 Welcome back to the breakfast on plus TV Africa. It's time for us to review the big stories on the front pages of a national dailies and As usual, we do have a guest who will be joining the conversation is Zika. Yeah, I talk public affairs analysts Thank you. It's Zika. Yeah, I took for joining us this morning So always a pleasure. I'm always happy to be on plus TV Africa. Thanks for having me All right, we're sort of with the leadership newspaper this morning and on the front page of the leadership newspaper 2022 budget defense Senate rejects 287 billion narrow loan requests for water projects So it probably might just feel like it's a season where the Senate is rejecting a lot and you know It's expected because it should be an oversight function of you know, the Senate 2022 budget defense Senate rejects 287 billion loan requests for water projects and It's boldly written on the front page of the leadership newspaper. You find more details on page four Summons minister says no visible result for previous loans You also have a rider saying approves 1000 narrow daily feeding for prisoners Away from the board caption. You also have Nigeria's oil reserve to last for 49 years says World Bank That's also on page four of the leadership newspaper this morning now still looking at the front page of the leadership You also have another headline saying Niger's population growing by five million annually the vice president is quoted on page six and NNPC to fix 21 federal roads at 621.2 billion narrow It's also another interesting caption on page six of the leadership newspaper and just as we progress you also find cop freezes Benway Bank accounts over 333 million narrow debts that's on page seven talking about the people's democratic convention Anxiety grips PDP as court rules today the case of Prince Uche second is You also have another caption saying we're not opposed to autonomy for Judy showy That's what the governors are saying or really That's also another interesting caption and that's on Page six as well of the leadership newspaper if you pick up a copy you get all of the information Now away from the leadership I'd like to check out the nation newspaper this morning on the front page of the nation newspaper you have governor's lobby senators and reps against direct primaries Quite different from what the leadership is reporting Governor's lobby senators and reps against direct primaries. It's a broad caption You find we have gone far with electoral act amendment says Senate spokesman you also have I pop threads or Hanay's a calls for urgent political solution Hours after launch in our app down on Google's play store. I Have a lot of persons who are complaining that you can't find the in our Updown to Google play store. I remember the conversation we had on this platform and we said the issue of acceptability and adaptability and walkability is a major concern with this particular development and number 2021 you have Why I want to be governor by soludo. I neck free to transmit Paul result electronically find who's saying all of that ADC candidate unveils a model that's what you also find and UK versatility says The Paris museum return looted artifact to Nigeria says There's a plan to return the artifact to Nigeria That's a good one You find all of the information on page 22 of the nation newspaper this morning I'd move away from the nation newspaper and quickly check out the daily Independent newspaper this morning and find out what big stories we have on the daily independent now the board caption Quite different from what you have on the nation and on the leadership newspaper NNPC gets approval to fix 21 federal roads at 621.2 billion narrow NNPC gets approval to fix 21 federal roads at 621.2 billion era You have the federal executive council or case for billion for transmission line and substation in Anambra and in Nougu all of that you find on the front page of the daily independent newspaper this morning and Away from the board caption Anambra guba pole or Hanayzee urges I pop to cancel seven days sit at home other Now there's been a lot of reaction. There's been a lot of talks where you find stakeholders Advising that there should be some form of dialogue We hope that this actually ends very well act south is governor's to convene Emergency stakeholders meeting we will recover from attacks on our facilities I NEC is quoted on all of that ahead of the Anambra elections slated for the 6th of November and Senate rejects Buhari's 700 million dollar loan requests and someone's minister that's on page four Stop using security or paratives to intimidate jerges the governor of river state Yes, I'm we K tells the federal government and that's on page five Strike sharing formula of twenty two point one billion and allowances Brewing crisis in varsities and that's on page five You have the affair Baba Lola multi system performs first kidney transplant is quite commendable and that's on page five PDP convention last-minute effort to dissuade Seconders fails as our peer rules today That's also another caption you find under daily independent newspaper this morning and federal government puts the Ziane's property for sale That's on page two of the daily independent smugglers attack customs officer Kill one and another missing really really sad That's it on the daily independent. They are more interesting headlines I'm sure you pick up a copy to get all of the information Now, let's move away from that and check out the daily trust newspaper this morning and he says or Hanay's a begs iPop for peace as federal government insist on anambra elections That might just be dominating the stories on the front pages this morning make pulling unit accessible national assembly tells service chiefs We are fully prepared. I know chairman is quoted. Don't take iPops tweth lightly XI GP tells federal government Currency swap Niger banks to begin operation in China. That's what the envoy is quoted to say and You also have another interesting headline saying Cut freezes Bainway accounts over 300 and 33 million are alone Despite initial opposition Benway undo other state once federal government for ranches And that's