 In the past few years, Nigeria's aviation industry has seen a massive growth and it's the best-performing in Africa with lots of success stories. So far, today on the breakfast, Christopher Mele and Kola Walealua Nifemi of Tech Point Africa join us to discuss this and a forthcoming tech summit. We also look at the manners of delayed flights. It has been a constant fixture in Nigeria's aviation sector. Is there hope of this becoming a thing of the past? And of course, what is the way forward for Nigeria's aviation sector? We'll have an aviation expert joining us later to discuss this. But we move straight to off the press where we bring you a major analysis of major stories on today's newspaper headlines. So we sincerely apologize for bringing the program to you behind the shadows due to circumstances beyond our control. But I'm glad to say we have Chris Kende-Wandu, a chartered mediator and consulate joining us this morning to look at what the papers have to say and also give us his expert analysis as always. Mr. Wando, very good morning to you and thank you very much for joining us. Good morning. Thank you for having me. All right. And of course, we have the following headlines who will delve straight into them. And later we take Chris Kende-Wandu's comments on them. We start off with a look at what this day has to say with the trending, trending, trending headlines in most of the papers being the countdown to Nigeria's 2023 general elections. The paper has a take on what the Labour Party's presidential candidate has been saying. Talking about Peter Gregory Obie, and you can see a picture of a man who himself is a ranking member of the Catholic Church right there with some papal knights. The headline goes Obie to Nigerians, I'll be in charge of Nigeria, hold me responsible. I'll be in charge of Nigeria, hold me responsible. The papal rider to that story, he says he won't give excuses as president, but provide solutions. He is reiterating commitment to his commitment to transforming the nation and has outlined his agenda. He's declared the era of boring for consumption is over. He's explained the delay in releasing his manifesto, of course, lots of questions come in regarding that. And he's clarifying that he didn't offer Kwan Kwan So the candidate, presidential candidate of the new Nigeria people's party money to step down for him. Interesting one there. More stories from this day. It's Igbo's right to produce next president. Says APC has disqualified Southeast. Nigeria's unity negotiable, Bola Ahmed posits. All right. Don't confuse that with Bola Ahmed, she said Papa Ahmed, not Bola Ahmed. Nigeria in urgent need to strengthen fiscal management, harps on need to create unified, stable, market-based exchange rate. CPP Lords in Mephilia on narrow redesign, alleges moved by lawmakers to scuttle initiative, she who lack of fiscal autonomy, funding gaps, threatening independence of RM, AFC and that's revenue mobilization allocation and fiscal commission details on page 10 of this day. To the next paper, the Pontianese paper has a focus on the aviation sector. It's looking at the expected national carrier and of course Nigerians looking forward to something as promised by the federal government. National carrier, FG domestic airlines, legal battle kicks off Thursday. The riders to that 10 lawyers to lead local airlines legal team, LECN's professors drafted, aviation ministry director leads government lawyers plans to vacate in junction and of course it seems it's going to be a money rein for the lawyers out there whilst the government and the local airlines will be doing the paying. Impeachment, new equity speaker successor Differ. It's well documented story in the state. Of course, with the first female speaker of the House of Assembly right there, we'll look at that as we go on hoodlums invade, atiku rally, supporters injured, petrol, electricity, subsidies hurting poor, poor Nigerians, World Bank saying that. Presidency, North can't dictate to others says Debanjo, this is the leader of the pan-euroba social political organization, are fairly fair. Ogun PDP, Supreme Court orders retrial. Party crisis worsens. Kidnapper's abduct ex-Akharidolu's aid or we should say ex-aid of Akharidolu demand 100 million are ransom and last one from the punch politicians will use dump you IG warns policemen. I think that's a pertinent call. Politicians will use you and dump you the IG warning policemen. Not to take sides with politicians. The nation has some interesting headlines. The big one there focus on 2023 elections and PDP. Why atiku PDP will lose in 2023 by Kwankwa. So the man has been visiting some state, storing some states to launch his campaign and all that. It says nobody can win the presidential poll without Lagos, Kanu, reverse votes. No indication we will lose PDP tells NNPP candidate. You can see assembly gets new speaker. I remain in office. I wonder who is saying that. Is it the old speaker or the new speaker? You can read the paper for details. World Bank advices federal government on fiscal adjustments. Saka scores brace in England win. Senegal lose to Holland. The World Cup ongoing in Qatar. And of course quite interesting matches already taking place so far. Ogun, NNPC to reconstruct Ogijo Shagamu Road. That's governor of Ogun state in IG. Kogi no longer safe for criminals. 