 Very good morning to you and thanks for joining us on the run-up today. My name is Nyam Gul Agadje. I'm alone in the studio today, but I know that I have a whole family out there, and you are one of them. Thank you for joining us. Today, we are going to be looking at the 2023 general elections and the fate of the PDP in Benwestad and beyond. This is in the light of the Benwestad governor, Samuel Othom, saying that he has withdrawn his support for the presidential candidate of the PDP. You'll agree that Benwestad is a PDP state, and this statement leaves us wondering about the fate of the PDP, even beyond Benwestad. Recall that in the south-south Governor Nyesum Wike of River State has been at loggerheads with Attiku, that's the presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party PDP. In the southeast, if I knew Guanyi of Enugu and Okazie, it was over by a state. Samuel Othom of Benwestad and Sheyma Kende of New York from the north-central and southwest, respectively. That is five PDP stronghold states. It must be scary times for the main opposition party PDP. Well, today we will be joined by Teve Akase, special advisor to the Benwestad governor on media and publicity. Also, we will be having a financial expert, Dr. Chiu Wike Uba, talk about the proposed redesigning of the Naira and what should be a priority, especially at a time when the Naira keeps crashing against the dollar. Remember that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefile, has said that some denominations of the Naira will be changed by next year's end, and we will have to start using the new notes from January, and in fact from December, early December. It will be the second time this is going to be done in Buhari's time, first as a head of the military junta, now as a civilian president, coincidence or not. And finally, we are going to be having a young entrepreneur tell us about his business and share his thoughts on the current political situation in the country. Do stay with us. We'll be back shortly. Okay, welcome back. We're being joined by the Benwestad special advisor on media and publicity, Mr. Teve Akase. Good morning and welcome to the program, Mr. Akase. Good morning and thank you for having me. First of all, we'd like to express our condolences to the people of Benwestad for the lives that you may have lost to insurgency and what you're struggling with in the floods and every other thing that is ravaging Benwestad. Accept our sympathies, sir. Okay. From the chief press secretary, you resigned and became an aspirant of the PDP in the last primary election and would like to congratulate you on the bold step even though you lost to the speaker of the State House of Assembly. How would you describe that process that threw up the speaker of the House of Assembly who is now the candidate of the PDP in the governorship race in Benwestad? Well, thank you. That separates PDP from other political parties because PDP in Benwestad is a family and before the consensus arrangement was made before the primaries, we governorship as parents had a forum which still exists even after the primaries and we agreed among ourselves that whoever imaged, imaged or whoever images as the candidate would have the support of all of us. And so it was a match to our party that the party's speaker should fly the flag of the party in the governorship election. I would expect to come out and accept because as a young politician, many times the decisions may not go your way but it's a learning process and to support the party even if the decision does not come my way will now give me that balance to prove that I am a true party man and I have the spirit of sportsmanship. It mustn't be me, it could have been anyone else and if I was chosen, I would have expected my fellow as parents to accept it, to embrace the decision and support me so that we go to the polls together. Going to the general election where you have a divided house, I mean it would be really difficult so I would have expected my as parents, my fellow as parents to accept the decision even if it wasn't what they were expecting to support me so that we go to and get the victory for PDP. So for me it was fine. Right now but that is Uba is a fine gentleman and he has demonstrated that even after he got the nomination of the party, he went around quickly and met all of us, went to our houses, all the governorship as parents and assured us that look this ticket, this nomination ticket is for all of us. It is not only for him, and so we should be together, remain together and work for the victory of PDP. So that's how it has been. Okay Ben we said it's largely a PDP state but Governor Tom has declared against the presidential candidate of the PDP. He said it would not work for the PDP candidate again. First of all would like you to confirm that and then tell us how that will even work because you have just said that going into an election with a divided house means that you may not have victory. When I was saying that I was referring to Ben West state, I was not referring to PDP across Nigeria in the entire country. And let me click here this that Governor Tom is not speaking for himself as Governor of Ben West state. He is the standard bearer, he is the symbol, is the one who, he holds this power, this mandating trust for the people and he was elected on the platform of the party. So if the party has got something wrong and the governor has his opinion, his view and says this is wrong, we shouldn't isolate what Governor Tom is saying to mean that these are his comments as an individual. No, he is a leader and he represents the party, he represents the people. So and again the governor, I didn't hear him saying it was going to work against the PDP. What he said is that the right thing has to be done and he has been saying the same thing that those who should act quickly and rightly have refused to do so, they have so far what we have seen is arrogance. And if this continues, then the chances of the PDP at the federal level in 2023 may be slim. This is because you have to move to back to, back to in quotes, this is politics, this is a game. You have to go to the polls and say united front and those who should act to carry everyone along and not doing so. Look at the example that the governor gave that in Benway State, he is the governor of the state, but he was not consulted, he was not, no one asked him any question about who and who should make the list of the PDP presidential campaign council. Is that how it should be? The governor of the state is the leader of the party at the state level. So for goodness sake, he deserves that honor. It is not about Samuel Norton, it is about the office that he occupies, even if you