also another caption on the daily trust newspaper this morning Well, that's the much that we can take on the front pages of our national dailies Let's head back to Ezekiel. Yeah, I took a ZKL. Yeah, I took it's good to have you join us once again on the segment Thanks for having me. All right, so let's start off with The caption on the leadership newspaper again the Senate rejects 287 billion narrow loan for that's a request for water projects. I would like to quickly share your thoughts on that Do I call it a refreshing welcome pleasant surprise so to speak because Senate seems to be of the opinion that anything that comes from the executive should go But I think maybe they're drawing a line now between the ministries and then the presidency because it seems everything that comes from the presidency goes but this is becoming from any of the MDAs and Again, I like the The excuse they gave or the reason I would rather call it reason they gave in the sense that they said what we gave you in the past We've not seen results. So why do you want another one when the the one that we gave before we've not seen results Which means that they are saying they are oversight function over the ministry is Is what they can boast of and from what they can boast of they can see why they should give you any more Money, I think this is a welcome relief to Nigerians generally because this issue of anything that comes from the presidency goes I think it has it's taking a bad toll on Nigerians and them I'm very happy they can do this. It means that they are probably are scrutinizing the budget So I think that the time has come when the Senate should do more of this I commend them and I agree with them completely and besides when you look at the details of what is needed And what is to be applied and things like that. You realize that People just go getting funds. They don't think there's this is a general mindset about Getting money in government. Did they see it as what you can while you can and not that Complete picture of the future and the destiny of a nation and that anything you borrow should be Specific and not only that having the mindset that a debt is something that must be Repaid so you don't take money like I was talking to a group of young people yesterday. I said when you go to borrow Don't borrow 21,000 when you need 20,000 Even if they can approve 21,000 don't borrow 24 would if you need 20,000 your borrowing must always be need based and rip based on Repayment plan and the time and don't think that the future will not go back to the past It sounds contradictory, but the future has a way of going back to the past Let me tell you something and I say this authoritatively one day in this country People will be called back Answer what they did while they were in office. He can take five years can take ten years and even take 15 years So everybody in office must think tomorrow What you will not want to be called back as an old man to answer be careful not to do it Don't think that the way that you've left office. It has gone. No So I think if we have that mindset will be a lot more circumspect in the decisions we take while in office We'll still stay with the leadership newspaper this morning another interesting headline is about the confusion And the anxiety that is ongoing with the People's Democratic Party today. There will be a caught ruling and There seem to be a lot of Feelings right now with the People's Democratic Party. What do you really make of this? I think it's a political game that is coming home to bite the the PDP unfortunately second just had some months to go and In the convention in getting hold of the leadership of the party I think there was this Unfortunate issue where they felt the leader to take hold on the National Convention and then by right It's actually the national chairman that sets up the systems and structures for national convention And because it's a national convention that would lead to the leadership or setting up the systems for 2023 Which is mega the governors and the leaders who were not happy with Secundus felt they needed to get him out of the way and they took on as a style that Secundus I Don't know I have my reservations But while I'm not too happy or while it's not too fair to what they tried to do to him If you love the party and you care about the party is sometimes you may need to also bend over backwards to accept certain things So that the party can move forward But I think that they've come to a position now where the battle line has been drawn as at now They have very last what I would call the very last Option which is supposed to come up today and that option is whether The the the the the court Would grant their request and if the court says the convention goes on then they are lucky They have no more problems, but if for any reason in the world The court says no you can have your convention. It means that by now they should have developed plan B So it's up to them whether they are that proactive or not, but whichever way it comes. There's There's this anxiety within PDP and how they saw it out is up to how ingenious they can be I don't think that starts for us to break our heads here They will sort it out one word or the other But the easiest thing they could have done was just to get into political Solution with the second is and then he probably would withdraw the case But maybe they take a chance and they believe that it would go in their favor and if it goes in their favor Then second this would have lost out completely not only by the convention going on But with the future of the party he would be seen as one who is defeated and one should not have a lot to discuss with him Hmm, but they are also reports saying that efforts has been made to dissuade him But it feels like it's not yielding any positive result But like you have rightly mentioned that is entirely their concern. However, let's see how things pan out But I would also look at another still on the leadership Nigerian population growing by five million annually that's what the vice president is good at to see and just the in 2021 you have the United Nations saying the Nigerian population