11 family members die of food poisoning. Really sad one. But those are stories coming from the nation. Let's quickly take the last one. Leadership newspaper has some interesting headlines there. But it's a different twist the paper is taking with its lead story from the other papers this morning and quite interestingly so. It focuses on the constitution embedment with a headline. Hope rises as 16 states vote for local government autonomy. Hope rises as 16 states vote for local government autonomy. The riders to that. Three states vote against. Eight states vote needed to overcome hurdle CSO4C's favorable outcome. And for those who forgotten this process is still on. Governors meet on economy. NBS poverty report today. That groundbreaking report. You want to call it that. That talked about multi sectoral, multi-level poverty in the country. And the situation of the economy drawing the attention of the governance. One only hopes that the meeting will yield some results. So more from the leadership. Police fall, kidnap attempt. Rescue 76 victims in Kaduna. Don't fight for any politician. Sultan, C.A.N. That's Christian Association of Nigeria. Advice Nigerians. Qatar 2022. England thrush Iran. Senegal lose to Holland. And we have a key to speaker impeach six days after six days in office. Quite a bizarre one. 2023 like it did for B. We K promises logistic support for. We'll look at that as we go. But Chris, let's start with the situation in the key to state. It's quite a quite warring what's been happening there for some. But for others, they're seeing democracy play out. The speaker of the House of Assembly there. Died on the 19th of October, fortunately from cardiac arrest. And he had to be replaced so that the business of legislating could proceed in a key to state. God rest his soul. New speaker was elected. He beat his counterpart 15 to 10 votes. That's making 25 votes in the House of 25 members. He sat on that chair. The speaker's chair for only one day because he was elected last week Tuesday. On Wednesday, the police in a key to state sealed off the House of Assembly. What did they say? They said they were doing that to forestall the breakdown of law and order. According to them, they had some reports that certain persons were going to set the House of Assembly ablaze. And they didn't want that to happen. Fast forward six days later yesterday, they impeached the man who was elected only six days ago and suspended him indefinitely. And then I think 17 members of the House of Assembly elected a new speaker. That is what we have in the leadership newspaper. What are your thoughts on this? Is this democracy at play or do you smell something that is quite bigger than just ordinary democracy? It is a no fact that the most slippery political seats under democracy is always the seat of the speaker of the State House of Assembly. It is within those jurisdictions that you find out that even five, six legislators can just sit together and impeach a speaker. And it all depends on the governor of the state. He can remove and get under one elected within 24 hours. That's how they wrote. Because the legislative arm in the state have become a robust term of the executive and it happens. Not just in the state. It has happened in the state of Imo. If you recall some moves back within the past within one year or two. In the State House of Assembly had three different speakers for the House. The one from my old village of Obu was removed some weeks back and someone else was elected to take over for him after he was on the saddle for less than one year. So what does that mean if it is not just a play out of politics? Don't forget, as you rightly mentioned, the former speaker was elected six days ago. Since the powers that be, we are not comfortable with his candidature. And about three days ago he cried out on one of the national TV stations that the former equity state governor called the fire me once he removed. And he is doing everything humanly possible to get him removed. Well, as we say in local parlance, when he cried for night, he died for money. So that was what happened and just yesterday he was removed. 17 of his colleagues voted against him and elected a new speaker. And he is going to be the first female speaker of the equity state House of Assembly. Don't forget that equity is just about a month or there about that we have a new governor this morning in that state. Probably the new governor too feels more comfortable to have someone else in the saddle. So that whatever program and whatever initiative he put in together can easily be passed on by. But the man I had him last night, also the former speaker saying that he's heading to Apuja. He wants to go and see the IG, blah, blah, blah, whatever the IG do. IG is not in charge of politics in the equity state. I would rather think that the legislative plan should come together and just work itself out and be able to do their job as it were. This speaker, the new sheriff is on the saddle and that is what it is. Very interesting indeed the current new speaker or Lubumi, she's saying that there was some hunky-punky as regards the election in the equity state. And that the 17 people she got yesterday or the 17 members who came to vote her in shows that it's not possible she could have gotten only 10 votes last week, Tuesday. That that is the evidence, the fact that they are saying yesterday that they don't know how the former speaker had 15 votes because they are saying they didn't vote for him. Do you think this is just as easy to determine in such a way that there were some, there were underhand happenings and there was some sort of corruption or fraud in the voting that held last Tuesday? If you have said it, some people are calling the shots. It's not even the woman that is calling the shots. She's not the one. Once those that are calling the shots have picked somebody that they don't want as the speaker, that is it. She has no say. They determine the number of people that are going to vote and who to be voted for. She has no say. If they want to remove in the next 20 hours, she will be removed and they won't vote. That is how well our democratic system have gone. There is no separation of power. There is supposed to be separation of power. We are the executive supposed to be independent of the judiciary as well as the legislator. But what do we have? We have the executive determining what happens