 President Bala Ahmed Tinibu has appointed additional minister nominees in a list forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation. Senate President Goswylakwabi announced the names of the second batch of presidential ministerial nominees during the ministerial screening on Wednesday. The list is a completion of the remaining 11 states that have not been allotted in ministerial slot. Some names on the list include Ahmed Tijani, Bosun Tijani, Dr Miriam Shetty, Ishaq Salako and Tunji Alaosa, amongst others. What's running us this cost the list of ministers is Kungle Laol, he's the Executive Director of Electoral College in Nigeria and will also be joined by Soni Madukah, who is a public affairs analyst. Thank you so much gentlemen for joining us. Good evening. Good evening. Let me start with you, Kungle, because you obviously are of the Electoral College and so if we're talking all things politics, especially the Tinibu administration, you can be best to start with. Looking at the first set of people in the list and now, of course, 11 more people who've been added, which makes it more than 36. Of course, we know that in line with the Constitution, you must have at least some show of federal character to make sure that every state is represented. But in this case, this is the highest number of nominees for ministerial appointments ever in history. It looks like the president is going to break some sort of record. But let's start by assessing the number of people who have been nominated. What exactly are your thoughts on this? First and foremost, I believe that there was a breach of the Constitution, even with the submission of this list names, the fact that the president was supposed to do it in 60 days and he broke the list in two days. And this was a situation where you don't easily find normal before the person's bridge that. But now let's move on to this situation entirely. If you're going to understand the direction of the president, and this is what I personally believe, you're going to understand the direction of the president, his ministerial list is going to tell you whether he's going for development or he's trying to secure a second term or it's politically trying to provide gratitude to some that stood buying during the election. And what we've seen clearly from this entire 47 man list is I think political settlements. Now, usually in politics, what you're having from people, makes people normally bring out, you know, like the Bahá'í administration, the good luck administration, what you see is about 30, 40 percent of political settlements and then about 60 percent or sometimes 55 percent of technocrats participating. The president, I'm not going to go into the political joker and just brought in the draw, so I can use that term. Thank you. Interesting. Mr. Maduk, let me come to you. Every time we speak to, you know, the handlers of Mr. President, they always make reference to the fact that he had been Governor of Lake Ostate and in his being Governor of Lake Ostate, he worked with the best hands. They've always touted him as one who would be going for, you know, technocrats and guys who would be, you know, able to change the course of things for Nigeria. But as you look at this list of nominees, I mean, even though portfolios have not been attached to them yet, can we really say that the tinnable that run Lake Ostate has been able to bring that self of his to the presidency? Well, thank you, Anne. I think we'll say something about political settlement. That's exactly what you can, you know, call the assemblage or the gathering of the same old fellows. I didn't see any change from Buhari era. It's a gathering of the same people, you know, who had, you know, heard us captive in the past. I was thinking that the tinnable administration will take a new, you know, a new system or a new way of administration. But with a gathering of people, I didn't see any change. Look at it from this angle. Seven state governors, two of them just recently, all of them lost in their states. And you're bringing them to full on what basis, what, what did they do? What value did they add to their state that they are stated in all of them, you know, by voting them, you know, you look at the person like, you know, Matt Tallinn, who EFCC, you know, saw almost 40 exoteric cars in his house and it was returned with apology. You look at, in fact, if you look at the entire package, you discover that almost 50% of them have worked on the other, you know, with law enforcement agencies in terms of corruption. So I didn't see anything that's going to happen in this regime. More so, we are talking about cutting the cost of governance. 47 ministers for crisis at this time, we are thinking that he will be shut down certain ministries, you know, collapse ministries into one so that we have less of this minister. But now 47, which is even outside the Federal Charter Commission Charter, because the Federal Charter Commission Charter every state should produce one minister. Now, if you look at that list, some state have three, some say two. So in what basis, what is the criteria, like my colleague said, is outside the preview, outside the constitution of this country. What makes the other state to have three nominees? And the other was one. In what aspect? And in fact, the one thing that I'm seeing it is abnormal. You look at people like El Rufa, you know, the state all to eight years he was in governor of Cardona state. We have turmoil, security challenges. You have with somebody like Bahudu, who have been fingered out during their bachelor era as part of the people who helped in, you know, kind of hiding some form of a bachelor. So when you look at the list, it's a few people that they were just brought in, which one of them are, you know, novies, because I don't see most of them are going to do anything. I saw the screening committee on the screening screen. You discover some of them don't even know what to say. Some of them are just making, you know, what you look like a child's play. And of course, the