is about 211 we're looking at 211 million peasants if I'm not mistaken So what do you make of the fact that we are growing by five million annually? I mean some persons will say What was the last time we had a population census? How do we come up with these figures? Do we have some formulas that we come up with all of the statistics the very first thing is the last issue that you raised Exactly, what is our population? We live in a country where there's so much mysteries around virtually everything and it doesn't make sense and it is understandable why it has to be so because revenue sharing is based on not productivity, but on You know such nebulous things like like population population is supposed to aid in planning Knowing the number of people that you have helps you to know the Social infrastructure that you must make provision for it helps you to know how to plan to meet the needs Head, which is very important and the essence of government and governance But unfortunately, we do not think of it that way for us Population and planning is about sharing money and when you talk in terms of sharing money people are going to count fowls and dogs and cows and all and have give you Inflated figures you are going to tell you that there's thick population where you really don't expect it to be and that there's lighter population Exactly, what is the population of Nigeria when you are on air and you are traveling from one part of this country to the other And you see the places that people inhabit. You just ask yourself. Are we really honest with ourselves? So as on a very very personal note I have a lot of reservation a lot of personal Reservation and I think that the day we change is sharing formula from you know population to Productivity which is why people are talking terms of resource control by the time that you are doing the resources of your state Why do you think that? Governments are now going into ghost workers Why because they know that they've got to pay these people and that these people are not really Existence so we gotta weed them out because they're going to spend their money to pay the workers Then I'll say we don't want ghost workers now when you have a situation where You are going to get resources and then deploy your resources to meet the people You are going to find the need for you to have the proper population of each step If God blesses me and I become the governor of my state the first thing I'll do is run my own population Do you understand me and Know exactly the number of people that I have The number of heads per location and that will help me to plan the proper infrastructure or social infrastructure For such locations for such people and I think that every government But when the governors are afraid to do that because they don't want to expose their real numbers and at the end of the day get less Please forget the the center Do the proper thing and then at the end of the day You'll be the better for it because your people will get exactly what they want Where they need it and how they need it that to me is what governance is all about all this fake thing that we do of being Very very deceitful the more deceitful you are as a nation the less productive you can be and the less competitive That is why we have unfortunately end ourselves that in noble a tag of being there the poverty capital of the world India is about seven times our population and yet we have more poor people than India Isn't that just something that should make us bury our heads in shame? I do not blame the politicians I think the time has come when we that call ourselves the elite should rise to defend this To help this nation to redefine politics and governance to get involved join any party you wish I don't care That's my take on this but let's move away from that now and check out the nation newspaper You have governors lobby senators and reps against direct primaries Why do you think got governors are lobbying this senators against direct primaries? I mean there's a lot of positives positive arguments for Direct primaries, and I'm sure that that's why you have the lawmakers saying political parties should opt for direct primaries People need to understand what direct primaries and indirect primaries is Then they will understand why governors will do everything possible to make sure that there is nothing Like direct primaries in direct primaries almost have the list of The delegates come from the governors They decide who should be the delegates these are largely his appointees So he brings them together. He has absolute control of the machinery So if he doesn't want you to be a Candidate you can never emerge as a candidate. That's number one on the other hand Indirect primaries goes back to every member of the party These members of the party decide So it becomes very difficult for any of the governors to have direct hold on members of the party It becomes easier for anybody who is popular amongst the the party members To win the ticket. So it's like taking the power directly from the control of the governors The governors don't have you know that sweeping as a matter of fact a lot of governors are not liked by the people a lot of Governors they emerged as governors not because they are Acceptable, but because they were imposed on the people So when you want to in fact a governor's candidate is a direct failure Abinacea before before you even start in direct primaries and The governors that's why the the National Assembly members Who know that they are not in good terms with their governors? Would rather go for direct primaries because they are the people who have been doing things for the You know for for their party members while they were in office So they had created a bond with your party members, but this same party members Literally lost the governors. So if you go for direct primaries It's benefits the members of the National Assembly while it disenfranchises the governors That is why they are unanimous in agreeing that they should be in direct primaries And then the governors are now, you know, bearing their fans and say, you know, you've got to reverse that They are threatening