By Chukwudi Nweje

Dr Yunusa Tanko, the 2019 presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) and 2023 spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Committee has said his party does not trust the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to do the right things at the off-season governorship polls in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States on November 11. He said the electoral umpire has a lot to clean up in its system to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy. He also spoke on other national issues.

The Labour Party (LP) has directed the National Assembly members elected on its platform not to accept the SUVs the legislators requested as official vehicles; why the directive, and what is LP trying to prove especially as legislators from the party did not oppose the requisition of the SUVs when it was first brought up?

Labour Party is a masses-based political party; it is inhuman and inconsiderate that at a time the Nigerian people are in abject poverty, and can’t afford to eat three-square meals daily, their elected legislators, who are supposed to defend their interests want to drive an SUV of N160 million of public funds. It does not make any sense; that is why the party leadership gave the directive. Labour Party is trying to prove a point that it is a masses-based political party, and that it represents the interests of the people, and is determined to protect those interests. If it were possible, we would have said that the money for buying those SUVs should be put together and used to empower 10 to 20 people in each of the constituencies to be independent. We can get good vehicles from Innoson Motors, which would be more meaningful, and would enhance their entrepreneurial strength of the brand and at the same time promote the Nigerian brand in line with our principal’s mantra to move Nigeria from a consumption to a production economy.

What would Labour Party’s leadership do to its legislators that accept the SUV against the directive of the party?

Those of them who collect the SUV despite the directive of the party will have to give account to the people in their next election. Labour Party is not the one that will vote during the election, we only provide the platform. Therefore, if the platform is saying that collecting the SUV is contrary to the constitution, the manifesto, the mantra, and the ideology of the Labour Party, the electorate will have to decide whether those contesting for office on the platform deserve to win election. The electorate will decide who wins election and who does not because if the elected representatives don’t do those things that would protect their interests, then the electorate will not get value from the representatives.    

Are you satisfied with the explanations on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate?

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar went to court to establish whether the documents President Bola Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) came from Chicago State University (CSU) or not and the university has said it did not come from them. This has put the burden on Tinubu to explain where he got the certificate and whether he had the authority to produce it. Why did he submit a certificate that was not authenticated by the university he claims to have attended; that is tantamount to forgery, and a ground under which a candidate could be disqualified under Section 137 (1) (j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is no ambiguity in that, any other matter arising or what people are saying is just trying to garnish and change the narrative. The issue is what document Tinubu submitted to INEC; Tinubu has to explain whether the document he presented is recognised or forged.

Peter Obi has suddenly come under attack; he has been accused of impersonating and using his late brother’s certificate.

My principal, Peter Gregory Obi’s eldest brother is still alive, the second eldest brother, who died, read Computer Science at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), and he was there the same time Peter was studying Philosophy. Peter Obi has been bold enough to bring out all his certificates for public scrutiny, and we are asking all other naysayers to do the same thing. We challenge President Tinubu to publish his primary school, secondary school and the authentic certificate of Chicago State University. If he has a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Certificate, he should also publish it for public scrutiny. We are demanding that he should reintroduce himself to Nigerians so that we will know whether he is the same person he was at his birth. Otherwise, there is an issue of perjury established in this case.

Atiku’s papers show that he has gone by at least three different names from his primary school to the time he became Vice President in 1999, what is your take?

Atiku has made it clear, and he has sworn to an affidavit that is in public domain on his change of name. There is no big deal in changing of names. If Tinubu had done similar thing, there would not be any hullaballoo; he should be advised to do the clarification early enough. Atiku cleared the air almost 50 years ago by swearing to an affidavit. Many Nigerians have done a change of name due to marriage and other things; as long as it is documented, there is no ambiguity. Atiku and Obi have publicly presented their certificates; Tinubu should do the same.

Do you see any connections between these sudden attacks on Atiku and Obi and Atiku being behind the court case that forced Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s CSU certificate that was hidden in the many years he had been contesting for public office?

We took the matter of Tinubu’s qualification to stand election to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), and that was the beginning of the certificate drama. Atiku also took the same thing to court to establish the authenticity. You can say there is a connection because the idea is to find out whether Bola Ahmed Tinubu is actually qualified to run for election in 2023 ab initio. They may appear as pre-election matters but the fact is that they are germane issues and some of these people are used to manipulating our courts, and they tried to frustrate this matter before now. Everyone now knows that Tinubu has questions to answer. 

INEC has again promised the use of IRev during the governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa on November 11, what are your thoughts considering the experience of the presidential election?

INEC has a lot to clean up within the system and if they promise that, they are going to use IRev and all other electronic machines approved by the Electoral Act 2022 and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is yet to be seen.

We are only hopeful that INEC will do the right thing but we do not trust their capacity to do the right thing for the interest of Nigerians but we pray that they will be able to do it because we believe in democracy and must protect it with every string of our being to ensure that it succeeds.

What is your impression of the performance of LP legislators in the National Assembly, it appears the vibrancy exhibited before the election has faded?

Most of the legislators at the National Assembly are green horns. There must be a coordinated effort to get them to understand what Labour Party stands for. Some came into Labour Party from other political parties that have different ideology, and thus need to study our ideology in line with the interests of Nigerians. I think it is an ongoing process and by the time we conclude, they would stabilise and meet the expectations of Nigerians within the confines of the manifesto and constitution of the Labour Party; it is an ongoing process, and there would be great improvement as we move along.