Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), was the guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on Arise Television, on Monday, where he had a robust engagement with his hosts. He answered many questions surrounding the election which held on February 25, which he insists he won. He pledged to use every legal means to prove that he won and would definitely recover the mandate, though he acknowledged that it would not be easy.

He not only picked so many loopholes in the election, but maintained that those asking him not to go to court under the guise that whatever happened was the wish of God, had missed the mark, because God was not known to support injustice, and therefore would never allow a rigged election. Excerpts: 

How is it going? How do you assess your journey so far and what are you saying to your supporters and Nigerians, many of whom are disappointed by the conduct of the process?

Well, my first reaction is to say, thank you for inviting me and being there for Nigerians. First is to thank God Almighty for keeping Nigeria, protecting it and blessing it. I’m thanking the good people of Nigeria for their interest and participation in trying to build a new Nigeria. The journey so far has been very tough, but that is what is expected. It’s difficult because we’re trying to change what is there that has kept us where we are. So, it’s going to be difficult.

If you look at the last election, it’s probably the worst election in this republic, considering the 2022 electoral act, which was meant to improve our overall election process and the continued and consistent promises of the INEC Chairman that this is going to be the best thing that will ever happen to Nigeria.

You could see it in all the editorials in all the international newspapers – The Financial Times, Economist, World Street Journal and everybody, including Chatham House where the Chairman was. He has questioned the rating of the country. For me in particular, it is one of sadness that 63 after Nigerian independence, we can’t conduct a simple election, talkless of any other thing – just election despite all the promises.

And it’s not as if we’re too big. The world’s biggest democracy, India today has about 900million registered voters. In the last election, 67 per cent participated – over 600million, which compared to our 25million is 25 times our size. Yet the infraction was less than five per cent. In our own, the opposite is the case.

However, my appeal to Nigerians, to my Obidient family is to remain calm and remain prayerful for our country Nigeria. We have no other country except this one and we will go through all legal means to bring a new Nigeria, where everybody will be happy and proud to say, I’m a Nigerian.

But some clergymen and influential Nigerians are saying that you should not go to court, that the outcome is the way God wants it. What do you say?

Well, I’m very respectful to prominent Nigerians, especially church leaders, traditional rulers and all of them. And I think that they should be respected for what they represent in our society. But I disagree with them. What they are actually preaching is the problem with Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria is accepting wrongdoing, accepting what is unacceptable. That is using God’s name in vain. that’s not what God says. God says do not use my name in vain. So, what they’re saying is not God’s wish. It’s not God’s plan for Nigeria. So, why don’t we accept that the 133million Nigerians who are poor is God’s wish? Why don’t we accept that 95million Nigerians living in abject poverty is God’s wish? Is it God’s wish that we don’t have constant electricity? Is it God’s wish that our children are kidnapped, is it God’s wish that we have collapsed primary health care leaving us to be the country with the highest infant mortality. Is it that everything that is happening is God’s wish? That’s not what God says.

No! God’s wish is when you do the right thing and in the end it is done. This election is predicated and planned and we had clear laws about the conduct of the election. If it was followed, if the results were uploaded from the polling units, to the server and everything, I won’t be here. I won’t be talking about it. It would have been concluded in a matter of hours without anybody arguing about it. But it is not God’s wish that INEC should do the wrong thing. It is not God’s wish that you go and rob a train and go and start sharing money. This is what is killing the country. People come here, take public money and then go and give it to the churches and traditional rulers and they say it’s God’s wish and start giving them titles in the churches. That’s what we’re fighting. That’s what we’re trying to stop. We want God’s wish to be truly God’s wish. That’s when we do the right things and God gives his blessing.

What do you tell the young ones growing up? That it is God’s wish that you steal, that it is God’s wish that you conduct a wrong election? Tell me the difference between those of us who are doing this and the armed robbers. What is the difference between us and the train robbers? Let’s be sincere with ourselves. That’s why it’s God’s wish that somebody came out to say he knew a governor who kept N22billion and nobody is talking about him, but we’re stopping young people who have laptops and questioning them and calling them names. That’s not God’s wish. God wishes us something better. What I know is God is wishing us to do the right thing so that we start building a better country for our children.

We hear that INEC is not allowing you to inspect materials used in the election. What is going to be your next step?

