 It's the break for us and plus TV Africa as always we take you through the pages of a national dailies We have a Ziko and I took who joins the conversation. Is it girl is good to have you join us this morning? My pleasure to be with you. Thanks for having me. All right It's Ziko and I took as a public affairs analyst and he's very Petrotic citizen of Nigeria. Let's look at the leadership this morning on the leadership we take a look at the bold headlines or the banner captions If you like to put the boat story here says 40 days to presidential primary APC moves to a vet clash of interests party Neck concedes powers to the national working committee That's boldly written CSO's kick as APC pegs presidential nomination forms at 100 million Nara Governorship 50 million It's party affairs says INEC President Muhammad a Buhari once against imposition of candidate that would mean that the PDM the APC Will not be tilting towards, you know, the consensus just maybe Adamu blames governors for Crisis and party urges unity and party interest These are the riders underneath the boat caption and you also have another board Header here saying World Bank acts federal government to reconsider for trillion narrow fuel subsidy Interesting 43,000 and eight Nigerian pilgrims to perform 2022 the hijab that's what you find train attack arrow five gives nine victims family 18 million Nara and just before we move away from the leadership You also find troops killed 25 terrorists and rescue six captive in lake charred These are the headlines on the leadership newspaper We're straightening out to the daily independent newspaper now outrageous Trails APC 100 million Nara 15 million their presidential Guber forms with some riders their participation in election now business to earn profit According to lawyers Say political parties have transformed to revenue collectors Heroa condemns APC urges arrest probe of form buyers commercial exercise will dampen the hopes of the nation that is syslock our Deploy tougher measures in tackling integrity that's attributed to the president Muhammad a Buhari We are at risk of losing 2023 election The APC chairman is saying Lament supremacy battle between governors predecessors Party adept indirect primaries next sits past to end up you see Just the beneath the pictorial there 2023 presidential election PDP in dilemma over consensus as 17 jostle for parties ticket On the berets fire me over salaries of record exo staff More stories COVID-19 Buhari gives minister deadline to submit vaccine production Report and other stories also making headlines on the daily independence newspaper Away from the daily independence a quick look at the punch here talks about the presidential primary APC silent and zoning Now adjourns condemn 100 million Nara nomination from even though you have some court is saying I mean including the INEC saying It is actually a party concern Now underneath says it will encourage corruption. These are what citizens are saying No, it will deter on Sarah's aspirant chief 10 of APC's quoted to say governors remain state leaders at the more ones factions Indirect primaries likeable. That's what you're or likely. That's what's been quoted here Do not repeat PDP's mistake. Buhari is Saying to the APC of course Position on zoning out soon. That's what the spokesman's quoted to say and away from all of that But you also know that it is chip elated that You know, the parties should inform INEC should understand what mode of If you're going to have the primary election, they should understand what pattern of voting that you're going to you know apply So I really don't understand, you know, the whole back-and-forth and the dilly-dallying with the APC now But I'm also looking at this. You find power tariff shortfall heats 247 billion narrow governor's clad debts in December That's what the federal government report is quoted to say and foreign vassities from 4 trillion narrow subsidy Budget as it tells the federal government Imports and forex restrictions worsening food inflation in Nigeria the World Bank is quoted on all of that and we just take another before we move away Kaduna crash late pilot's family laments the NAF begins probe of what could have actually cost that crash and 131 376 retirees we draw 300 and I beg your pardon 32 billion narrow Hmm Quit pension scheme. That's what the PENCOM is quoted to say Lagos, please grill Chris land and parents over people's sexual acts quite interesting For the want of time, we'll just really leave it at that this morning on the punch very quickly the nation newspaper the main caption for this one of the mid-headline that he's a cautioned APC against imposition of candidate and most of the papers have that as one of your lead stories How? The season on Daria Nyami was taken by presidency a CJ and once judges against illegal wealth flamboyance train attack Kaduna gives families of dead victims 18 million narrow gunmen abduct four family members in Abodja and all the stories also making headlines on the nation newspaper this Thursday morning Is it come yeah, I took it's good to have you join us once again. We appreciate your time as always Thanks for having me All right So, so let's get straight to it this morning. I mean dominating almost all of the pages it talks about The nomination form of the APC hundred million narrow that's gotten several Nigerians talking about the fact that these will always and has Always aided corruption Yeah, what bothers me about some of these things is how? You get a blind man to drive a car And you are so shocked so surprised that the car crashes. I don't understand APC have told you in every way imaginable that they are an Estate capture SPV You know and when you are there a good businessman Looks at you know the market when the demand is high The price goes up because he's a businessman and when the demand is low the price comes down Right now for one reason or the other people have come to see that Wow There is so much money to be made in government They've come to see that if you are in Government your sins can be forgiven They've come to see all sorts of things and have a certain mindset about government and governance all Thanks to a piece and as a result Every outgoing governor wants to be a president Every businessman wants to sponsor somebody who will become Mr. President and they will be able to do their bidding Nigeria has become commercialized and as a result APC being good business people See the market right for some harvesting if they can harvest a hundred million From 20 people that is clean clear to billion that