 And thanks for joining us on Off the Press, on the breakfast in Plasti, the Africa. We will be checking out the pages and find out what's making the round. We do have Chris Wandoo on standby. Good morning, Chris, and thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me this morning. Alright, so I set off with the Daily Trust newspaper this morning and we're looking at the bold caption on the Daily Trust newspaper. It reads, troops kill 50 E-Swap fighters in Bernou. You'll have riders underneath the board caption. As Bandit executes, 15 persons in Sokoto attack Zamfara Village for failing to pay levy. All of that on the board caption. Like a toe gate panel says, 11 dead. It is cheaper to transport container from China to Lagos than Lagos to Cano. That's also another caption you find this morning. And Buhari approves fresh 656.1 billion Naira bailout for states as Governors Meet Over Paris Club Reform. That's a rider underneath, which I got one or two before we move away. Or Hanaze, one's autonomous region. Nigeria on alert as Iranian cyber spies, target telecoms, and ISPs. That's the much we can take on the Daily Trust newspaper this morning. Alright, and on the punch newspapers, ASU threatens fresh strike. It says, agreed, 22 billion Naira allowance unpaid. Earned allowance, not that of an association, says the Education Minister. And it says also hold government responsible if we go on another strike. Insurance firms rake in 2.1 trillion Naira premium in five years, says the report. And also N-SARS, nine confirmed dead at Leckito Gate, says Lagos panel. Says the Army likely use live bullets on protesters. Four banks borrow 6.2 billion dollars from foreign market amid dollar shortage. Still on the punch. And I'm the kind who fighting for us, not himself. Must be released, says Mbakka. And Ikoi building engineers unveil preliminary reports, suspect structural distress and others. Federal government orders probe as Nigerian wrongly jailed in Kodevoa dies in prison. Bandits want education and facilities for children to drop arms, says Gumi. Outrage greets Oshoon lawmakers as Semovita empowerment campaign for a delique. Those are the big ones on the punch this morning. Let's move away from the punch newspaper this morning and check out the Guardian. Bold caption reads, inflation decelerates, defies market reality. That's what you find. And the writer says, figures contradicts global trend. What's days ahead? Famers warn and address insecurity to safe situation. Federal government advice. Figures doctor to achieve predetermined objectives. Verna who's saying all of that on the Guardian newspaper this morning. And COVID-19, federal government reinstate Decemberfest deadline for workers to vaccinate. Government gets three weeks to meet Asu demands. Local harems seizes Shiroro and Rafi local government areas in Niger. And local airlines order 16 new aircraft at $1.2 billion at Dubai Air Show. And just before we move away from the Guardian newspaper, we quickly check out this saying, it's difficult to be impartial objective without autonomy that chief justice of Niger tells Bahari. Very interesting. Leadership newspapers. Rising hardship. ACF or Haneze, Affen Farah and others advise federal government on way out. One creative thinkers in cabinet. Poverty on employment worse in the north, says Jaga. As to give federal government three, we automate them to meet Union's demands. And also bandits ready to lay down arms, says Gumi. We can also find here states back to 300 billion narrow pension liabilities. And judiciary's timely intervention saved democracy from collapse, says the CJN. We can also find here federal government warns against procurement of COVID-19 vaccination cards. Those are the stories that we have time for this morning. Chris, I want to thank you so much for joining us. Good morning to you. Mr. Wander, can you hear us clearly? I can hear you loud and clear. All right. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Where would you like to start from? Of course, obviously it has to be from Lakey, the port of the panel from Lakey. And some of us are not surprised by the outcome of that report. I am expectedly, it has compared to most of the allegations leveled at US security agencies and that people lost their lives, which have been vehemently opposed to or defended by the federal government, especially the Minister of Information, Lai Mohamed, who was threatening Bravestone and whatever and throwing that at everybody that said that there was a death at that incident. And he took it to a more ridiculous height when he threatened international TV organizations like CNN, who were threatening to sue and the rest. But good enough, I will give good news to that committee, that panel, for doing a very fantastic job. With the report that submitted to the legacy government yesterday, yes, 9 or is it 11? People were confirmed dead, so many missing. And also the report from the pathologist who also carried out, who also mentioned that over 90 corpses were recovered within the period but cannot be situated to the issue that happened. But the legacy governor also said that he's going to set up a former committee to come out with a white paper report on the, so we wait for that. But the most important thing for me is that it has been confirmed and that most of us have been saying time and time again that people died at Lakey took it. I'm waiting for the Minister of Information and National Retention, Lai Mohamed, to see his reaction. What do we say now? That the report has come out. This is a panel set up by government, not individual. It took, it practically took the human rights organizations, NGOs, journalists and everybody that spoke about that incident and then tried to take everybody with one brush, saying that they were just saying things that were not tenable and that cannot be substantiated. But the evidence is clear and the report is in. That's what we're going to say now. Mr. Awando, I want you to also react to two aspects. The first one is it says it was alleged and corroborated that soldiers picked bullets, bullet shells rather on the 9th of October 20th and policemen followed up in the