You know, INEC is a public institution sustained by taxpayers money, including you and me. I believe in the laws of our public institutions. If there is anything, they should be open, because they conducted the election. That’s what happens everywhere. If you do something and people are not satisfied, it is for you to open up yourself. This is not the first time I’ll be going to court with INEC. Since 2003, I’d had to challenge INEC results. Don’t forget that I was the first governor in this country to come through the process of court. Throughout these three years, I was in court with INEC giving me access to whatever materials they used to conduct the election. You’ve conducted the election, you’ve announced or declared the winner. I’m only asking, can I have access to the documents and materials you used to arrive at that. I’m not asking you to change what you said.

Remember, as I used to tell people, I’m not challenging who they declared or the outcome, I’m challenging the process with which they arrived at their declaration. Unless we do that, we’re not going to stop the rascality we witnessed during that election. The process through which people come into office is for me, far more fundamental than what they do thereafter.

There’s a process of doing things. There’s a process of arriving at any destination. Like I said before, if you’re going to answer Your Excellency, the process of coming to that position, must be excellent. If you’re going to be bishop, there’s a process of being a bishop. You can’t answer a Doctor if you’ve no PhD. Even if it is conferred on you, you must have done something to merit it and there must be a process. So, the proccess is important.

So, what are you going to do?

Well, we’ll go back to the court to say what you granted, these people are not obeying. We’re not going to be lawless. We’re going to do everything through the law. Whatever we’re going to do will be for the interest of the country. But they’ll give us access, because they pronounced declared somebody. So, we must have access to the process with which they made that declaration.

Governor Nyesom Wike, said you’re the hero of that election, because you stopped Atiku Abubakar from winning in his traditional areas and paved the way for APC to win. Festus Keyamo, APC campaign spokesman, said that you’re role stopped in making Tinubu President and Reno Omokri, accused you of massive rigging in the South East, because he couldn’t understand how you could score 97 per cent in Anambra. Even Atiku acknowledged that you took most of his votes from his traditional areas. What is your response to all these?

Well, my first reaction generally is that even the declared winner did not win. He may have been declared by whatever means, but he has not won, because to win is to win the people. Democracy is government of the people by the people for the people. That means, if you must win, you must win the people. But if you have not won the people, you’ve not won. And I can tell you that in the last election, the declared person did not win. However, the rascality is what we’re challenging. On the various comments, let me talk about the issue of Reno. Ordinarily, I won’t comment on anything he says, because I only reply presidential candidates and not spokespersons, because they’re not contesting.

But since it is something that I’ve never participated or been part of, I have to reply it. I’ve never and I’ll ask anybody to add one vote for me that doesn’t rightfully belong to me. I haven’t paid anybody to rig election for me. Go all over Nigeria to ask anybody in INEC and the so-called EOs, Resident Electoral Commissioners and all of them whether any of them has met Peter Obi, saying do this. Go and ask the police or army to say do this. Never! They’re referees. It’s their job, and they should do their job. The issue of where I got 97 per cent is in Anambra State. Reno Omokri forgot that in 2019, go and check the records, where the PDP had the highest votes, was in Anambra State. That was when I was Vice Presidential candidate to Atiku. Our votes in Anambra State was almost 96 per cent. That’s where the PDP got the highest votes, because I was on that ballot and they know me.

I live in Onitsha. If you want to know how I got 97 per cent, come and go with me to Anambra State with me. I don’t need police. When I come out, you’ll see the reactions of the people. In fact, I’m actually surprised that I didn’t get up to 100 per cent in Anambra. I’m telling you because I don’t know who would be voting against me in Anambra State. In the South East, it’s a similar situation. People know me, people know what I stand for, people know I’ve kept to my promises. People know that I’ve kept to what I’ve said. It’s a simple thing. It’s like people going about and saying he got votes in Lagos because of the Igbo. How many Igbo live in Lagos?

I got more votes in Lagos from indigenes than from those you can call visitors. Are the Igbo in Nasarawa, are the Igbo in Plateau, are the Igbo in Abuja? In Rivers, where you know that the governor came out against me, I say if they leave the votes of Rivers to be counted, I won. I had more than 50 per cent of the votes in Rivers and the other two parties were sharing the other. That I won in Aso Rock, will you say it’s rigging? Which machinery did I have to rig? I had no councillor, I had no local government chairman, I don’t even know any DPO. So, which machinery will I use? They’re the ones who have belief in this. What they’re doing is what I’m trying to change.