goes to the party for administration And don't think in terms of 36 states having at least say 10 governors and that gives you about 300 and you get 50 million from each just do the math and go to the Senate where you have 109 Constituencies times x amount of money times x number of people and then go to the house of reps Where you have about 360 of them don't even think of house of assembly These guys are raking in money in the trillions By my simple calculation Because of that they are doing what they know best to do You and them are singing from two different song sheets You are talking about government and governance. They are thinking of the enterprise and the business called politics So why are you surprised that a goat is eating yam or that the monkey is eating the banana Who is to be blamed at this point in time? That's number one number two. I put the blame again Squirrely and to a great extent on the dust steps of the media Why do you want us to believe that outside APC PDP rules and the chance? And I hope that one day I have a chance to let you know the light that has been you see I've been in politics for a long time. I've contested governorship twice I've been the chairman what a local government congress committee of the PDP to one of the state Which is one of the highest assignments you can have in part. I've been a national chairman of a party and Understand the mindset of politicians. They give you a narrative That suits them that distract you from the fact and you run with the narrative while they are doing You know, there's this Yoruba proverb. I'm told that a man that will not allow you to eat When we are preparing your food prepare his own so that when he is busy eating his own You're busy eating your own and this is what the politicians are doing. That's your stocking trade These are they know that if you go there is an electoral act that we have not done an analysis the Synthesis of that electoral act which we need to do to tell people what is going on So they distract us with all these things and then we forget and the time that would have been using To tell people you don't have to bother again. The game has changed We don't know that game has changed with the new electoral act So we are running come interest about a PC PDP a PC PDP a PC PDP and one day We are going to wake up his election time and then we said so old terrible country terrible leaders And it just becomes this evil cycle, you know, you know finally on this note You know the certain things that the Bible says and you really don't it doesn't hit you until something comes I've read the on the Bible so many times the way of the transgression is hard The way of the transgression is hard. I've heard it until last night I was watching the publicity secretary of a PC on one of the channels and They asked him about the form. Oh, Lord have mercy. Is this young man or old man? Have a hard time trying to justify what was absolutely Unjustifiable trying to explain the absolute unexplainable trying to answer a question that his face and his voice We're in two different directions And I understood what the Bible meant when he said the way of the transgressor is hard That's my few comments on that matter All right, let's look at all the stories are also making headlines on the nation these people the president is cautioning The APC is still talking about the ruling party in Nigeria. We'll hurry caution APC against imposition of candidates So let's get your take concerning that you just talked about the publicity secretary of the APC yesterday he was a few didn't they were Questions, you know from journalist Station and he was talking about how they were not decided yet on zoning on You know mode of unprimary, but right now the president is actually cautioning the party against the imposition Which means that there may be some likelihood of the party considering that in the first instance You know, you know, I took a decision and honor, you know Integrity is hard. It's an expensive commodity. I took a decision which I announced publicly And I want to try as much as possible to stick to that decision The decision was that because mr. President has signed the electoral act that I have forgiven Not just on his past act Have even forgiven him in advance Anything he will do So whatever I'm going to say now is going to come with a caveat that I have forgiven in advance Because of that electoral act mr. President is just too faced in my opinion He I Don't understand him. I don't know if he has a double life. I don't understand there's something about him I don't understand You are the one that everybody comes to in the party to take a decision You are the one that the party waits for at all times which I think was absolute lack of strategic thinking Now you are telling us two things I don't know if you get to that part the first thing is that he's gonna get tough on you know I'm on them on them terrorists and you know, you know, all this the insecurities. It's gonna get tough After so many years and you have less than one year they're about to go Yeah, just tell you get up. I bet just leave it like that Let's just believe God and pray and manage and you leave the state and secondly you're saying we don't want a position What's the meaning of that? I need to understand what's the meaning of that because I've sat down and thought about it What's the meaning of we don't want in position in position means what you have said you're gonna have indirect primaries What are you trying to say and they won't say something which maybe you will come to with time Which is the neck seeding its powers to the NWC You see in Nigeria They are aspect of the law that the National Assembly can tinker with But they are setting aspect that Must go through the 36, you know houses of our assembly in all the states and the FCT The reason is that setting decisions are so Fundamental that they must reflect the you know the decision the mindset and the opinion of the whole country Because such decisions are policy decisions that bind the country It's the same thing like I said before I've been a national chairman of the party is the same thing with the party They have the neck Which represents the whole country and then the NWC which is Representative in a microcosm stetsis for instance in the National Assembly you have everybody from all the states of the Federation But the houses of assembly have a wider consulate Consultation week before coming. That's why you have neck as different from NWC. That's why NWC Handles the day-to-day running of the system and then the neck