morning of October 21st to pick up bullet shells. It says several unidentified bodies were moved by security agencies and the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit and deposited at various motorways in Lagos. It says three trucks with brushes underneath were brought to the Lucky Toe Gate in the morning to clean up the scene of blood stains and other evidence. So let's start with your thoughts on those aspects first. Those are perfect evidence and that brings to question the involvement of the Toe Gate operators. Don't forget that the camera was shot up and the lights were also shot up and that is where the good things are. So for me, the operators of that Toe Gate are very, very capable. And I want to see more sanction on that. Everybody that has been recommended or has been figured to have been part of that, it must be brought to good and made to account for their sins both and on good. Because it was a deliberate attempt by security agencies to stifle that protest that went on for days without any rank or without any disturbances. And don't forget that the effect of that shoot that was won led to the various destruction of several properties within Lagos State but the non-vehicle scene that we are destroyed, police stations and the rest of them. So the report was over. And when you look at members of that panel, which included Abadeh Buruva and Sega and so many of them, they did a very, very good job. At the point I just heard that I was thinking that that report was going to be swept under the carpet. Why is it taking so long to come out with that report? When I finally saw it yesterday and read it, I was very, very touched. But that is as I said earlier on, that is not where it stopped. That is just the beginning. Now we have to start putting people that were responsible, accountable for all the acts on being involved and that answers Sega. And the families of those that were kids who were compensated best. The most important thing for me, everybody that I had in hand in that killing, in that shooting and all the unwholesome activities that happened at the target and that they should be brought to prosecuted and jailed as a deterrent for others who may want to plan such in the future. Alright Chris and Wando, let's share your thoughts on the headline admitted to the Guardian Newsweek this morning. Is it difficult to be impartial, objective, without autonomy? That's what the Chief Justice of Nigeria is telling the President. Well, Chief George, you may be right to say a larger standpoint. Our Constitution is very, very clear on the separation of power. We have the executive, the judiciary and the legislature and they have been split out in the Niger Constitution. 1999 Constitution as amended, giving each arm of government some kind of autonomy. So nobody can tell us that your hand were tied to the back in order not to be able to perform activities. Yes, there have been some challenges that have been executive interferences here and there. But the judiciary itself should also look in what because they are also part of the problem. Most of the judges that we have presently have they been as upright and are standing as they supposed to be here. In law we say who comes to equity comes with clean hands. Most of them come with clean hands. Just recently we saw a magistrate of a court in Abuja issuing a Satwar and the residents of the second highest ranking justice of the Supreme Court. That is the judiciary to judiciary. And there have been so many instances where also judiciary officers, especially at the bench, have been indicted in corruption and the rest of them. But I agree with him, but that's in itself. You cannot say that it's difficult to be impartial, objective, without autonomy. You have to a large extent the Constitution has given the judiciary enough power to be able to regulate itself and what has even the judiciary done about his corrupt officers that have been indicted or have been found wanting. I remember vividly that the city and someone, some judges of the High Court, who were given some kind of conflicted judgment. And that was the last we heard about that. Those that were invited have been indicted, if they were indicted, have been punished. So yes, there is need for the judiciary to have its autonomy, which I still believe they do. But with the power, the little power they have, how well have they used it? Also, recently, don't forget that even the, there was a bill that was passed, giving autonomy to judicial workers. They went on strike for a very long time and that was granted. How then has that also been implemented in these various states by the various state governments and the rest of them? Autonomy, well, agreed. But don't you also think that there's an issue where, of course, you know that the appointment of, you know, the judges or the chief justice of Nigeria, you still have the fact that it should be still done by the executive arm of government based on the recommendation of the NGAC. So don't you think that that's entirely a problem that they should be given and in terms of, you know, finances as well. And you know how powerful money can be, you know, with anything that we do in the system? I agree with you perfectly. And don't forget also, not just the, when you said yes, before there's an appointment of CJN or any higher officer, the accommodation come from agency sent to the president, president picks somebody, then approval also goes to. Don't forget that the National Assembly also will confirm. So is it what I think that we should be looking at is that for the judiciary as it were to push for amendment of that part of the Constitution, which gives the executive the power and is not within the executive. This is now a judiciary legislative matter because if the judiciary can be able to get the legislature to be able to pass that or amend that, then the executive have no part in doing that. But until that session of the law is amended by the legislation that the executive will continue to do what they are doing. I also agree with autonomy in terms of monetary value that, don't also forget that, let us also not forget that. The judiciary is also the