Senate didn't help matter because they were making just of certain things. People that are supposed to ask questions, there wasn't any question. They say, come and bow and go. No, screening of ministers should be very, you know, very, very thorough. We should know who and who that's coming to be a minister of the federal government. Not just making it look as if it's a character. For instance, I expected the Senate to ask the first person that said that his three years before he entered primary school, how come? I expected the Senate equally to ask somebody who entered university with two credits. They should not even bow. They should be told to go home. It's not, you see, what they look caricatured kind of, because this was they said they should bow down. And then what next? It's a public glare. People should be able to know that punishment is meant to people who didn't even make the criteria, not to talk about the gist in that chamber. So that's what I have to say now. For me, it's a no, no. Okay. Cool. And let me come back to you. Many people raised an eyebrow when Governor Fabio seemed to jump in front of the petition issue against the governor of Paduna State, L5. We saw that he personalised the issue somewhat, and many people queried his action towards it. Mr. Madagai raised an issue saying that it looks like they were making fun of the whole situation. What do we expect from the Senate when we're talking about sensitive issues like questionable things like results, petitions, law enforcement agencies having cases that are still, you know, hanging over the heads of some of these people? Should we be expecting much from the Senate, especially with Igotswila Fabio as the Senate president? I've always come from the belief that you cannot turn an executive into a legislative. It's only done in Nigeria. Because somebody was a governor, it gives you automatic rights to become a legislative officer. Those are two entirely different board games. And you know, in the end, the electorate suffers because they don't understand the difference between the executive and the legislative. To move on to the 10th Senate, I would say from the first actions of the 10th Senate, nobody needs to tell me it's probably going to be the most lackluster group that we've had in history. And I'll point out a few things. I do not understand a ministerial screening doubt portfolio. What are you screening? So people are just telling you, they're just talking off the top of their head. And we don't know what exactly. It's like you're in a private company and I'm trying to hire you. But I guess what's installed in HR officer that you don't know what position you would like to grant to them. So you're just hiring. So they should think up anything they want to say. So it's baseless. And this is a country that, like you said, we're at the point where we need people who are making decisive decisions who would help bringing the right policies to help the members of our council. Like you said, it's been a joke as regards the results issues that we saw and the petition, I would say, I probably was a little right. You can't at the Senate screen and bring in a petition against the governor, but the Senate has per view on both. But what should have been asked at that point by whoever asked the question instead of discussing the petition is in case you were made Minister of Defense, Malam El Wufai, are you trying to tell us you're going to guarantee the kind of security you guarantee the cardinal state? Those are pertinent questions. The petition is a separate thing, which is code of conduct and etc. But now handling this, being a ministerial screening, you should have been asked the right question. And I feel if it were on matters of security, and if it was the security that Malam El Wufai was being screened for, I think when that question was asked, we all know that you probably be worse than the guy with two credits. The truth is the 10th Senate is full of a lot of novices. I would say the most multi-party Senate, but I don't see anything legislating about the 10th Senate. And it's a lot of things that happened even to see them in the ministerial moments. But we look on to wish for better things for the country. Let me just push you a bit farther before I go back to Mr Madagascar. When you say we look forward to, I mean, because you know there is a saying where I come from, that you know how good the marriage will be from the bachelor's eve. If this is from what is playing out already on the floor of the Senate or the National Assembly in general, what should we hope for? Don't forget yesterday they made a promise to the guys who were protesting, the Labour making some promises and saying they'll get back to them in a few days. Should anybody hold out hope? Looking at all the things that are already happening. Plus, I'd like to remind us that electoral vehicles are about to be received by all of these gentlemen in the midst of a crisis, an economic crisis that we're facing. Should we be holding out hope? Number one, the 10th Senate has just cost us $70 billion to settle down. That's minus X, which they received within the system, which includes their cars, etc., etc. I never thought I would live in this country and ever hear the fact that a bill would be tagged, let the poor people be. For me, I can almost say Chuba Okadibo and the great Senate presidents with had a past would be turning in their graves as well as the desecration of the legislative office presently done by the 10th Senate. The work of the Senate is to make laws. Whatever they are saying to NLC, whatever the system they are making with NLCs, we should make adequate laws that will of course ensure workers' stability during a time like this economically. The legislative to stop acting in executive capacity. They are not the executive. And I don't know who needs to tell the Senate president, but he's only there to kind of manage proceedings, not to dictate to his fellow senators what should be done and what should be done. Interesting. Mr. Madagascar, let me come back