How are you going to leverage on the momentum built by the Obidient movement? How are you galvanising this to help those vying for governorship on March 18 and what is this reason for renaming BVAS from Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to Basic Values Acceptable to Society?

Let me start from the Obidient Movement. Because Nigerian politics have largely been transactional, when we were starting this, many people didn’t believe in what we’re about to do. The consequence was that we didn’t have candidates for governorship in most of the states, because in a transactional thing, people like to be where things are being shared. So, nobody believed that a political party without councillor, or local government chairman can come up and become something. So, we didn’t have in most places, candidates. In a few places we’re able to have candidates, they’re first class candidates. I believe and I support them and I believe that they should be supported by the Obidient family and the people because I believe they’ll do good jobs.

Take GRV (Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour) – young man, excellent background – you can’t have somebody who has a degree from MIT. So, these are the qualities we have.

In some places, we’re going to work with some good candidates, because there are some states where we don’t have candidates. In the South East for instance, we only have candidates in two states. We don’t have in Ebonyi. In the North we have in Plateau, and we don’t have in Zamfara. So, there are few places we’re asking our people to support other candidates and where we’re going to have partnership, like in Cross River State, where we’re supporting the candidate running under the PDP, we support him because he’s an excellent candidate.

So, for me, it’s about having competent, credible people having integrity with track-records that can do well. It’s not just about saying it must be Labour Party always. Where we think we have good people, we support them and we’re supporting them. Where we think we have somebody better, we give our support. The same thing is what I preach to the people. Don’t say if it it’s not Labour you won’t support. With time, we’re going to build this institution and ensure that everything we’re going to do is the right thing. But it’s not going to be overnight. So, for me, in states where we have good candidates, we’re going to support them.

We’re going to make sure it works and where we don’t , we’ll be honest to the people, because what we’re trying to do is to build a new politics that will thrive on character, capacity, competence and compassion and telling the people the truth always. That’s why I got 97 per cent in Anambra State, because everything I said, I did and where it was impossible, I told the people the truth and not telling them lies. I accounted for their money.       

When I said BVAS should be Basic Values Acceptable to the Society, what makes a good society? It is values. The values they accept, the values they tolerate is what builds the people. Just like you’ve said that the Bishops are saying it’s God’s wish, how could God wish that the people are poor? How could God wish that Nigeria is in darkness? No! It’s not God’s wish.

Has Tinubu called you? What’s your reaction to the ethnic coloration the campaigns are taking in Lagos and what do you say to those arguing that your candidate in Lagos is too young, having just turned 40?

I’ve always said that the APC presidential candidate is an elder brother. I could even call him a father and I have a lot of respect for him in everything. I’ve not been opportune to speak with him. I don’t have any issue with him. I respect him and I’ll continue to do so. I’m only challenging the process through which he was declared winner, because that process is wrong and that process must be corrected. I believe that things must be done rightly. We must follow the rule of law, we must have a society where things are done in a decent and organised manner. We must try to build this new nation for the world to respect us.

What you see as ethnic strife is just people trying to hide under what doesn’t exist to cause confusion. The votes I got in Lagos, as I said earlier, cut across everybody in Lagos from Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw and all the tribes that live in Lagos voted for me. I can tell you that a lot of people who I know that are thoroughly Yoruba who are supporting me. In 2003, Obasanjo got over 90 per cent of the votes in the entire South East despite that our own revered leader, Ojukwu was contesting. Nobody shouted at anybody. Nobody said I won’t do business with the Yoruba or with Northerners or with anybody. He failed in Yorubaland, but we gave him more votes in the South East even when our own revered leader was contesting. Nobody quarrelled with it. We have Yoruba people who live in the East. Don’t think that it is only here that the Yoruba live. I can tell you that in Onitsha where I live, two prominent people who I deal with are completely from the South West. They’re there and nobody is harassing them. They’re doing their businesses and voting for whoever they want. I can go back to history. In 2011, we voted for Jonathan and he got more votes in the South East than he got in the South South. When Abiola contested election, he had more votes from the South East, even when his Vice Presidential candidate, Kingibe, was a Muslim from the North – when Tofa had an Igbo man as the Vice Presidential candidate, a respected Igbo man, yet, Abiola won.

