 On the breakfast, the United Kingdom has unveiled a tariff-free trade scheme with Niger. What does this mean for entrepreneurs in Africa's largest economy? Also, on the breakfast, the 2023 elections are on the threat, best of you of a former security chief in Nigeria, who believes iPop and terrorist activities could scortal the country's footcoming polls. You'll also be disclosing the pages of a national daily list this morning and bringing you great analysis. Welcome to the breakfast in Plasti, Africa. It's a beautiful first day morning. I hope you're having a fantastic day already. The conversation promises to be amazing and very, very interesting as we start. Well, as always, we set off with a top-trending conversation and this morning for us, it's the fact that you have a student arrested for attempting to kidnap a Niger college provost. That's number one on a top-trending conversation. And it's been generating different reactions from different quarters. Number one, I mean, that's a student that you hear, a student on the one hand. And secondly, the student is 18 years old. And so a lot of persons have actually said what's really going on, but a bit of a background, you know, to the situation. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, has arrested an 18-year-old student over an alleged attempt to kidnap the provost's college of fisheries. That's the new bossa in Niger State. According to that statement that was put out by Nassir Abdulay in Niger State, the suspect is a college student and one who's arrested on August the 10th. Abdulay said that the suspect had conspired with all the persons who is now an underrun to write a letter threatening to kidnap the provost if he failed to pay a ransom. And the spokesperson said the suspect did not demand any particular amounts before the dictators from the command arrested him. And so it's been said that he's been arraigned and charged with criminal conspiracy and intimidation. That's on the one hand. But it's really saddening to see that at 18 really, where did the idea come from? How did they even arrive at, you know, the thought of kidnapping a provost off their own college and demanding for ransom? Could it be that, you know, the entire activities in the system has actually led to all of this? Could it be that the body language that we have given over time has led to this? And that's why, you know, the younger persons or young adults are copying what's happening, you know, in the largest system. For instance, who would imagine that an 18 year old would be involved in kidnapping and not just kidnapping. You probably say kidnapping your lecturers. It's good as saying you kidnap your lecturer or your teacher, but it's what we constantly talk about. How far and what have we done with those who have been indicted, those who have been mentioned? I mean, these criminal elements that are out there, those who have, we say, the disabandeds and the suppressants who are involved in acts of criminality and crime. What have we really, really done? You know, have we been able to arrest these persons? Have there been any sort of arrest made that would discourage, you know, people from engaging in acts of terror and kidnapping? It's a question that we asked because over time, we had all these terrorists, their crimes, those who have committed one or two crimes, and they go about their business system moving around, you know, without any other fear and nothing, you know, done. Well, that's it on the top trending, but we're hoping that the law would take its costs just as we proceed. We take a quick break now. When we return, we continue with our trending conversation. Please stay with us. Well, let's see the breakfast in plus TV Africa and it's top trending for us. Our second conversation or top trending issue is that the House of Representatives is probing or has probed the agricultural ministry of 18 billionaire Bush-clering contracts. And that's quite interesting, okay? Because this would not be the first time, I mean, the issue of probing has been going on for a very long time. The chairman of the committee who is known as Oluwale Ok, he's the chairman of the committee of the investigations going on, has said that contracts were awarded to companies for Bush-clering land preparation and rehabilitation of soil and plant laboratories. Now the committee had raised, you know, is probing the queries that was raised by the office of the attorney or Auditor General of the Federation on Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Now during the lockdown of the country as a result of COVID-19, some companies had taken contract worth 18 billionaire. And for Bush-clering, from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for land preparation, rehabilitation of soil, plants, lab and orders. And according to the investigative committee, they said it's not possible to shave the head in the absence. This is what they said. And so that's why an invitation has been put out there. They have invited those who were worth this contract to come and answer, respond to the issues and showing the places that were, you know, supposed to be have clad and take the people to where it was clad. So that invitation was also made. And so according to, you know, the spokesperson, they said they have to take us to the land that they have clad, we've invited the Ministry of Agriculture. We have made a submission, but some of our members whose constituencies or whose projects are in this constituency were supposed to be, are saying that this project are dumbest out or I mean, they're supposed to be dumbest out, have doubted that this project actually exists. And so for the issue of fair hearing, these invitations have been given to the companies that got the contract for them to come and tell the committee where the jobs were executed and they will wait until the end of the hearing as a yes, they were there about before they take action. And so according to the committee, if we, if they're not here, we'll have to do the needful to get them to come, do the needful to get them to come and if the needful doesn't work, what happens, you know, with the needful. But you know, for, first of all, let's not forget that this administration has been very big about the fight against corruption and not to even talk about this administration, but generally, how far have we fed? If you, if you look at, you know, the body that's started with the responsibility of awarding contracts, you find that the federal executive council has a body that approved contracts in Nigeria and whenever you have that stamp and his signal says, I mean, the signal is that authority has been given to this company to go ahead. Now, what's very legal because you've also had an activist, human right activist, who's argued that it is contrary to the law. The fact, that's the federal executive council has no right whatsoever because it's not, you know, a constitutional thing. It's not where the law has granted, you know, the federal executive