its leading lights from the South, staged a walkout on the party on Wednesday, to underscore their demand for the resignation of the National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu, an associate of the party’s presidential flagbearer in the 2023 Presidential election. This is coming less than 10 days to the flag-off of presidential campaigns. In this interview with SUNRISE NEWS, Chief Olabode George, member of the party’s Board of Trustees, former Vice Chairman, South, and current Leader of the party’s Southwest caucus, spoke on why he and the Southern members of the party and other statesmen in the party are insisting that the party must be reworked. He insisted the demands for Ayu’s resignation are for the sake of fairness, equity and justice. He reminded those calling for the application of the party’s constitution for the resolution of the current impasse that the party sidestepped the constitution to allow for the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate, wondering why same principle cannot be applied for the sake of peace and to engender a sense of belonging by all. For him, the party can still do the needful to pull itself back from disintegration and build a common front to defeat the ruling APC. He also spoke on the rumpus within the party in Lagos and how the party’s flagbearer emerged through deceit and deception. It is vintage encounter, hot and fiery. Excerpts:
You have been trenchant in your demand that the National Chairmanship slot of your party – PDP must come to the South in respect of the party’s distribution of party offices. Why is this so?
This is the most trending political topic in Nigeria today. But it is all about the concept of Justice Equity and Fairness. It pains me when I hear people saying doing that would be violating the constitution of the party. Some even said am fighting this for the southwest because I want to become the National Chairman of the party, all kinds of stories have been coming up, but my pose has remained, why don’t we sit down as a party if we are committed, loyal; and dedicated to the norms as entrenched by the founding fathers, it is a very serious issue. How do I go to campaign platforms to campaign to convince our people that we must vote for Atiku, who is from the Northeast. I have nothing personal against him, but card carrying party members are fewer compared to the electorates who want to hear what we as leaders are bringing home to them. Each time you are going to the campaign and you are telling the people, trust me, but the people are now saying how can we trust? How can such an issue be discussed after the election? In the past people would have believed them, but the situation which the APC has thrown at all of us, is scary. Who would want to believe such talks again? As one of the fathers of this party, you need to remind our friends that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If we are saying, encourage the members here, let’s have something to show our people that we are coming back to serve you. Number One, Bola Tinubu is an APC candidate, he is from the Southwest. He will tell the people who are here with the Presidential candidate ticket. Then what would I tell our people to convince them to follow us? What do you show to them? The way the founding fathers conceptualized this party was brilliant. That is why their names would remain ever green on the page of history of our party. In 1998 people who could not even agree to shake hands politically, came together. Chief Bola Ige from the Southwest, Alex Ekwueme and Chief Jim Nwobodo from the East, Chief Solomon Lar, from Plateau, Chiroma from Yobe, professor Aminu, Bamanga Tukur, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, and several others, all of them together to say lets find solution to the nagging problem that will always bring the military back into government. How do we resolve this friction of the majority versus the minority? What do we do for the North and South where the majority always have their way and their say and the minority will be mere onlookers? They sat together and came out with this brilliant idea. They divided Nigeria into six geo-political zones – three up and three down. Both captured majority ethnic groups and minority ethnic groups. They then came round again and said, there are six top positions in the land. These are: President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, Secretary to Government and National Chairman of the Party. Brilliant. Six top positions, six geo-political zones. And you can see the connection between the executive and the legislative arm and the party. Every zone either majority or minority, will go home with one of these top positions.End of story. No one will go home with zero. You will go home and show your people what you’ve brought and after every eight years, all positions in the North will revert to the South and the ones in the south will go to the North. Turn by turn Nigeria Limited. It means that sometimes, even the minorities can become president because as you rezone you rotate. Nobody would be left out. That was what guaranteed democratic dispensation for 16 unbroken years under the PDP. If you remember, when the APC people came in 2014, they were saying we don’t believe in zoning, we were watching them. What did they eventually revert to -Zoning. It is the most sensible way out of our inglorious politics. If you have a brilliant suggestion that would enhance our politics and bring development to our nation, that would ensure peace and intertribal relationship, whether it comes from party A or B, or outer space, it is sensible for the parties to adopt it. That’s how the founding fathers established these issues of six geopolitical zones and six top positions and if you look at those political zones, they are not in our constitution. Our national constitution does not talk about zoning, it talks about states and the federal government. The way they did it, the position of the President and the National chairman of the party can never be from the same zone. If Number one goes to the North, Number Two comes to the South, Number Three goes to the North, Number Four goes to the South, Number Five goes to the North, Number Six comes to the South. This crisis came about because yes, the founding fathers never envisaged that there would be a presidential candidate outside PDP. So everybody was looking. But here we are; another party crept in and made use of the zoning arrangement. The fundamental question is where did General Buhari come from? Is he from Anambra State? Southwest? He is from the North. So when we came back to our political equation our friends’ argument was that he is not a member of our party. But he is president. Would it be fair to then say when we are going to do our zoning he has no role to play