When that election was eventually annulled, go and check those who lost more in NADECO. It is the Igbo. Ralph Obioha’s businesses were ruined. Go and check it. So, when people bring what doesn’t exist, we should be careful. So, who were the people who voted for me in Abuja? We’re they only Igbo? Nobody got 25 per cent in Abuja out of the two parties. Is it the Igbo who voted for me in Plateau? Do the Igbo occupy Nasarawa? The governor of Nasarawa said I won’t get 10 per cent of the votes in Nasarawa, and the governor of Kaduna State said I won’t get 2,000 votes in Kaduna and I got 300,000 votes. So, I’m appealing to people, in the interest of Nigeria. Today, we have a Pakistani as Mayor of London and Indian as Prime Minister. And they’re doing far better than we’re doing. In this place that is not even working, we’re still trying to divide ourselves. That’s what we’re trying to remove. It’s this rascality, it’s this structure that we’re trying to remove that brings this hatred, which we must remove from the system so that the system can work.

When people can no longer compete on character, competence, compassion and capacity, they resort to religious and ethnicity. They were shouting, Peter campaigned on religion, but they’re the ones doing it. I’ve never told anyone to vote for me based on this. I said it, don’t vote for Peter Obi because he’s from the South East.

On issue of someone being too young, it’s laughable. We should actually stop people who are too old from contesting. If I had my way, if we can retire our bishops at 70, our professors at 70, Supreme Court justices at 70, it’s time will peg the age in this our politics so that people should also retire, because the reason why we say at 70-75 people should go and rest, is because it’s these people that are bringing this confusion.

Age-40 is the age where people became Presidents in America, the world’s biggest economy – $25trillion and we just $400billion. And you’re talking about age. I think he has the right age, the right background, the right education.

Your party, despite not having a structure has made inroads into the National Assembly with six Senators and 34 House of Representatives members. How do you comment on that? Secondly, this issue of INEC not allowing you to inspect materials, Yusuf Tanko, your campaign spokesman, has served notice that the only option is to picket INEC offices nationwide in a peaceful protest. Why not go back to court to press for contempt against INEC?

We’ll apply both. We have a situation where you cannot imagine. INEC is an institution backed by law, the court has given an order and they’re not obeying it, how then do we start to build a nation. The most important ingredient, what makes a nation is the rule of law. I said it when I was campaigning that we must govern by the rule of law. The biggest contributor to the western economy today in terms of the growth is the intangible assets, called rule of law. The reason why people want to live America and Britain is not because things that happen here don’t happen there. But because if it happens you can seek redress in court and it will be obeyed. If you call police, they’ll respond. Nothing else. Law and order is what we’re working here. We must live in a society that is organised. Today, with the way Nigeria is and considering how bad things are economically what the world expected of us in 2023 – there was so much expectations – was to have free, fair and credible elections, where the new government will come to start – people talk about low-hanging fruits. The number one low-hanging fruit here is to start governing by rule of law. If you start it, you start changing this country. And that I’m committed to. And I’ll urge INEC to please help the country. The image of the country – our strategic importance in the comity of nations is being put to question by all this rascality.

National Assembly?

For me I thank God that we’re able to get the number of seats. I hosted the candidates after they received their certificates and urged them to know that we’re committed to a new Nigeria and we must do things differently. We must support what is right. We must work out everything and I’m sure they will do that. There are things we need to do going forward for the Labour Party. For them, it is to build a democratic institute that will be able to teach people what their job is all about and what they’re expected to do. It is not just that you’ve won election and it’s now time for you to be part of the confusion that exists and go transactional. We now want to leverage and we’re talking with different organisations, different countries that can help us build a proper democratic institution that will teach our people, including me what governance is all about.

Critics have question why you accept the NASS results without that of the presidential since both of them took place at the same time. So, what’s the difference? Again, in Enugu, there seems a confusion about who the Labour Party is supporting between Frank Nweke of APGA and Chijioke Edeoga of LP. Who are you supporting?

Let me start from Enugu. The issue of Enugu is because Aisha Yusuf, tweeted in support of Frank Nweke. Let me clarify. The Obidient Movement are not necessarily LP members. There are so many people in the Obidient Movement, who have nothing to do with Labour Party. Somebody like Aisha Yusuf is not a member of the Labour Party. We even have what is called The Big Tent, where many groups gather, which has all the groups who supporting me today, as a presidential candidate, who have nothing to do with the Labour Party.

These people believe I can do this job. So, they have a right to choose who to support. But as a Labour Party, which I’m a member – don’t forget that the party is far more supreme than any individual – Labour Party, has chosen Chijioke Edeoga. He is our candidate. And that I stand with, because I’m a member of the Labour Party. Members of the Obidient family have their own choices and I can’t question them. So, that’s the difference.