is like the board is like it's like the bigger policy body You know and then you now come and say that the duties of that body should be seated It's like saying state of house or assembly. Don't bother if you know National Assembly go ahead and them You know adjust the constitution because time is short when the time becomes short I thought we knew election cycle was going to be four years from today To the best of my knowledge. I've not seen that that thing was shut shut into a few months a PC new that is why they didn't even have a management until some weeks back after seven years and Now because they don't want you know to lose that I don't even know their reason They're now seeding the power of neck to NWC to take decisions on the presidential Yes, yes, that that should be taken at a much larger level They say because to bring the people back to take such a decision within short times might be difficult Did we just shift elections from four years to four months? I Think that this thing that a PC and they really want to come back to power And they actually believe that Nigerians are waiting for them to come back They really don't think that we can think but I want to tell you that they are one two three provisions in the Electoral Act That we need to highlight in the past. I just bring out one just one just one In the past we used to have this situation where you know elections the primaries drag drag drag to September October November and before you can say Jack is Christmas and my time come from Christmas is January election comes Nobody is able to talk to you as a result. They just boom come on the ballot and you just go and stop voting for me We don't even know anything about I want to say that God bless Inaik and God bless the civil societies and God bless Mr. President God bless also the National Assembly for letting us know that the last day of submission of Candidates gives you 180 days six months Six months not six weeks again six months of you Engaging the people and selling your candidate and on the other hand the second part which is so important Is that your votes will be transmitted right from the polling unit these two things put together? Gives Nigerians a completely different paradigm from what has been in the past So we are going to have let those people buying funds at if they like let it be one one billion get it I want to tell you that you are going to meet a group of Nigerians from a third party Which is what we call the third force or the alternate is going to be somewhere that will emerge And we're going to have town hall meetings. We're going to have debates We're going to have engagement Nigerians are going to see for themselves. It's like in a crime on state You know, I'm I'm contesting the governorship and just three days back. We had a virtual debate It was engaging three hours eight of us. It was wonderful. It was amazing Acquiring people said I say wow, this is something and that was even before candidate The next one is going to be with the candidate and I'm happy to announce that I'm already One prime to be a candidate because my party has been the country in the Congress We had adopted me as a sole candidate for the party Understandably and so I'm waiting for PDP. All right Let's quickly show your thoughts on this one as we begin to round off on this one it talks about World Bank and the consent for The subsidy, I mean we're looking at four trillion Naira according to the World Bank the same cruising fuel subsidy Puts the Nigerian economy at high risk a subsidy payment Significantly impact on public finance as well as post debt sustainability concern and looking at the fact that 40 to 60 percent Are all innings were very dependent on oil for our innings and of course 80 to 90 percent constitute our entire export oil is on top of that percentage and calculation But what are your thoughts really? I agree completely with the World Bank and I've maintained this period right from the time of President Jonathan Subsidy is one fraud one fraud that I'm I'm shocked that my president could not Even having been the the minister of petroleum. I a lot of times. I really don't understand him Subsidy is a mega fraud on the poor It is a major ripoff on the nation as a whole There are so many things you cannot explain about the petroleum sub sector You can't explain about the daily quarters of production that we have You can't explain about the different seedings that have been done You can't explain so many things you can't explain why refinery cannot be built in seven years There are so many things you can't explain you can't explain the volume of the so-called buyback that we have You can't explain the subsidies. There is a lady Lady mrs. Um ester O'gway or something like that. That was the head of ppmc. That was relieved of her duty Let Nigerians go back to her and find out why she was relieved Because she actually went on the floor of the senate to testify about certain things But that matter has been swept under the carpet. But one day it will come up The whole concept of subsidy is is is a few handful of people Feeding fat to the detriment of the generality of Nigerians. I say it and I say it again I as an individual I consume more fuel on a daily basis than my whole village put together By time you have one two three four five six SUVs The amount of fuel you get and I'm subsidized for every liter of fuel that I buy I'm subsidized for it But you are now equating me with that guy on the street that is trying to buy a little fuel for his generator Or for his um, you know pumping or whatever. He's using it. Maybe the guy who does a vulcanizer Or the hairdresser who uses just about 10 liters for god's sake Meanwhile, I take about 10 to 15 20 times that on a daily basis. You are subsidizing me You're not subsidizing that that's little person. Can we just move around and come at an honest economic You know a factor that will target those people and then give them that leverage to even buy those things free of charge On a daily basis Meanwhile use that money in a way that benefits the poor subsidy is a fraud subsidy has to be looked into very very well All right, we must say a very big. Thank you to you Mr. Ezekiel and Aitok for all the thoughts that you have shared on the off the press segment at this morning Would you appreciate your time? Thanks so much and god bless you both. You're god bless you too It is so the breakfast and plus tv Africa will go back this day in history and see what happened And when we come back would be going straight to a forced discussion for the day to germs again