don't like him as a person. What about the office? And even those who are saying they will not recon with Governor Norton, if they were the governor, if they were in his place, would they be, and they were treated the way they are treating him, would they be happy? This is something that we should all look at it from the point of view of, if I were in that place, how would I have taken it? Now the candidate, the presidential candidate of the party, former vice president Alajia Tikuwabubaka spoke in Kajime and said the governor has been profiling full on the people. And the governor spoke to him and said it to him at this stage. And he apologizes. The governor apologized because your comments now put me off your hatred. And I now look like I don't like full on the people. And I have full on this in my government. I have never shown any hatred towards full on this. The people that I have problems with are those who come from, without Niger, who come from other countries like Mali, Niger, Chad, and attack our people. So if you apologize to me privately here, people will not know that what you said was wrong, sir. So I expect that your clinics take this message. You can even ask one of your aides to say publicly that what you said was wrongly Mr. Pritik, that you didn't mean to malign autonomous, to set him up for hatred and to look like someone who doesn't like to see the face of a full animal. So that is one. Another thing is that when 50 persons, we say 50 because 80 people have been, corpses have been recovered in Bejii in the Kumbh local government after the attack on that local government by full on the headsmen. And 36 have been recovered. The rest are missing. Many more are in the hospitals. So when Alajia Tikwabu, about a sent condolence message, in the email message, he said something that was not just curious but scary. He said, unless our, I'm not quoting him, but this is the interpretation, that unless our people are integrated in the societies where they live, their children are allowed to go to schools and access hospitals, that is the only time they can reciprocate that gesture. And when we looked at that statement, I was like, are you kidding me? Someone who is aspiring to be the president of this country is address a particular group of people. That is unacceptable. People should be a state man. This is the time to show the families that were killed in Bejii in the Kumbh local government when they were alive would not have expected that they would vote for him. Or if they had voted for him, would they have asked Alajia to remove those votes that he doesn't want their votes? Is that the same thing? What happened to people who were in Bejii if he comes? He has never been in any of the Bejii camps in Benwe. When he came here, Governor Otto Marx reminded him that there are thousands of people in the camps. It would be nice to go there and just sympathize with them. Empathize with them. Let them feel that you are the Zegemulo thief and by extension the Zegemulo Benwe. Zegemule means the shade, shade of the people of thief land and by extension the shade of Benwe. So you have to demonstrate that you are truly the cover of the people. If they have trouble, they can run under your shade and be protected. You have to show that now so that when the people are voting for you, come next year's elections, they will know they are voting for one of their own. They are voting for someone who loves them, who cares about them. But the signs that we are seeing now, the signs that we are seeing at TIKU demonstrate now are scary. They are scary signs because even before he becomes president, he has demonstrated that some other Nigerians are not his own people, that he cares more about a particular sector, a particular group of people. This is the contention and the governor is not speaking for himself as Governor Samuel Otomi is speaking the minds of majority of Benwe people because in the end, let it be on record that he spoke and said that something is wrong and that has to be corrected. But at TIKU still has some time. It is not too late. If he apologizes to the people now, comes to the state, this is the place where the attack took place, apologizes, goes to the other people, comes and similes with the people. He should show that he is a Nigerian. He should show that he wants to leave this country as a wall, as an entity. That is the argument we are making, that is the only contention. At TIKU has not really shown some kind of humility from the, will I call it body language, since it is a term we love in Nigeria nowadays. He went, the same thing you are complaining about in Benwe state, coming to constitute a campaign council, a mini campaign council, as it is, without consulting the governor. It is the same thing that happened in River State. Governor Neshomuike was also complaining about the same thing. So, if he is exhibiting these, maybe it will be really difficult for him to go back on his words and now start to say, okay, these people should go away and governors give me people. So, if he doesn't do this in a nutshell, you are saying he has lost Benwe. Is that it? You see, that is not for me or even the governor to decide. As I have said, governor Tom represents the people who gave him their mandate on two occasions, but he is saying that something is wrong. Now, it can be corrupted if truly those who should correct it want to correct it. It is up to them. A larger people, but as he has some time, if he wants truly, if he wants to begin a new camp state with the presidency of this country, the presidency of this country is so important to be toyed with. Okay, let's do it. What can trust a mandate in the hands of somebody? So, the point I'm making is the the signs that the signals that are coming from him are not acceptable to our people in Benwe state. We may not vote their hands to go and vote, but the people are already complaining. You saw, you saw in one of the major blocs in Benwe state two days ago, they mean that Edda's Forum is one of the most critical, one of the major blocs in terms of politics of this land. They came out quickly and said that they were pulling out of them. They were drawing their support. They were drawing their support, they were drawing their support from the people spoke and they were attempting to correct the more groups to come out of them. The governor has spoken to him as the candidate of his party that look, this is what the people are saying, that the signals that are coming from you are not good, sir. So, it will be difficult for me as governor to campaign for you in Benwe state. What will I go to tell the people? What will I tell them? How can I convince them that they should trust you when you are