On the issue of the National Assembly elections, remember INEC said the House of Representative was going through and the Senate was going, but it’s only the Presidential. So, by that, they’ve defined a process. They have accepted a process. Go and read your law. In the other two, they followed that process and in this one, something happened. They gave an excuse, which shouldn’t be, because they know what they were doing.

Is LP collaborating with PDP in Lagos? Are you talking with Atiku to pursue this case together and what happens if even declared winner by the Supreme Court and the order is not obeyed?

Well, there is no partnership between Labour Party and the PDP. Both of us are challenging a process that is wrong. That is acceptable. The process was wrong and we’re all challenging it because we’re all participants. It’s like a woman that was raped and she goes to court and several other women come out. They’re not acting jointly, but they’re victims of the same manner.

But both of you are claiming to have won the election at the same time. How’s that possible?

There’s no problem. That is why we want to check the process. It is that process that we say who actually received the highest number of rightful votes cast in that election and the spread. So, if we do the right things, what we’re claiming now is because of the confusion that was deliberately created by INEC. If they had done the right thing, we won’t be here. Nobody will be arguing. Like I said, I have my respect for Atiku. My respect for him remains for as long as I live. He’s a respected elder brother.

But have you been speaking to him?

Of Course! Not as regards this election, but on any other issue. We’ve always remained close. On issue of Nigeria, we’re two different candidates. I’m committed to a new Nigeria, committed to doing things differently. But my commitment does not in any way affect my respect for him or Tinubu. I’ll remain respectful to them.

On issue of Lagos, the Labour candidate in Lagos, remains the best candidate. He’s true and thorough Lagosian, from a family that is well-known. His educational background, his age and everything gives the impression that he has the right thing and the right energy and I support him 100 per cent. So, also do I for any other Labour candidate that is chosen through the right process.

I told you here that we don’t have candidates everywhere. We have may be five-six or seven candidates and I support them. Wherever you see me not supporting a candidate, Labour Party, especially our chairman, must have worked with them in partnership or somehow to be able to achieve in the last election and Labour as an institution is bigger than me. And I respect and take directives from the Chairman, because we want to build institutions, so that it will work. Even if I’m the leader, I still believe in the institutions. And we must respect the institutions.

That’s part of the rascalities that I saw in other parties that made them not to work, because people think they’re bigger than the party. I’m not bigger than the Labour Party. Labour Party remains bigger. Whatever directives they give I obey. So, I assure you, we’ll support GRV and I can tell you that he’s a fantastic candidate.

Your critics say at 63, if you’re harping on youthful age, you’re not qualified. They even say elsewhere, the use age for any job is discriminatory, just like religion and gender. What do you say to the allegation that using age against your co-contestants is unacceptable?

But I wasn’t talking about myself when I talked about age. I was only replying that somebody who is 40 is too young to govern Lagos. That is when I said that people who are talking about age that people above 75 should actually retire. But, let’s not compare age in the US and here. In the US, life expectancy is 72.5 years. Here in Nigeria it is 54. So, at 70, you’ve actually passed 16 years and should have gone. And some of these people saying this have contributed to why people are dying and why we have high rate of infant mortality. So, let them not compare. It’s not the same thing. Some who is 80 in America is different from someone who is 80 here. So, you cannot compare the two of them.

Number two, I’m not 63 years old. May be right, may be wrong, my affidavit letter, which I still carry around me, which my mother gave me in 1970, said I was born on July 19, 1961. If anything is wrong, I hold my mother responsible. But she’s been a wonderful woman. I don’t have the privilege of my father giving me. So, if you follow it, I’m still going to be 62 in this July. So, I’m not comparing age. But I assure you of my commitment.

They keep saying we need experience of age. But the aged and the old have not used that experience. But rather what they do is claiming experience in failure. They’ve not used it to progress the place. Rather, they tell you that I’ve been doing this for 30 years. So what? The place failed. How can you claim experience in failure? If you’ve been doing this for 30 years and we’re in this mess, then actually, you should cover your face in shame. It’s not about saying that I’ve been around for 20 years and therefore it’s my entitlement. No, you have to claim entitlement where things are progressing, where things are going well. That’s what it should be.