in the outcome? The imagination in their mindset then was that this arrangement affects all as long as we are Nigerians, it affects all Nigerians. For justice and fairness as long as you are Nigerian, we must weave that into our political equation. I remember there was so much talk about what happens after eight years of Gen Buhari? Where should the next president come from? The south. The argument went all up and down and down and up. In the PDP Constitution Section 7 Subsection 3C, very clearly stated that we must adhere to the principle of zoning and rotation, for all elective and party offices. That means because Gen. Buhari has been President for eight years, the next President must come from the South. The zoning committee that was established came out to dilute this and eventually brought us into this present confusion. I can talk confidently about this because I was there. I have been part of the system. I have worked in the system for 10 years at the National Secretariat. These are like the unwritten laws of the party. Sometimes, a system, over time develops its own unwritten culture or norm. Some are written, some are oral and unwritten and you hand them over from generation to generation. Don’t discard them. What is the meaning of Omoluabi in Yorubaland? Did we write it down? But it goes from father to son and from one generation to the other. They’re usually not written. But the way we are going on in this party, and the unpredictability of human behaviour, if we are able to succeed and sort ourselves out we would make sure that these laws now, must be written. Take pen to paper and list them all out. So there will be no misinterpretation because of human greed. Section 7 Subsection 3C, compels us to adhere to the principle of rotation and zoning for elective offices – both executive and legislative and the party offices. The zoning that was set up only zoned the party offices. They started selling forms immediately and what did they do? They sold form, they didn’t announce how we would resolve the issue of elective offices. Six months down the line, we had a meeting and we reviewed what they’ve done, and they were now arguing that well since everybody has been going out, they thought since Buhari was not from our party, they didn’t think it should go to the south. Some even went to the extent of saying that there is no need for zoning anymore. But ditching this will take us back to where we were coming from. Why are you saying discard zoning? It is even more important now than we were in 2015, the mistrust between tribes, the insecurity, the lack of faith, the lack of trust in any government. How do you now bring people together to guarantee peace? That no one tribe is servile to the other. How do you guarantee that Ijaw kan kii seru Ijaw? Ajo o le dun benikan o ni. Our party has to get everybody back on board. Inclusiveness that we all have a sense of belonging, which I think the greatest friction that scattered the first republic, the second republic, led to the first coup, the second coup and the civil war. Now, when they started that, I said see the constitution of our party, then they set up a committee to review the zoning committee’s report. Because at that time, they had sold forms to everybody, they had zoned party positions, elective positions they left out. The first meeting we had trying to streamline these tendencies was very stormy. Eventually that meeting we scattered, but by the next adjournment, people became more reasonable. The issue of zoning was brought back and we all see the reason to go back to it. We both agreed to bury the hatchet in the interest of the party and the fact that forms were already sold. Purely on moral suasion we agreed not to exacerbate issues and don’t start adding salt to injury. On that basis, we resolved that we are all working against our constitution,for the sake of peace. Since they didn’t announce the sales and zoning of elective offices six months ago. We said okay, for this occasion only, after a lot of begging and canvassing, we agreed, otherwise the party should have scattered from that time. We agreed that yes, everybody can contest on this occasion only, because of the lateness in announcing zoning and because everybody have been buying forms and not mindless, we were all very careful and we noted that only on this occasion. In the future, six months before the commencement of the sale of forms, the party must definitively announce zoning of elective offices and the party offices. We kept the peace and the convention went on peacefully because we all agree to allow all birds to fly. Now they are now talking about the constitution because we are saying that Ayu should please bow out in the interest of the party because you manouver, and bye-passed the constitution for oneness and for peace. Now it is the time for them too, to reason along and allow the chairman in the interest of oneness to step aside since we accepted and he won at the convention. We are not saying we want to yank him off. Moral suasion. In fact, he himself stated categorically that in case the presidency comes from the North, he would resign. He said it because he knows the culture and the norms of the party. Suddenly now, they started saying if Ayu resigns, the constitution says it should be another northerner…ahhh. Ko s’Obo n’Danre mo o. By my conscience, how do I face my people? They started saying oh, he is supporting Wike, because Wike lost the election that’s why he is promoting division. Then they now remembered the constitution and would not want to flout the constitution. What did we do for Atiku to emerge? We bye-passed the constitution for moral suasion, but right now, they don’t want to obey what is required for oneness, for equity for unity and to have a stable platform before we go to battle. O wa dori akayin, akara d’eegun. Why? Are you now slamming this on our faces and I feel so insulted, with some of the states. I may forgive them because some of the players there have no idea what we are saying. If these things have been written, perhaps they would have known, but because it is an oral history, they are pretending. Its so annoying as a General, I can see the danger ahead. I can see two issues here; the people who came together and established this party in 1998 wanted to remove all this friction. This is the first time in this country that we would have a party that is truly national in outlook. PDP is the only party that is national and I have campaigned. I was once the Director General of a major campaign; I have been to many states of the country and to all parts of this country and we have seen the attitude of people. We won’t let them turn this party into the Northern Peoples Democratic Party. We should come back to the true national party that we have, which is the Peoples Democratic Party.