to you. In our democracy day speech, I remember Mr. President made some very interesting promises. In fact, he promised to uphold the tenets of democracy, and I'm not supporting it directly. He also made mention of the fact that he would also uphold the legacy of the late MQA bill and making sure that Nigeria is saved from the past mistakes that we've made. Looking at all the things that Mr. President has done up until today, it took him how many days to be able to bring up a list of these ministerial nominees, and many have wondered why these list couldn't have been ready from day one. Does it show, looking at Mr. President's body language, does it show that there was some level of preparedness for this administration? Do we have hope that, you know, knowing that the slogan for his campaign was renewed, do we have hope that this ship is being stared in the right direction and how so? Well, let's keep hope alive. I hope it's the only thing that can keep us, you know, hopeful for a better tomorrow. But I don't think there's any eye out of preparedness, preparedness by Tenenbo Administration now. I was expecting, within the framework of, within the time that he was pronounced or declared president, he traveled overseas, spent over two months. I was thinking that he's using that period to articulate his policies. But unfortunately, he came back and we were talking about 16 days before he can even send out his ministerial nominees. On the other aspect of democracy, I've not seen anything democratic, you know, in this present government. He, you know, naturally remove the first subsidy, you know, which is not democratic. The president should be able to listen to other people, should be able to throw it to the public. Everything has been doing, like we are still in military, the loan, the removal of the subsidy, every of his pronouncements has nothing as democratic in it. He has already put us in a frustrated mood. And unfortunately, his speech, which I expected to carry much weight than economic issues, didn't carry much weight in time of one, looking into the root cause of why Nigeria is buoyant but poor. Why is NNPC not doing anything? What is it in NNPC that should not be part of those that have been proven as CBL now? What is it that we cannot talk about the refineries? He didn't talk about this. What is it that we cannot talk about those corks? He said he know that we are really the economic cultures of this country. What is he going to do about it? Is he going to let them go? Are we still in the same euphoria of, oh, it's a past? No. There must be issues about correcting the past. But as of now, with what we are seeing, even with the nominees that we have just seen, we discover that there's nothing changed. Maybe from what he said when he was complaining that starting from where the former president stops, it's already engulfing us. Because I didn't see anything new as far whatever you're talking about, giving the public's right to discuss and talk about their own problems. People are talking about, look, this full crisis, nobody's talking about it, don't remove it. But the way it was removed was the tutorial. He cannot say it's democrat. No, it is not. Because at that time, we're talking about 200 between 185 and 200. And people are managing it. What we'll have done is what? Get your cabinet, get your economic team, then you will not strategize. I don't think there's anything. And of course, the way he said it was more of impunity. If you want to go and protest, you can go and protest. He's talking to the Nigerians. These are Nigerians that voted him. He shouldn't make caricature of us. We are not jokes. Citizens that are here are not jokes. Nigerians should have respect even from their leaders. But as far as I'm concerned, what President Dilipu is doing right now is that you can go to hell. Because from trajectory that we just discussed here, from the nominees, he extended nominees to 47, which have never happened in Nigeria. What are we looking at for 47 at the time when we are having economic crunches? And Nigerians are going to hell. Okay. Cool. Let me bring you in here. The IPAC chairman in the party, IPAC chairman, talked about this issue. He chimed in on the issue of nominations of ministers. And I'd like to quote him directly what he said. He said, I'm disappointed, awfully disappointed. Some of the people that he put as ministers were rejected by their own people. Some of them contested and they were rejected. So how can you bring them through the back door again and say they must preside over the affairs of the people? That's not the kind of country that we want to run. And this is Yamagisani, who is of course the IPAC national chairman. And again, the likes of Governor El Rufi, the likes of I think Matta Wali and the rest of them, of course, do have questionable character. But let's go back to the estates. Did they really, in any way, work hard to change things in the estates? Maybe they have unfinished business and maybe the president is saying, bring it to bear at the federal level. Again, the job of the minister is more like the job of a commissioner. He'd obviously be working with permanent secretaries and directors. Can we not hope for the best from these people, again, going to what the IPAC chairman has said? Well, if you look at the list, I don't know how you can use the word and that list. The truth is, like Ogassani mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people with corruption cases. So if anybody was going to tab this list... Bakume, there were cases against former ministers under the Bahá'í administration. We had a case of the former minister of transportation, Governor Amici. We also had several other people who had cases that were looming and it didn't stop anything, did it? No, it didn't. But because we have created a culture in which these things happen, it does not mean that is the norm. If we stop speaking against it, it now sounds like that is supposed to be the norm. But the truth is that it's not. It's hard to hope with, you know, having