we will not give you tickets But how can you say you know give me a ticket when you don't even have a ticket in direct primaries Governors don't have a ticket it's about the people, you know The only difference in this case is that long before now systems and structures should have been put in place I did an open letter to the National Chairman of INEC and I think they should revisit I was a national chairman of a party So I understand the dynamics and everything that is going on and I did that Party membership is right now so fluid that it's difficult a man can actually vote in three or four parties You can belong to three or four parties But I did a memo to the National Chairman of INEC, which I wish he had adopted that that would have been fantastic You have membership in three categories. You have, you know members with PVC who are paying members that Active members you have members with PVC who have not paid their dues as be you have people Who may even be juniors minors as C? So this financially active members with PVC will be the people that can vote in primaries This ones that have PVC, but do not have do not pay You know will not vote that encourages every party member to be financially active That now brings money to the parties and parties can run Independent of Godfather's and systems. That's just the most simple and beautiful and basic thing If you don't want to vote on primaries, no problem You can stay away, but if you know you want to vote become active paying my members And that's just a token that they pay maybe 500 maybe a thousand per year something Minimal by the time you do that everybody wants to vote so they look for money and pay the party has money They can now run independent of God knows independent of Godfather's independent of money, but that's when you start to have parties Then the third category can even be which I said you don't have PVC and you can even be junior even secondary school You can have junior members of the party people should grow into the ideology of the party from secondary schools You know into you know adults would or full membership of the party once you do this very simple thing It becomes very easy for you to know the membership of the party and to do direct primaries Which can even do online at the time like this on their primaries All you need is systems and structures that can capture that and need to be done All right, there's also another interesting headline on the nation newspaper It talks about the fact that the e-narrow shortly after it was launched You can't find the app on the Google Play Store and that calls for a lot of concern at the point where the issue of weather Nigerians were accepted and How soon they can adapt to it and the workability, but do you see this app, you know surviving you you know, you know, we live in a very Interesting country and interesting times It's such a shame that the central bank of Nigeria will create an app and Within days that app will be removed He didn't disappear. It was removed from the play store It's such an indictment on the system Because we think we can do anything anyhow. It doesn't work that way countries Organizations corporate bodies have ways that they operate And you have to follow the assistance and procedures and I expected that my government in wanting to get an app in the play store whoever is their IT consultant would have understood all the dynamics all the expectations of That's you know set up the play store and they would have complied So that whatever needed to be done whether it is integrated tests whether it is You know agreeing with their rules running by the assistance and laws all those things would have been done Whether it is payment everything and then when it gets up there I mean like my church would have an app in the play store and it's running and it's I mean for years It's going on no problem. And yet my country will have an app in the play store and Within days it is removed Now, do you know what central bank has done? They came with you know, these guys are very very very Disingenuous they came up with a with a distracting view of all there is a fake up or a fake This that is going on instead of them addressing the issue of telling us why that app has been removed from the play store They're telling us there's a fake effect Twitter handle. There's a fake. This is for goodness sake What's my business there? Mine is that I can't get this this app and I'm able to use and by the time people lose That momentum and that interest and people start to wonder and have doubt and bring Speculations into what's happening. It could be an honest mistake. Come out. Tell us. Okay. Yeah There are losses. We should not do this and that which we did and as a result They have taken us out with complete and we're complied and we're going right back Or there was this to be done that we don't we have done it So we're right back so you restore confidence and you lose that speculation of people saying because I'm gonna come and say oh boy be like say this is no walk or no start to if you put your money as they remove There from place turn us what do you think would just stop one day and all your money go go and people once people do that They'll just avoid it like a plague and that's not good for us So let the system come up and tell us why it was removed from the play store and what they have done about it And restore confidence that is cerebral governance. That's the way things are done You know with all of these apps and how it functions Usually when you have an app in a store Google play store your iOS usually you have reviews about product and all of that so People actually went there to drop bad reviews about the app and that's why it was taken off It happens with every other app. It happens with every other product I mean if you have bad reviews and bad comments about it, it will be taken out So it brings us back to the question of will because first of all This is the issue of at the time where you have the government saying oh, you can't not trade with this blockchain Technology was bad and all of that and then we come up with our own So it feels like the people who