As one of the remaining conscience of the party who have weathered the storm in the party and have been in the very heart of the system, some Nigerians would have expected that you channel this within the party’s internal structure rather than making it a media issue. Are you sure you are doing it right. This looks like the best time for PDP to win, yet internal strife seems to want to destroy that chance?
There is no organisation anywhere in the world that you would not have friction, especially once you have more than one human being. The ability of the management to resolve the friction is a measure of their competence, their dedication, their loyalty. We had a meeting last week. Like I told you how we resolve the last issue of zoning North or zoning south. We did it internally. I went to the meeting last week, hoping that we would be able to resolve things amicably as usual. But when I got there I found out that the voices of opponents, especially most of the people expected from the south, were not at the meeting…
Was that deliberate…?
I wouldn’t know. I got a notice of the meeting. I left my home here in Lagos and I got to the meeting. There are three major meetings. The National caucus, and I’m the one representing the Southwest at the National Caucus as the leader of the Southwest. There were two people that ought to be there that were not. I went to the board of Trustees meeting. That’s the conscience of the party. That is the party’s upper chamber who should mediate and resolve internal issues within the party. The first thing that we heard was that the Chairman of the Board is resigning. My first question are: is it on health purposes, is it an allegation of corruption, on what basis? The first day into a meeting. Jibrin is a Fulani man, honest and straight like a rod. He appeared and offered to resign. I countered it and said Alhaji, you cannot, this is not the right time. What signal are you sending to the people? But our voices were drowned in the cacophony of voices who were saying yes, let him go, we would give it to the secretary of the Board of Trustees and that was from the Southeast. People are moving motions. I saw clearly that a devil with seven horns had entered the party. Tension was everywhere. What has Wike got to do with this? But are you honest? Are you truthful? Because of what happened at our convention? But the young man has accepted his fate, he has moved on. He is saying let us now put this party in a reverse mode. We have allowed Atiku to emerge, which has disorganized the arrangement. What we need to do in the interest of this party, based on the interest of our founding fathers is for the chairman of the party to step down for peace and calmness so that we can go united to get rid of this APC government. Simple. We are simply appealing to his inner conscience like they appealed to us, otherwise, how would Atiku have emerged as our candidate? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. That’s all. Is it nothing personal? Let’s face the real issue. Like they say in my part of the world, is it justified? And particularly for us in the south, how do we go and campaign for Atiku to listen to us and we would not be stoned or asked, what are you bringing for us? And the other party would say Omo eni o le sedi bebere ka fi ileke sidi elomiin that is what he is singing around and it makes us look stupid. That we are fools. Sometimes, I wonder, are they not aiding this man? APC is a contraption; it is not a political party. It is a congregation of strange bedfellows, unlike PDP, from the tropical forests of the South to the Savannah regions of the North, there is nowhere we don’t have members. Why are we destroying this beautiful concept, established but now borrowed by the APC. Why are we ourselves destroying this by thinking that it does not matter? That is the interpretation. So back to your question, where else would you sit down when the man who should now get everybody together suddenly said he should resign. If it has got to this, where else would you go. If I leave PDP today, there’s nowhere for me to go but home. Where is the political party I want to join? There are no parties. About a year ago, I took a decision, I spent 25 years in the military, I am in my 25th year in the PDP. By next May, I will have spent 50 years of my life in public space. What am I looking for? Ive said it to them and I’m not hiding it. Fifty years of my life in the service of this country is not a joke. I am grateful to God that I am still able to walk and talk, partisan politics end of story.