people like Governor Umahi of Eboni, I don't know where he's going to serve. I just found out he was an engineer. And we clearly remember this is someone who, when he joined the APC, he said on national TV he had not read the Constitution of the party. So as he even read the Constitution of Nigeria to understand the functionality of jurisdiction of the office is going to serve him. That's a very big question to ask. And he goes, it goes across the whole spectrum. And everybody from Henrique, who served as a minister earlier and couldn't do anything much and is being returned. You mentioned Butawari. Let's not discuss him again. Is this woman who was there? I keep forgetting the APC woman brought in who was on this list. You said? Talent? No, not talent. There's an, you called her name out. Remember, it said she's a normal woman brought on this list. And you know, everybody has a question what reason she was brought on the list for. Now we need to remember that when we're picking ministers in Nigeria, it is not Ministers of the APC. It is Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There's no seats. Yes, APC, till court to decide won the election according to INA, till court to decide. But APC does not sit on the chair of the President of the Federal Republic. A person is sworn to the Constitution of the Federal Republic. And if you're sworn to the Constitution, it means that you must pick the best Nigerians to manage this thing. I can't wait to see when the portfolios go a particular way. Because like I said earlier, using the word who and this set of Ali Baba and the 40 things, it's kind of shocking. I don't know how to put it together. But he used the word who renewed. It's been used a lot. I don't think I see it, you know, quickly quickly before I let you go and then go back to Mr. Madhika, you put out a tweet and I want to read it. And then you'll explain to us what you meant by it. You said the ministerial list is one of the drawings into the image of the Nigeria of Nigeria. The president wants to depict it prioritizes one of these two things development or the plot to second term. Are you insinuating in any way that these people that the presidency has assembled to be part of his renewed whole government might be just another way to. Yes, I clearly barely into. Can you hear me? So I think yes. So from the tweet, I clearly was trying to depict the only two choices the president can have. One, either a second term or first development of a developmental vision for the country. And with this particular list, I don't need I don't think I clearly need to state which was picked before. And you know, the question I've asked everybody is why is why presidents in Nigeria think the first thing to do is to secure a second term while for any way first time. Finally, we all know, you know, where the country is right now and the situation of things you've mentioned across the subsidy renew removal issue. And we're dealing with several other things. And now there's obviously a Niger problem. Or thankfully, I don't know if I should say thankfully, the president is now the head of Equus and he has as a course given a seven day automator to Niger and the junta who's taken over. What does this mean for you and for us in Nigeria, especially where we are right now? Well, it's a dangerous threat. Very, very dangerous. Because when you are a shaman of an organization, your decision will affect directly to your immediate family. If you take that decision, don't forget that Sokoto, KV, Bornu, Zafara, they are close to Nigeria. Any action taking will mean a lot of inflows of refugees to Nigerians. And of course, you know, I always tell people, it's easy to talk about war, but the consequences nobody can predict. You know, when you're talking about going and giving process seven days, what about your home front? That's what I always tell your home front is burning in the north central, not east, not where south is. There's nowhere that is serving this country. The money, whatever you are going to take in going to another country to fight, whether to look it was because as Nigeria is at war with Israel, you cannot pretend that everything is okay. You can only give what you have. What are you going to fight in another country where your own country is in turmoil? Nigerians are going through here security wise. You are talking about the presidential speech. You talk about agriculture, you know, spend almost 100 billion. Where are the farmers who is going to farm in the north central, north west? People don't go to farm. In fact, it is even accused that in certain countries, the north, the terrorists have taken over. They are facing that place. They pay taxes, they pay the people before they go to their farms. Why don't we look at our own? Yes, whatever is happening in Nigeria is a turner situation. It doesn't concern us. Of course, if you look at all the indices, the Nigerians, that they are supporting whoever they want to support and they are coming at a mass to support. Are you going to be the one who is coming outside? It's like me. I have a boy. Are you the one that's going to fill the void for me? I'm the one who is filling the void. It depends. So why are you coming to tell me what I should do in order to point the pole? So this is the issue. Nigeria should look towards and see how we can sort out our problems first. Well, I don't know if I have to say fortunately or unfortunately, but there's a lot that lies ahead of Mr. President and the country. A lot that's supposed to happen. All of that remains to be seen. We'll put our fingers crossed and again, hope for the best. Kunlil Awa, this executive director of the Electoral College in Nigeria and Sadiq Madukah is a public affairs analyst. Thank you so much, James, for speaking with us. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. A pleasure. Thank you. All right, we'll take a quick break. Now, when we return, we'll look at, of course, the seven-day automator that effort has given to the Nigerian gender is still plus politics. We'll be right back.