have a trust issue and do not believe in it I feel that the government has a lot of work and responsibility in that direction But let's move away from that conversation now and also talk about the Annabra election Which is slated still state because the federal government is still insisting that the elections would go on and iPop is also still insisting that The sit-at-home order should also go on asking people to sit at home from the 5th of November through the 10th of November now the question also on this other hand you have the Harnaces stakeholders in this particular region asking for peace Do you see a point of compromise? Do you think that there would be some meeting points where? Some persons would begin to shift grounds, and then we might just have a good time I think that one has to know where to draw a line between grandstanding and Facing issues I pop unfortunately has been given a space to operate and They have taken a hold of that space Not in the way that I would wish it were but in a way that they have decided to do and The federal government Unfortunately again is not proactive And a lot of people do not see beyond their nose The Bible talks about the sons of Isaka that could discern the signs of the times There in ight city. There are people there are that project the future Your phone that you have that phone was done about 10 years ago And they kept testing and testing the technology that we will use in 10 years time in 20 years time Is being developed today that we use it that technology today does not mean that that technology came up today It came up. It was came up about 10 years ago some 15 years ago some 20 years ago Why am I saying this? They ought to be people in government who are strategic thinkers and for Forecasters They can see tomorrow before tomorrow comes they ought to have seen today But let me take a little space and tell you that the prognosis Of what is going to happen in Anambra state if we allow it to happen If we allow iPop to make Anambra election to fail The the significance the pop-up is going to be much more than Election did not hold in our number Anambra is going to embolden other Militia's other ethnic groups Who can now take us to hold us to ransom? And you may discover that it could go into the next election in a kitty or something like that And if we don't control it early enough since we don't have this capacity We don't seem to be thinking ahead It could go into a general elections and it could throw this country into the chaos that we can never imagine a Curse of gargantuan proportion So I think that the first thing that people should do is to swallow their pride This iPop we call them or he has said they have nothing to lose absolutely nothing to lose I like the style that is being adopted by or Haneze sometimes used to to conquer Yesterday in one of the stations a man like and you bar if I you buy if I you buy I think he falls if I you but he said his sought permission to go and have a one-on-one dialogue with Nandikano And I think he was denied. This is a time for SSS or DSS To pick one two three people and let them have a full night meeting with Nandikano Let them listen to him. That is the first line The second line is some federal government people should join in that meeting The third line is that some of Nandikano's people should join that meeting within three days There should be intensive meetings where nobody knows is not a media event Nothing is reported anywhere and the aim should be let's need this in the boat Let this thing be called off. Let's have an election Some people's pride is going to be wounded But that's a price you are going to pay for nationhood when you have a madman run away with your You have you have bath in the stream and a madman collects your dress and runs away with it For you to run to one teaching me lesson is for you to just make yourself worse than a madman Wisdom demands that you sit down. You think you strategize and even beg that lady with a rapper Beg her to story or somebody has taken away my police. Can you when you covered yourself properly and find a way of getting Then you can go after the madman when all said and done But right now we want to grandstand. We want to teach him We don't care how we thinking of our future. Are we thinking of this country? Are we thinking of the larger implications of what is going on? Let the federal government let the DSS this night Carry private jets pick one two three strategic people have a meeting with Namdi Kano all night By the next day Let them bring one two three of Namdi Kano's people to join in that meeting by the third day Let them bring one two three of federal government people who are going to give them this this Assurances within three days. Let us have this meetings maximum three days And the next thing you know is that namdi can because nobody knows about it If namdi Kano say something from that place and his people don't real code it outside It's not gonna work. So the DSS should have known about a ESN They should have known about I pop. They should have known about namdi Kano They should have known about the strategic people that are needed in this operation. Let me call it that it need be brings it in states men Go to namdi Kano. You know, there must be something he respects a mother. Somebody respects everybody has a weakness somewhere. Everybody does Bring that person whatever it does whether it's his girlfriend whether it is his mother whether it is his uncle whether it is his Business associate bring it about strategic thinking Convoting to get a certain result this sit at home thing must not be we must not want to try him out and see what he will do It will be an evil wind. I will blow no one no good. Please. I beg Let them do this All right This is the much that we can take is a delight to hear you share your thoughts every other time With us right here. We do appreciate your time. We say Zika. Yeah, I took thank you so much for being part of the Conversation this morning. We will step on the brakes now when we return the conversation We'll bring you up to speed with what's happened. What happened today in history. Please stick around