In the interest of peace, would you accept the position of the party’s National Chairman if it gets to that level?
Noo. Afobaje kii joba…
So, where do we go from here? What is the solution for the party?
There are people. Are you saying we do not have anybody? When I needed it, I didn’t get it. Now I am more concerned about justice, fairness and equity. What do I want to go and do there? I don’t even have the health of jumping here and there anymore. Iam 78 years old. What am I looking for? O wa lomode o fako yo, o w ani giripa o dabira o wa dogbonkagi o nseju pako pako bi ako oka, se igba yi laaro ti arugbo nsukun omo. Afoba je ki joba. My grouse is let there be justice. That will give people like us rest. That other one from the other party, who is saying: omo eni o le sedi bebere ka fileke sidi omo elomii. Eeya, o ti ji lo. In Ondo State, are you saying there are no people? In Ekiti, in Osun, in Ogun State, in Lagos State, worthy to manage the party…
The problem is they are not yet tested. Unlike you?
This is why I am saying…
Sir, I am saying this because you are tested and because are entering a critical cycle of election can we allow the party to somebody who cannot handle the party?
I can’t. I know my limitations. My health cannot cope with the rigours any longer. What if I now died, won’t the party go on. If I give you two or three names, you’ll know that we have strong names and personally. Look at Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Did he not serve as governor? Has he not worked as a military administrator? Did he not serve as Secretary? Isn’t he qualified? What of Mimiko, he has been serving even right from university days. My great grandfather Herbert Macaulay was Nigeria’s first politician. He formed his first political party in 1922. Ibi ti iyi ba wa laaduro si. Otherwise ete lo ku. When I said I wanted it, I know the strength I had then, should I now be staggering to do it now? I won’t be as effective. My role now is to be cautioning the younger friends not to destroy the tradition laid down by the fathers of the party. I have nothing else to gain. I want to live my old age in peace.
Why do you think some people are not speaking up. Why are people keeping silent in the face of all that is going on in the party, especially the southern caucus of the party?
When people get to a certain point, human beings perhaps because of certain interests have a way of avoiding issues. I am in my 50th year of public service. If you can’t tell the truth to power now, when will you? Some people may still be thinking, they still have a future to build with the party. Baba Awolowo was a politician. Are we not still singing praises of all that he did even in the First Republic? He has left, but the body of works he left behind are still being talked about. My great, great grandfather, Herbert Macaulay started a political party in 1922, he adopted Zik, even when Awolowo was still in school. Where the present General Post Office is in Marina, was where his house was. He was a thorn in the flesh of the British. He was privileged to study there. Seeing Lugard. He was going about Nigeria mobilizing people to see why people must see the British as unnecessary. Let’s work together. In 1946, he went to the North to mobilise the Northerners. When he returned, he caught pneumonia and eventually died. We took it over and continued. For 25 years I was in the military, well trained. Another 25 years, I was in the public service, a total of 50 years. My system is already telling me to take things easy. It is more of not letting it get worse. My best friend is and remained a Fulani man. My great grandfather Revd George was evangelizing in the Nupe area, present day Niger State, where he found his wife. He had three children, two girls and one boy. That boy was my great grandfather. In my family house, we had Nupe blood in our system. Go to Lagos Island, once you got to Oshodi area there. You know what they call them? Oshodi Tapa. Who are the Tapa? The Nupe people.My grand Aunty, my grandfather’s sister, spoke their mother’s language. Who decided when he was to be born, where he should be born? Who created all of us? And didn’t he say love your neighbour as yourself. What you did not want to be done to uou don’t do it to another man. And of you do there are consequences. Don’t destroy our fragile democracy. They are hell bent on outsmarting everybody, but is it fair? Little drops of water makes a mighty ocean. These little things we are doing destroys the very fabric of our unity as a nation. That’s the appeal. That’s what we are saying. When I saw how they were behaving, a took a bow, the man who is to help resolve our grievances made himself the issue by resigning.
We know your position on the presidential candidate of the APC. We know of you have your way, you would want your party to win the election and get back to power. Is there ever going to be a middle course? What do you think could be done to ensure your party wins. Is there anything you can overlook in the interest of the party to get to where you are going?