in the legislature and even in the judiciary where the government has to at times have to appoint the chief judge or some judges in the state. In respect of whatever NJC feels, what that appointment has made, all well and good. And you come to realize that most of the judges will start dancing to the whiskers' capris of the governor. The same thing with the legislative arm. And whatever the governor says is what they do. They are just there to work out that the oversight function, they don't do. They don't try to look at the activities of the executive and see whether they are giving the evidence of the bureaucracy to the people. And if you try to do that and try to overdo yourself, overstate yourself and believe you have that constitution power, you are a goner. So as I said, make it a new speaker. Let's just wait and see how long it will last. All right, let's do the leadership. It wasn't long ago Chris Kennedy warned that sympathizers are supporters. I don't mean to say sympathizers in a negative or derogatory way. But people who are sympathetic and also those who support the Labour Party's presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Gregory, were in jubilant mood following the declaration announcement by Jensson Wike, Governor of the River State, that he was going to lend his support to the gentleman in question, the candidate in question, not just his support, the support of the River State government, that he was going to devote the resources of government to provide logistic support for Peter, Gregory B, and the Labour Party whenever they embarked on presidential campaigns in River State. Only presidential campaigns in River State. And this cost people to go online to say, Wike is for B, River State is for B. Two million votes guaranteed because you look at the 200,000 special assistants Wike has recently employed with River State government money. The calculation by some is that if each of them brings 10 votes for him, it means that whoever Wike is supporting will get two million votes guaranteed. Fast forward to yesterday, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People's Party, Dr. Rabi Musa-Kwan-Kwan, who was in River State, commissioned a project in a place called in Butangwa in Emoha, local government area of River State, another place quite well, and Wike also promised him like he did, will give NMPP logistic support whenever you come to River State for campaign. Just let me know and I will do the needful. Chris, can I ask where the supporters of Peter will be too quick to jubilate? I take everything that Governor Wike said, like a pinch of salt. I don't tend to believe you. It's only when you just want to mess yourself that you believe whatever Wike said. And if you start analyzing what Wike said, pray out to the presidential primaries of the PDP earlier in the year, and what you now start saying after that primaries there, you will not believe, you will not look at it from the point that Governor Wike is not a man of his words. You cannot love two women the same way. As much as in Islam, a man is allowed to marry four wives. But within that Quran, the Quran said that you must treat four of them equally. So when Wike went to Potakot and Wike was promising his support, I think it was too quick to believe that he even went as far as making a commitment that, well, we will support you for the governorship. Just leave the presidency for us. That was what would be told Wike. But from all indications, Kobansu was in the river state yesterday and Wike promising the same thing. What I can say from all this is that it's obvious that Wike and his camp have not fully left the PDP. They are leaving their door open. What it means is that if for any reason they reconcile themselves, the so-called G5 or G, whatever they call themselves, tomorrow, there is a tendency that they will align their support with the PDP. So all these promises is just like breaking into a beautiful woman in the dark. It's only you that know what you are doing. She doesn't know what you are doing. Let these politicians not take Wike seriously and with what he's saying. And many people, you promised logistic support. Wike came to you and you promised that you would be given logistic support. Kobansu came to you, you promised him logistic support. If tomorrow you reconcile with the PDP and that Iqabubaka comes to you, you will also promise him logistic support. And don't forget that even during the week, last week, the former chairman of APC, Adam Sosumole, was in the river state to commission some projects. And some of them also heard what Wike said and what Adam Sosumole said. It was at that meeting, at that ceremony, that Wike apologized to Adam Sosumole for supporting Governor Obaseke during the last monetary election in those days. So that is the kind of person the kind of politics Governor Wike is playing. So make them not take him seriously. Let them continue going on their campaign, campaign for themselves and make sure that they get the necessary vote. If you rely on Wike as somebody that you can depend on to get to the votes in 2023, not one chance with that. Like Wike had said some time ago, I think he likes to say yendeba, yendeba, yendeba, yendeba. Yendeba, yendeba. Yendeba, yendeba, yendeba means I give you and you give me, I give these people, that is the language, don't forget that. Don't forget the music too. As in the history, it is not showing you. But in all of this, some people have coined it, though it is not exactly the pure definition of it, but some have coined it hybrid politics. What are your thoughts on this, this concept of candidates saying, okay, I'm going to support, like Obi said, I won't support my party's governorship candidate for the, I will support another candidate, a party's candidate for governorship, while they support me for president. Or we can say, okay, it's PDP for