first light, within the first line in the payment when it comes to like what happens in the legislature, the National Assembly don't depend on the executive for money. So if the judiciary can also push for that, most often than not, the National Assembly vote its own fund and it doesn't have to wait for the president to approve the payment, name it, at any given point in time for them to get their money. The same thing should happen within the judiciary. So I think that what we should be looking at is a holistic look at the legislative or the law setting up some of this stuff so that it can be amended to keep the judiciary in much power than it is. But my own, I still believe that presently as it were, the judiciary still have enough power to be able to execute most of the things they've done. They should also look in what are some of the officers who are not living up to a petition. That is just my own thinking. All right. On the Daily Trust's modernist story there, it says that troops Q-50 is swap fighters in Burno as bandits execute 15 persons in Sokoto and attack Zamfara village for failing to pay levy. Yes. Good one. But we have to wait for the execution or killing of a general of the Nigerian main party. The military to kill as many as 150 Aiswa and Boko Haram fighters in Burno. That killing is killing too many. The life of a general or every single Nigerian soldier matters to us. And that is where we think that this fight is just stretching more than we expected. We expected by now that the military would have wrapped up with this insurgency and be able to break this to a minimum of best. Look at what even the story we are coming at because I think from the Niger state also that the bandits or whatever you name them have taken over about two so many towns in Niger state. Niger state is too close to Abuja. And we have seen what is happening in Abuja where bandits or terrorists as I decided to call them are raiding homes and even attack the University of Abuja where they have started some lecturers and all I still think is that we should be able to do the needful. And good enough we have at least some kind of we'll be able to up the antics with the purchase of the Tukano helicopters which is happening in fight against insurgency. But don't forget that also few days ago Senator Alindume came out to say that Aiswa is regrouping within the leg chart region and that in this is a big challenge. So but let's continue to take this fight and not wait for them to take it to the other two. The killing of that Brigadier General is equal to me is a very very terrible one and we cannot continue to lose our best officers to this mad set of people. Alright let's talk about the inflation rate. The Guardian says inflation decelerates and defies market reality. What are your thoughts on that? Well, grammar, even as much as it does not make any part in the pockets of your average Nigerian and the prices of your life and this is a part. If it does not make any part in the pockets of average Nigerian then we are having a lot of talent. I saw somewhere in one of the papers where I said that inflation has gone down by 15% the rest of them. Lowry Iraq as we say because the prices of goods and services is skyrocketing and it's affecting every aspect of Nigerian life. Nigerians are finding it difficult to feed presence in a situation and that in itself is the challenge for me. What we need to do is to be able to make sure that Nigerians have enough in their pockets, they have enough food to eat and rest. In those days we used to talk about the one zero one ratio. Now the one zero zero one is very difficult for our brain and that in itself is the problem. And the security problem we are having is not even helping matters because first I'm not going to the farm. When they get to the farm they get killed, they get kidnapped, they just get killed. So people are not even going to farm to grow food and that in itself is having a big challenge for me and that is where it gets me worried. When I see the president, I know nobody looking at foreign investments and the rest of them. He was in UK recently, he was in Glasgow, he went to France from France and he went to South Africa and he will be back. But if you have the basic infrastructure on ground, nobody will come and invest under this economy. Our greatest problem is that of basic security but also look at the challenges of basic infrastructure. No good road, electricity is not there. All the SMEs are dying practically. Where I stay, I've not had life for close, how many days now for about five days. So how will an investor come into such an economy where he knows that to find serious challenges. Then also most of our economic policies, we are moving from left, right, centre and rest of them without any specific economic policy in place. That in itself will never attract any sensible investor into the economy. So what we need to do is to focus on the basic challenges that they have and make sure that government is heard and accountable and all the promises made to the people are fulfilled. We've had so many promises in 2050 when this government was coming to power. I don't see any of them that they have to achieve and they just have barely three years to grow. So back to inflation, we're going to have that. Look at the banks are not going, one of the papers also talking about banks are going to borrow foreign, it's going to borrow dollars from foreign markets and the rest of them. How do you explain that? This is where I see people coming up with this because inflation has reduced and the rest of this. I say if it does not affect my pocket, I don't believe in it. All those things are just nefarious for me. Chris Wander, thank you very much. We're out of time for Off the Press. Thank you for your time and for speaking with us this morning. We wish you a very interesting and beautiful Tuesday ahead. Thank you very much for having me. Have a great day. Thank you for coming through. We'll take a short break. When we come back, we'll be sharing with you a little bit of what happened today in history, maybe a couple of years ago. We'll talk about it when we come back, see what else.