We have been telling the people not to be carried away with the promises of our friend from the other party. It looks like some of these people are even working against our interest. That’s why we are saying Mr Presidential candidate should go back to his tactical team and look again at it. Can we afford to leave one side of the table and be thinking as if we are already arrived at the villa. Twenty four hours in politics is too long in politics. We have enough time and election is not tomorrow. It is next year. He will come here to come and talk to our people.
Perhaps he has left the Southwest for APC, you know it is the catchment area for them?
Who ceded Southwest to them? We must contend for every part of the country, Southwest inclusive.
Will you leave Lagos as you vowed if Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu wins the presidential election next year?
He won’t even get there. You know his spin doctors have started to say that they would go and do what they did in Lagos in Abuja and I exclaimed! Nigerians are not stupid. This man?
You’ve not been campaigning for your candidate in Lagos. You’ve not even addressed your party and mobilise party faithful for him. It looks like you just abandoned the party to this man who just joined the party recently. Why is this so?
I will tell you what I know. You know people have been talking about this issue but I know that when trees fall on each other, you start by removing each of them from the top. Let’s sort out the major problem. But on the issue of Lagos, why we have not been talking is that when he came to join us he was brought by one very highly respectable man who I had tremendous regard for brought him. There were I think about three initially competing, then they increased to about four or five. Elders of the party sat down and we asked these people to appear before us before going for their screening. They presented themselves, They talked about themselves, what they have been doing before and what they intend to do if they should win. We listened. You present your educational background, your experience in life and whether you have participated in politics before or ever vied for any public office before. Unanimous decision here was taken and I asked the young man Jandor, how old are you now, he said 44, I asked the other young man Rhodes Vivour how old are you now, he said 39. Very well educated, a thoroughbred Lagosian, went to MIT, I was admitted myself to MIT, my father didn’t have the money I was fortunate to enjoy scholarship. That was where he studied Architecture. He worked in World Bank, he worked under the American government and then came back. Of course being a Rhodes-Vivour, his father was my classmate. His name is Wale, not the Judge, We had left school before the Judge entered Unilag. Wale was my classmate. He is Wale’s son. We graduated the same year. We agreed that since he is younger than Jandor, can he work with him? Instead of competing among themselves. The young Vivour had contested before. He contested for the largest senatorial district in Lagos, that was the Lagos West and the number of votes that he had was bigger and larger than the votes of the governorship candidate. But they manipulated the result otherwise he would have been the senator. Because we were hell bent on presenting a fool proof ticket to flush out these jokers, we asked Jandor, can you work with this young man, you are older than him you are 44 he is 39, I can still talk to him and his father. He has paid for the form o. He paid over N21 million. I asked would you take him as your deputy, let him work with you. Jandor has he ever contested, No. He said Yes sir. I called Wale, Rhodes-Vivour’s father and asked him to help us beg the son to step down for Jandor and work together with him on the same ticket. We said we want to win this election. This combination can deliver and we are happy at the package we wanted to sell to Lagosians to listen to them. Tinubu would be running for his dear life. Here all the elders agreed and Jandor has told me he would accept him as his running mate. That was how the primaries was seamless. Jandor himself said Yes sir. On the very day as they wanted to start voting, for primaries, some of our members still called me and said Sir, are you sure Jandor is still on the same page with what we have agreed. I said hold on, I called him and again, asked him. He said Yes sir. I called Gbadebo, drop off so that you won’t split your votes. He (Jandor) won seamlessly. A week after, people started saying he wanted to give one woman. The news started flying on social media, I ignored it. Which one was my own, we have agreed before we got to this stage. Had his commitment to work together with Gbadebo. He went to Baba in Abeokuta and told Baba that Baba should please appeal to me that before Denrele Ogunsanya died, she said if he wins, he should pick a woman from Ikorodu as his running mate. That he has lied to me o, how would he manage it. Baba said haa, you had a covenant with the dead and you had another covenant with the living. Baba called me and said Bode, best of luck o. The following day, he came here and said sir, Denrele, before she died, directed that I should pick a woman from Ikorodu. I was looking at this young man just as you are loking at me, shocked and speechless. Because there is so much rumour that’s why am telling you the full story. You are the first I will be telling all this full story. My first poser to him was you had an agreement with Denrele, but when I asked you here in my house, did you told me that? Why didn’t you tell me so that we would allow the two of you to enter the ring and compete and whoever wins would become our candidate. Why did you lied to me? Why did you pretend. Did this make sense? Why? I said it is okay. Then the elders I told them what I