 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologized for attending a bring-your-own-boots gathering at his official residence during the first coronavirus lockdown. Johnson admitted for the first time that he had attended the party at Downing Street on May 20, 2020, when social gatherings were limited to a bare minimum, but said he understood the anger that the revelations had caused. Johnson, who won a landslide 2019 election victory on a promise to secure Britain's exit from the European Union, said he regretted his action and had thought the gathering was a work event. His opponents want him to resign. Mr Speaker, I want to apologize. I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months. I know the anguish that they have been through, unable to mourn their relatives, unable to live their lives as they want or to do the things they love. And I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead, when they think that in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules. And though I cannot anticipate the conclusions of the current inquiry, I have learned enough to know that there were things we simply did not get right. And I must take responsibility. Well, joining us now is an international affairs expert, Mr Paul Ejime. Mr Paul Ejime, good evening. Yes, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you loud and clear. Good evening to you. Happy New Year. Happy New Year to you. Now, don't you just love it when the executive branch of government answers to the legislature? That is what government is about. They have a separation of powers and then each is supposed to be accountable to the people, be judiciary, the legislature and then executive. So what is playing out is democracy in action. So that is what is happening. So compare this democracy to what we have in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Well, it's a world of difference. And you will say that in Africa we are still, democracy is still in its infancy. Even in America that you can call the mother of democracy, you can see that they are also still struggling with what happened on the 6th of January last year. But you know, let's face it, it is not always the case that you'll find African leaders coming out to apologize for taking any action. So this has to be commented, but within the British context, I think this is also a very costly error, if it was an error that the prime minister has done, and he will probably pay for it. There has been a call for him to resign, but some of his party members are lining, ministers are lining behind him. So we see how it plays. It's all boils down to what the 360 Tory, you know, conservative MPs we do. If 15% or 54 of them manage to raise right to this powerful 22 committee, they will now trigger a vote of no confidence. And then if that passes, then they can now go into the long process of changing, you know, the leadership of the Tory party. So that is what it is. What you hear is accountability, that a government cannot be doing, do as I say, but not as I do. So you locked up everywhere for people to say at home, but you now decided to be having parties at Downing Street, you know, drinking wine and all that. So somebody, an opposition MP called him that says he's a walking dead, because what he has done is, you know, cannot be explained, particularly the fact that they had denied that no such thing happened. Even today he was still saying that he was a walking dead. Yes. So it's neither here nor there. So how he comes out will depend on the solidity of the support that he has. But he's winning. It is damaging and it is inconsistent with what British ministers and prime ministers are supposed to do. And it should happen everywhere. You mentioned Nigeria and Africa. We should learn that when people make mistakes, they are human beings. You have to apologize. Whether this apology will take him through is another thing, but let's see how it goes. The enquiries have been awaited. How do you see that coming out? Yes, they will tell you it's democracy in action. An enquiry is also there. But even Labour and the opposition, they are saying that it's a civil servant panel. They will probably come in support of the prime minister, but it's still early days. So between now, 24 hours they're saying politics is a lifetime. So what the prime minister has really beaten more than he could chew. Is there a possibility that he could be impeached? Yes, if the survivor, let's say, if it rumbles on to the point where you have this 15% of MPs writing to the committee of 22, the backbenchers, if they manage to raise that number, then there will be issue, the question of triggering no confidence. If that happens, then it will go into a vote. It's a longer process, but I think he must have learned his lessons and then this is a lesson for everybody that you have to be accountable to the people. You cannot ask ordinary people to stay at home because of COVID and then you are having parties at your office. I mean, that is contradictory. That is beggars on integrity and then good governance. So that is what is happening. Accountability, the leaders must be heard to account. Yeah, on a final note, and you have hinted on that, especially when I asked you to compare that to what happened, the Nigeria's democracy, to what just displayed, what just happened. But on a final note, what lessons for African leaders from this? The lesson is that nobody is above the law. And whether you are a president or a prime minister, you are still accountable to the people who elected you. But that is not happening in Africa, but it must happen. And the people themselves, these are representatives of the people in parliament now asking this question. But wait, they can go to their constituencies and get for them, you know, conviction to come and do and require of the prime minister to account or even resign, many about eight MPs have asked him to resign. Whether that happens, we wait and see until they wait until the inquiry comes up. But whether the result of the inquiry, whether that will happen or not, is another matter. But this is a lesson for both old democracy, a new democracy and those who are aspiring to be democratic. They have to learn to, you know, respect the rule. That is what and democratic principles. Nigerian lawmakers have been described over time as robust stamp. What lessons for them? OK, well, it is what is there is that the three arms of government are supposed to be independent and then operate what they call a separation of powers. But where the one arm becomes very malleable or pliable to the other, the people suffer, you know, democracy will suffer. So but that is not to say that it gets to the level of to adversarial so that it makes a government as impossible. But it has to be that level of opposition to keep governments on their toes, to keep prime ministers and presidents of their tools. What do you say, Bobby Love? Thank you so much, Mr. Itchman, Paul, for your time. Thank you for having me. All right.