sending them contradictory signals to them? Opposing signals, I mean, signals that are sending dangerous signs that if you become president, you will be the president of the Fulani sect, the Fulani race. Okay, we've seen some of these traits in the principle or the candidate of your party, we didn't see him apologize after pulling down the tweet about Deborah that was killed, that someone tweeted on his behalf and said that it was condemnable and all that, and he pulled it down and Nigerians cried out, we have not seen an apology. If it has been done, I haven't seen it an apology like that. So, it might be difficult for him to apologize and do the things that you see as being right. If this happens or if this doesn't happen rather, is there a plan B? Are you having a coalition with another party to support their candidate in the state? Should Attico fail to do the needful? Well, you see, the leader who wants to be the president, like the issue of the government is silent. A leader is known when he takes responsibility and says to my people, how do you know that this will go against your expectations? Are you with this stuff pointed? And now that you don't like what I did or what I said, I am so, that is who the leader is. We have seen world leaders, leaders of a bigger nation apologize to their people. So, this is not for me to say, I am not Benoit people. I am just one person with a single vote. Governor Samuel Otomo principal is not Benoit people, even though he represents them, but he has one vote, even if he decides to vote for Attico. And the majority of Benoit people say they don't want Attico. There is nothing Governor Otomo can do. He can't flog them to kill behind Attico. So, it is up to Attico and his camp to vote to end the votes of Benoit people. Governor Otomo has told him what his people are saying, that the signal has from his camp are not good enough. They are telling them that they will be alienated, they will be considered as part of this entity called Nigeria, if Attico becomes president. So, they are worried, they are disturbed, and it is up to Attico to correct that. So, it is not for me here now to say, we are in PDP, we are working for the emergence of PDP candidates at the State level. Governorship candidates, right from the Botanical Zuba. Our Senators, Senatorial candidates, Governor Samuel Otomo for Zumbi, Senator Gabriel Sussuan for Zumbi, Senators Abamoro for Zumbi, and all other candidates at the House of Reps, for the House of Reps, House of State Assembly, we are working for them. Now, it is up to Attico's camp to convince Benoit people. Even if he doesn't convince us as his own people in the same part, the governor has already told him. It is up to him to vote to end the votes of Benoit people with that PDP. So, I won't be sitting here telling you that we are going to an alliance with whatever. That is not for me to decide. It is for Benoit people to decide who they want. And when they decide, we can't control them. Remember the elections that are coming are going to be very technical. And in excess, they will be transparent. We know that 2023 is supposed to be a different kind of election in Nigeria, maybe one which we have never witnessed, except maybe for the option A4 from Humphrey and Wosu and so many others. What will now happen to the candidates of the PDP since the people usually, usually, I'm not saying it's all the time, but usually votes for a party. How can we get them to vote for your candidates of the PDP in some elections and not vote for the president if that is what is going to happen? What are the chances of your candidate winning the 2023 governorship election in Benoit state, knowing that the presidential candidate is, permit the word, misbehaving? Well, you see, in Nigeria have become very educated and wise. Even in the villages, people have got electoral education. And that is why you will see that someone may win senatorial election. The presidential candidate may lose and house arrest. The three elections happen on the same day. There are three boxes. The boxes are different in color. Now, the people know that here is the presidential box. Here is the senatorial and this one is for house arrest. The education has been done. Political parties are also sensitizing their people. So it could be the people side. In 2020, Attifu Abu Bakar defeated President Buhari in Benoit state. Benoit, I think Benoit was the only state that Attifu won defeated Buhari in North Central Nigeria. So it is possible. The same election some senators, TDP senators, of course, all of them, three of them won. But in other polling units, Buhari defeated Attifu. So the people know exactly what they want. And then they decide that their votes for presidential elections will go to a candidate of another political party. They know the box is not the same. The box is not the same. They know the box. The other one is black. The other one is green. The other one is red, as the case may be. So the people know exactly what they want. And if there is anything Nigerians are well aware of, is the political knowledge of votes. So that may not even be a problem. The people know exactly. In the same polling unit, if Attifu is to be rejected by the people in the same polling unit, he will be rejected. Governor, some of the people will be elected. We voted for in the same polling unit. And how's our rest member? For instance, in Makudige, we go to a polling unit. Attifu may lose a polling unit. Some will return in the same polling unit. Benjamin Zandubu is our house of rest member for Makudiguma. May win the same polling unit. So Attifu is to win the polling unit to be rejected. So I think that will not be a problem. Well, we wish PDP and your principal, Governor Tom Locke, and we're hoping that the people between now and that time will be, like you said, educated enough to decipher between what is what, as it were, and be able to segregate and choose the candidate that they want. So we thank you for being a part of this show today and we wish you luck. Thank you. Before I go quickly chip in, arrogance will not take us anywhere. The leadership of PDP should come down from the high horse and relate with its party, with their party members at all levels. We are not yet in power at the federal level. So what arrogance are we showing? We have to beg Nigeria to be trusted. Thank you very much and God bless you. Thank you very much. Okay, we're talking with a special advisor to the governor of Benway State on media and publicity, Mr. Teve Akase. We'll take a short break and when we return, we'll be talking with our second guest, Dr. Chinwike, who is a financial expert. And we're looking at the Naira, the redesigning of the Naira. Stay with us.