governorship, but for presidency, no, I'm going to support other people, any party, but PDP. Some call it hybrid politics, and what are your thoughts on that? You have, for instance, I know, I know from the grapefruits, from sources, sorry, Chris Kennedy, I know that with all the visits by APC Starwars to River State, Femi Bajabemila has commissioned the project, Adam Soyshemula has commissioned the project, Governor Babaji Nesawalu of Lagos here wrote to me, I carried the Lujan code, I've been going to, yes, so we case, sprawling mansion or estate, and other George Podakot, and the APC members in River State probably are crying that, hey, they've not visited also, they've not even come to a sectarian, or another, they met a party's candidate, you know. For the Labour Party, the governorship candidate who was offered, you know, to wick on a platter of gold, she was sick, she was, she had a domestic accident, and she was ill, the pictures all over the internet, you see her left leg cast in a POP, and she's using crutches, her name is Beatrice Tuba, she's a longtime chairperson of NLC in River State, and the APC, the governorship candidate, paid her visit, and took a picture with her, and the APC members are using it to taunt Obie and his supporters to say, see, you abandoned your candidate in River State. So what do you say about this whole hybrid politics of a thing? What we case do is not hybrid politics, that is anti-party activities, that is the right word, coffee, that, you know, you cannot leave your party and come to Lagos and say that you are a governor of PDP, and you come to Lagos and say that you are supporting an APC governorship candidate, the person of Rangide, so when you have a PDP candidate in the state, you cannot come around also saying that you support the candidate of NMPP, or the candidate of Labour Party, at a presidential level, when you have decided you are the party or you are not the party, if you are not satisfied with the party, you leave the party and enjoy any other party of your choice, by coming to say you are, through your whip behind this presidential candidate, and then when it comes to governorship, another election, that you are going to, they should vote for PDP, that is anti-party, and I think the PDP is giving Wike a lot of room, and it's not, he is practically demarcating the party, and they learn they will be able to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, the better for them. Come to take off this, we never seen that thing happen in 2020, was it 2020, 2003, yes, I think 2003, during the second tenure of President, former President, Ulysses Goh of Barsangio, where the people of the South West, who did not vote Barsangio in 1990, decided to embrace their own, and was able to take him and embrace him as their candidate, that was the period of 80, I think 80 years, 80 or 80, I can't remember which of them, and what they said that, that the South West will vote for Barsangio during the presidential election, and the South West will vote for 80 or 80, whichever name it was then, during the gubernatorial election, and will so happen, that was a bang, bang war gone, but all the 80 or 80 governors in the South West lost that their governorship to PDP, yes, the only person standing was Bola Admi, so I hope that Wike and his cohorts, the G5, know what they are doing, and whoever lies at the back of the, on the back of the Taiga, or Lyon, most ultimately ends up in the Stoma, I hope they are strategically in position to be able to tell their people to distinguish from voting for one particular party, or the other, do presidential governorship and House of Assembly member, so that you don't have like me striking at the same spot a second time. All right, interesting one. Let's move over from that paper to the situation with the People's Democratic Party, I'm sure you understand the political stories taking the crux of the attention these days. The nation is focusing once again on the People's Democratic Party, they've really given us, the nation needs to power really, constant comfort coverage, like I always say, on the crisis in the PDP, but this time it is the NMPP candidate, Rabbi Kwankwa, who we just talked about, who is giving his own calculation as to why the People's Democratic Party, he says, will lose in 2023, and he says nobody can win the presidential poll without Lagos, Kano and Reverse votes. And for that he thinks the PDP will not win in 2023. What are your thoughts? Both of them can pop and swing, they call and they bust as well. These are just political talks. I totally agree that these three states have the bulk votes when it comes to the nation. But don't also forget that states like Cassina also have very very quick votes as well. Some other states, especially in the north, political calculation, yes, is doping our PDP. But I think this should be marketed in the north rather than talking about other political parties. Can he pop and swing? Apart from him, he can do. Wind, rivers, wind diggers and wind states in the south, south, south east and even the south west. His party is presently being positioned as a northern party and that is a big problem for him as far as I'm concerned. You need to change that mindset and make it more national in nature. Just with this in the UK and telling the experience that PDP with no wind is neither here nor there. To me, I've always said that these states is going to be a three-horse series. It's between the candidate of APC, PDP and that of the Labour. NNPP, NNPP, yes. It's not within the means and it's just an outsider. I may be wrong but as a political scientist and a journalist, that is the way I see it. So I think the NNPP candidate should be trying to turn Nigeria as to why they should vote for him and his candidature and his party rather than looking for ways of marketing other political parties. Alright, but