People are raising the issue of age against Gbadebo, because they say it is linked to political experience. Yes, MIT, is an Ivy League school, but they say if you have to govern a diverse state like Lagos, you’d need more that an MIT certificate. What do you say to that? 

Which experience? When I was campaigning to be the governor of Anambra State, I’d never worked in government, I never had anything to do with government. I was faced with the same thing. I was his age. I started campaigning in 2001. I was just 39. By the time the election took place, I was 41-42.

So, I was that age. And it was the same, because people were saying who’s he? He has never done this, he’s never worked in government before. The only experience they can claim is the experience of corruption, the experience of stealing, experience of doing the wrong thing. In fact it is good sometime for you to bring in someone who didn’t have that experience so that he can clean up the mess.

I came in without that experience and when they wanted to teach me that experience, I told them they’re wrong. I recall asking my people why Anambra State will have a lodge in Abuja and they told me because every state has it. I told them you can’t because the governor doesn’t live in Abuja. So, shut it down. Why will this one happen? Why will the governor have 18 guest houses and they said because he’d have guests. These were all the things we shut down that gave us the money to do the work. So, the experience they have is what we’re against. That’s the structure they claim they have.

What you see us challenging now is the structure they’re telling you that we’ve no structure. As far as I’m concerned, he’s at the right age, the right energy, the right educational background. Whatever there is that you think is lacking, because of his exposure and all that, he’ll be able read it. The job of a leader is always listening and learning. And I did that and we succeeded. Listen to the people and do what they want. Prove your integrity and look at the background where you’re coming from. Remember that if you steal, it will show in the alumni record of MIT that you’re now a thief.

What is now your relationship with Governor Soludo, who said you’d win only two states? What do you say to him if he’s watching now that you won more than two states and counting?

First is that Soludo remains my respected elder brother. He’s also my Governor. So, I respect him always. An I remember him in prayers that he governs the state very well because at the end of the day, I leave in Onitsha. If anything goes wrong, it affects me directly. So, I always remember him in my prayers and I’ll always wish him well. We never had any argument. His political understanding or stand, does not in any way affect me. We’re family and we’ll remain family. Like I said when he said it, he’s a professor and I’m trader. So, two of us have different ways of reasoning. You can’t expect a trader to be thinking like a professor neither would you expect a professor to be thinking like a trader. that’s where we are. So, there’s no problem between the two of us. We’re friends and we’ll remain so.

Talking about the issue of age, I’m not against age. If you’re 70 and you’re healthy and everything – I only said age should not be used to talk about inexperience. I’m also saying age at a certain time can be used to say you can no longer physically do certain things because the job requires physical energy. I can tell you, ask those who know me well, I used to travel to London and back here three times in a week. I arrive in the morning and go back in the evening, arrive in the morning, go back in the evening. Today, it’s not possible. I was doing it in my 30s up to 40s. Today, I needed to break it. So, if I get to 70, it won’t be the same thing. I went to not just 36 states when I was campaigning, but to over 100 places. If I go to your state, I’ll visit to another place. I went to Oyo and to Ogbomoso, I went to Ibadan. I went to Adamawa, I was in Numa and I was in Mubi. I was in Maiduguri and I was in Biu. I went to Edo, and I was in Auchi and Uromi. It was possible, but the other candidates couldn’t do it. It was impossible. It had to do with physical energy. It’s important.

There’s something circulating right now that you were a member of the Association for Better Nigeria that supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election. Were you with Arthur Nzeribe who led that movement at that time?

1993, I lived in England and I had nothing to do with politics. In 1993, my business was between here and the UK. I was living in England with my family. If you want to know, my son was born in 1993 December. You can go and check his birth certificate. My daughter also. They were in the primary school in England. How could I have little children who were in primary school in England and be in Nigeria doing Better Nigeria, while my wife lived there. So, who would I leave them for? People said a lot of things. I was never involved in politics and never even voted as at that time.

I was actually a businessman, contributing to building a better Nigeria, involved in supporting Nigerians in different places. Just like I said, I supported Abiola when he contested because I was listening to what he was doing. And I was doing so, in my capacity in different. And when it failed and they started NADECO, there were other people who were involved in it like Ralph Obioha or the late Ndubuisi Kanu, who would tell you that they knew me and other things. I all, I say there shouldn’t be any tension, people should go out and vote for Gbadebo. He’s the right candidate. And they should go out and vote other candidates, even where I mentioned that if you have competent people in other parties, vote for them.