council to award contracts. So it's, it's more of a systemic corruption. It's more of the lawlessness that has happened, you know, from time, from who has the right to authorize a contract. Is that being done according to what the law states? Now you have the federal executive council who awards a contract, you know, on a weekly basis because they get to meet every other Wednesday and I'm sure there was a meeting yesterday who knows how many contracts would have been approved when you have a body that would have been constituted. Now the Public Procurement Bureau is saddled with that responsibility. We should have been supervised, you know, by another body. That's the National Council, Public National Council of Procurement. If you look at the 2007 act, it gives rights, you know, to the bodies. That's the BPA and, you know, the NPC to go ahead with all of these activities. But unfortunately that's contrary and so how do you even explain the fact because those who constitute the federal executive council, you know those who aren't, I mean, so they gave the go ahead. They awarded the contract for the Bush Clearing and all of that. And now we're asking because there should be some supervision. If a contractor, there's a proposer, you should know what it is. There should be some investigation site saying that we just wake up and approve contracts. So it's quite funny now that we're asking. It's a good thing. So it just feels like, oh, let's follow protocol. But now that the house is investigating, isn't it very funny that from the inception, we didn't even get it right? Should the federal executive council be involved in awarding contract? But that's also on the one side. And even if they have gone ahead to award this contract, whose responsibility is it to supervise and ensure that this is not a ghost project? That it doesn't really exist because those who are in this constituency or those who are in this particular region or committee or where this project is supposed to be instituted are saying that they can't even attest to the fact that there's something like that. 18 billion hours is what we're talking about every other time. It's quite saddening. And for an administration that's very big on the fight against corruption, what are we really doing? How do we even get to that point? But that's it. Fingers crossed. Let's see how all of this pans out as we proceed in the course of the day or the days as it goes by. We'll move away from that. Another issue is the fact that it's a political season and so consultation would be big on the plate of all of the politicians. So politicking would go on and the Nigerians have cried about those who are actually occupying offices because the issue of governance would have been relegated. And so nobody seemed to be paying attention to the current issues of administration, administering different states and constituencies and the country entirely because everyone seemed to be bent on politicking in 2023, the election, who gets power, who gets what, when, and how they get all of the power that's been. So it's just the normal presidential flag bearer of the APC, that's Bola Matinibu, former governor of Lagos State, has also met with the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in our Biokuta over his presidential bid. We take this track when we return. We continue with the conversation. Please stay with us. We have planned this event for several weeks. We have postponed it about three or four times. It was meant to hold tomorrow. But because of the exegesis of my office, I reassured the request that the police bring it out to today, not even knowing that we are going to have an off-pister in the bones of August. You are indeed working at the sun. This to me is excellency. I assure you, I met Bola Matinibu first. I wish he had visited you anywhere after he won the province of APC. So you are indeed very lucky. Well, you can actually see that, you know, that visit, you had the entourage and those who accompanied Bola Matinibu. So this is the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That's part of his itinerary. Consulting, consultation is still ongoing. But, you know, the crux of what that was about or the conversation that went out is not something that we have available. I mean, what would have, what would the vice former president, what did he say to him? I mean, all of the conversation, the back and forth, is not something that's very much available. And another one is that the electricity workers have suspended strike, their strike. And just yesterday, you know, they had threatened or they had said they were going to embark and strike for welfare consent until, you know, answers are gotten. And so some parts of Lagos and other parts of Nigeria who probably would have experienced some blackout, but some people say, hey, it's just natural. There's something that happens on a daily basis. So it's really not anything different from what we witness. But we'll just quickly look at this. When we return, we have more conversation. Please stay with us. Yes, the issues that we had, I thank the Honourable Minister and the Minister of State for power, for their maturity in handling these issues that we brought up. Yes, these issues could have been tackled earlier on if there was a rightful communication with all parties. But well, as we have said, we've been given two weeks to wish to report back to the full house. Well, we are sure the nation that such crisis will be nipped in the board before it escalates. Well, it's a good thing that the strike has been suspended. The electricity workers have decided to suspend the strike following their meeting with the Minister talking about labor and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige. Well, it's a good thing. But let's also hope that whatever our agreement would be gotten into would be respected because it feels like we seem to be experiencing a trickle down a lot of all of the agreements that was entered. I mean, these workers are striking because of a 2019 agreement, some sort of understanding that was entered in 2019 and we're in 2022 also talking about this issue. So it's okay to say the strike action or the strike will be suspended and the call of the strike, there's some sort of agreement. But do both parties respect the agreement, implement whatever was actually agreed upon. It's one thing that we call on our leaders to also respect agreement. I mean, it's really saddening that two persons have come together and they have some kind of agreement and which would be documented. On the other hand, another party feels it just lacks. You want to say that it's the integrity and all of that. And we can't continue like this as a nation over and over and think that we respect things differently to happen. It's really saddening. But I'm sure that we can do better as a people. That's the size on our top trending this morning. We take a break when we return. We'll be looking at the front pages of a National Dailies. Please stay with us.