if you look at that, he's not saying that he will win. I think he's saying that PDP won't win. Yes, that is the same thing I'm saying. I say he said PDP will win. Don't forget that he said, if you also read some of those stories, yesterday he said he regretted not going to ally us with PDP. I'm sure you must have seen that story. That he regretted not going to ally us with the Labour Party presidential candidate. Don't forget that at the point, at the beginning, he met with PDP several times when he lost out with former coming state governor, Shekarao. So he was looking for alliance and he met with PDP and they thought that he was going to have... But he was insisting that he was going to be the presidential candidate of the NNPP that PDP should take up the vice presidential candidate and that is more popular than PDP. But from what you are saying today, you cannot put his way, minds apart from PDP who seems to be running a very good race now and is regretting and that is politics for you. So that's why I say that let's concentrate on way voters for party NNPP and just stop this issue of double-talk on marketing of that. Although it's part of politics. Chris, you've said that Kuanco so won't win. Again, you should focus, but the question now is will the PDP win? Looking at what he has brought out as his own formula. Lagos, Revers, Kano. It seems to be saying article may not win those states and therefore likely will not win the election. If the GPI reconcile with article Kumburu, it will be sure that PDP will win Revers states, that's for sure. If they don't reconcile, I don't... Are you sure we're not turning towards an APC victory? Looking at what may be happening in Lagos, in Revers state, because what I tell people is, Wiki would not come and announce to the public who he's supporting in front of the press when he's commissioning a project. These are things you discuss at 12 midnight and what he's watching behind closed doors. In politics, 24 hours is too long for politicians. 24 hours is too long for politicians. Anything can happen. You cannot just say it. You ask me a question, will article win? I don't know what article is going to win. 2023 elections will be the most first, firstly, fourth election. Before it used to be a two-way race. It used to be a two-way race between the APC and PDP. And I've told you now that the labor party is in the midst. That in this case is going to change a lot of dynamics. PDP... South-South used to be more like a home... A home run for the PDP. Now with PDP in the South-South, it might not be that. South-South used to also be a home run for the PDP. But if you see what is happening, some of the... South-South, I mean, some of the governors of the South-South are now in APC. And if you also look at what happened in South-South and South-West a few months ago, we had the PDP won the monitorial election in Osho State. Nobody ever believed that PDP would win that election. So what I'm saying in essence is that it's going to be a tight race. For me, the three parties for now is the APC, the PDP and Labor. They are the front runners. Airsiders will be NMPP. But assets between now and generally, that is what is going to happen. All right. Chris, just the last one, because we're out of time. This day is floating a story on its front page regarding the NARA redesign. They're saying the CUPP, they've been vocal recently at the conference of United Political Parties, or whatever it's called. They're saying that their moves by lawmakers is cut off the NARA redesign initiative. Is that something you can understand? And can you come up with reasons why there's possible reasons why this may be? The president has given his word that he's given the go-ahead to the federal back to redesign the NARA. And that is the sample of authority you need. Once the president and commander-in-chief has given that go-ahead, you know what they're pointing to? Don't forget that the central bank, the laws established the central bank, gave it that awesome power to be able to resign, reissue, and all the rest of them. It is within the city and art to give them that power. And attempt by the minister of finance to scuttle that issue was quickly, we don't forget when she said, she went to the National Assembly and she's not part of it. But the president, came back to reform the fact that he has given the central bank of Nigeria the power to go-ahead. And since then, have you heard anything from the finance minister? Everybody has to be behind that policy. And the rest has showed that within the next, it's only 15th December that money will be rolled out. But what the National Assembly is trying to see, if there can be an extension of time for the extension from the 3rd, 1st of January sign of dates for all old Naira to be brought back to the roots of the girls' bank, the city has not come up to say anything about that. Therefore now, that policy is constant and sacrosanct. The Naira will be rolled out on the 15th of December. On the 1st of January, except there's any other directive, every old Naira in Nigeria within the 5,500, 1,200 nomination must return back to the banks. Don't forget the banks have already started putting logistics in place. Most of them are not opening on Saturdays to be able to collect these funds. Alright, the CBN is saying that they will be launching a countdown clock for that one. So at least we will not forget that. Thank you so much for your time, Chris. Thank you so much. I hope you've done the needful. Are you cashless as I am? I'm more than cashless as you are. Alright. Thank you so much. Have a nice day. Thank you very much for your time. Alright, we have more discussions ahead. We're looking at Nigeria's fintech space and of course, looking at the growth of the fintech space in the country. In particular, looking at a forthcoming from Tech Point Africa joining us. Please stay.