just heard and they were shocked. Then they said Deputy Governorship aspirants must come for screening at Abuja, he now told his lawyer to write a petition against Vivour. That he was from West before, he is now claiming Lagos Island. Their family house was part of the City hall. He is like me, Evans Street was my family house, was I born in Ikoyi here? If government activity has taken over the place, but that was where I was born. Of course they dismissed the petition. But because I don’t want what happened to Funso Williams to repeat itself, I called Wale, I said please come with your son. When they came, I said, am begging you. This is something I’ve never done before. But I entered it because we were trying to see the best way forward I got involved. I told him I wish I had enough money to refund you for the form you have bought, but I want you to enjoy your son, so please back off. Forget this issue of Deputy or governor and I travelled. Of course, if he was slapped, through deception, whatever choice he has is his. Is he my son? Yes, he is the son of an old schoolmate and friend so, he qualifies to be my son as well. But for God’s sake, he is a grown man, whatever he wants for his life he is in a better position to pursue it. When Atiku, Saraki and all of them walked away when they had thought they would be able to sway against Jonathan in the 2014 presidential primaries. I was there that day. You know they all trooped out, they walked out of the convention and went to join APC. Whatever he wants to do with his life, I can’t stop him, am not God. The one we did was to have a seamless procedure so that there will be a very strong ticket. His parents are still alive. He is a young man. If he says this is what he wants to do, can I stop him, is he my son? The one that I put my mouth in see the way it ended. You lied to me. If he had said sir, I have indebted to a benefactor and you told me the circumstances, we would have said both of you go to the field, if you win, fine. If you lose you go home. He emerged through deception. So why should I now start jumping to say am campaigning for the party, not yet. And you have just joined the party. The day he brought the young lady as his running mate, I don’t watch Nollywood so I don’t know her. Ive never heard of her name. I asked the girl two questions I said: have you been in politics before she said no sir. I said I want to talk to you like my daughter. You’ve been an actor, in politics as a young person, my advice to you is, number one, be humble. Number two, be honest and be truthful. If not, its not like your acting field. You are going to meet human beings in their crudest form. The good the bad and the ugly. That was what happened. But people have been going round even accusing me of doing anti party. I said am waiting for whoever to come with that accusation. Will I disown Vivour that he is no longer my son? His father and me graduated 53 years ago from Unilag. His son is also my son. Whatever political leaning he has that’s his personal business and that of his immediate family. He is married with children, like Jandor, and my children are older than them, so what is it? When people start to lie and be deceitful, they create problems that are avoidable. He cannot say that we were not with him. If the elders didn’t support him, would he have won? Not me alone. One tree cannot make a forest. They appeared to elders of the party here and made us promises and we decided that we should support them. And we are yet to sell them to the public.
Lastly, your word for Lagosians as 2023 election draws near?
The beauty of this election is that there is a new methodology of the electoral process. The process now is that we must troop out in millions to dislodge this man that has been lying profusely and stealing mindlessly from our treasury. Let them come out and exercise their electoral power. He has been lying that he always wins elections, no problem. What is the responsibility of those in government? It is to utilize the resources of that state for the benefit of the people. What has he done, his wife is in charge, his daughter is the Iya Oloja General, his son is the only one with advert billboards. His company is the only company allowed to have billboards in Lagos. So it is government by Bola, for his wife, his daughter and his son that we have been running for 23 years in Lagos. Look at the squalor in Lagos. Look at the pain these people are going through, local government to local government. What is the state of public health? What is the state of public schools in Lagos? Who owns Alpha Beta Company? Even his chief spin doctor Dele Alake was talking from both sides of his mouth, he couldn’t answer the simple question of who owns Alpha Beta Company? Simple question. I don’t know or you Know. Was he not in government when Osinbajo registered the company? So they will now carry the same Apha Beta company to Abuja and be collecting our money from FIRS. Look at the humongous amount of money he collects. Sanwo-Olu has backed down on toll gates because of election. Lagosians must troop out and exercise their rights. Let each ask themselves if they are feeling much better today, than they were before this strange administration came into government. Then vote for them, but if you are angry and you are suffering and you feel you are perpetually in a state of helplessness and hopelessness you have the power to accelerate their exit. Go and vote. The result now will be streaming live. You saw what happened in Osun? You saw what happened in Anambra? You saw what they did in Ekiti? The Almighty God has heard our prayers that the new electoral process is going to be modernised. If there is anything else I have against the APC government, this one, I doff my hat for Gen. Buhari. Whatever we talk or say, he changed the process.