 We're glad to know you're still there. This is time to look at what the papers are saying, the headlines on the papers. We're going to begin with Vanguard. First of all, we apologize that our guest was not able to join us this morning to x-ray the papers. But we know that we'll have our guest tomorrow to do justice to the papers or the headlines on the papers. So we're beginning this morning with Vanguard to just relout what the headlines are. The leading story on Vanguard is reverse. Tinobu waits in Wike Fubara Meet, greet in Abuja. That is the leading headline in Vanguard newspaper. We also have, on top of that front page of the Vanguard newspaper, no plan to re-denominate Naira, that is from the CBN. And then we have Nigerians have taken steps backward to remain a country. That is according to Anyoku. We want to return, but can't. Recalled envoys are saying they want to return, but they cannot. So you have to read the Vanguard newspaper to find out why they cannot. PDP governors welcome Supreme Court judgment, slam contradictory ruling on a Platt 2 state. OK, that's another one there. Keelings, Benwick governor begs for more military presence and equipments. Those are the headlines on the Vanguard newspaper. So we're going to move to the next. Those are the headlines on the front pages of Vanguard newspaper. We're moving to the next newspaper for the headlines on it. The Asian newspaper is next. We're starting with the leading story, which is also about a river state. Fubara, Wike feud, Tinobu PDP governors mediate. So the problems, we're hoping that there are not going to be problems anymore. Now that the president and the governors of the PDP are wading into the matter. Natasha is Kogi's central senator. So the court has ruled, that's another headline there. The court has ruled that Natasha Koti is the senator for Kogi's central central district, as according to the appeal court verdict. We have also up there on the nation newspaper, a motion on injunction court finds Ayeda Tiwa. That is what the nation newspaper is saying. Remember, Ayeda Tiwa, under state deputy governor. So motion on injunction court finds Ayeda Tiwa. Okay, still on the nation newspaper, Baelsa Emo Kogi, 2023. Court of Appeal restores Timmy Price-Hilba to the ballot. Ensure peaceful poll, deregistered security agencies. And then rising insecurity in Kogi, worries SDP, APC running mate on the fire. Okay, remember that Timmy Price-Hilba was said to be disqualified from it, because from contesting, because if he contest and eventually wins, that means it's going to go against what the constitution stipulates that nobody can rule more than eight years. So eight years is supposed to be two tenors. And because of whatever happened in Baelsa state, where Timmy Price-Hilba had to rule for a number of years before he contested himself to become the governor, it gave him about six years of presiding over their affairs of the state. And now if he wins, if he wins, that would mean that he's going to rule for like 10 years, because that would be another four years for him to rule, that would be 10 years. So it will exceed the constitutional eight years in office that anybody can occupy in Nigeria. However, that interpretations are going to be made or were made before he was restored as the candidate for APC. We do not know, but APC was very confident that they're going to win that case. And now he has been restored. So that's the drama we're going to see in Baelsa state. So if he does win the election, so the question would be, can he rule for the full tenure? And if he rules for the full tenure of four years and it is 10 years, does it mean they have gone against the constitution or the constitution allows somebody in special circumstances to rule for more than eight years? We remember also that the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, was almost contesting for presidency when the time was right for him to do so. And that argument came out that he ruled when President Yaradua left this earth. He was the one who stepped into his shoes and ruled and then contested and won and then ruled. And so many people were saying he couldn't go back to contesting because of this reason and all that. Maybe that reason was just a frivolous reason. We do not know. Let the law interpret it whatever it is. But we need to see how that judgment was and the interpretation that was given to that clause in the Nigerian constitution that you cannot rule for more than eight years. Or are we saying you cannot rule for more than two full tenors or for more than eight years? There's also that technical aspect of it. We like technicality. So we will find out why they called ruled and said that he could contest again as the governor for APC. So we move to the next newspaper right now that we're going to bring you some of the headlines there. Punch newspaper, maybe. We're going to Punch newspaper to see what Punch has to say this morning. Punch leads with a story. Tinobu PDP's top of Fubara's removal. Protesters arrested. PDP governors excited as Tinobu intervenes. WK receives Niger Delta leaders. Mum over crisis. Protesters police clash at Speaker's residence. Fubara's, Kinsman, Sikh River's, CP's removal. Okay. Those were, that's about what is happening in River State right now. And then we have also at the top of that newspaper, federal government budget. Or federal government budgets 552.6 billion Naira for arms. Anti-terror fight. Senate launches fresh probe into Naira redesign. And then Lagos secures 1.3 billion dollars for Fort Mainland Bridge, others. Just asking, is it Lagos state government that is going to be in charge of the repairs? We've already heard that the federal government is doing something. The minister, Devomai, came deep assessment and then said that for three months, repairs will be done on third Mainland Bridge. Okay, this is Fort Mainland Bridge. So Lagos has secured 1.3 billion dollar loan for Fort Mainland Bridge and others. We do hope that Fort Mainland Bridge will actually come to fruition. Now we've been hearing Fort Mainland Bridge almost since we returned to democracy. Fort Mainland Bridge has always been a campaign promise in the time of Fashola, Ambo Day, then Soho Lu. And we hope that it will come to fruition. Let Soho Lu be remembered for fulfilling promises made years ago, like the blue line now has come up. It was made years ago, more than 16 years now and it has come to fruition in its administration. We do hope that this Fort Mainland Bridge will also come to fruition in his time. Then Apilcote Claes Silva for Bielsa Pole finds Challenger 1 million Naira. That's another headline there from the Punch newspaper. Apilcote has affirmed or asked Claed Silva for Bielsa Pole and finds Challenger 1 million Naira. If there are any other questions that need to be answered, I don't know if these kind of cases get to the Supreme Court or they don't get to the Supreme Court. But we hope that after the election, no new evidence will come up again and people try to bring it to the court and the court says that you cannot bring it anymore because that is a pre-election matter. We already know at this time that it disqualifies you if you're likely to serve more than 80 years that's the interpretation that a lot of us think it is. So if the court is now saying that Silva can contest, that means they have something, they know something better than what we know. So good luck to Silva, good luck to Bielsa people. We hope that it will not, or good luck to APC as well because it has happened before, was it Zamfara or Damawa, one of the states where after the election they found that the person couldn't or the processes and everything were not such that they should be. So they were disqualified and the entire people who won in that party were sacked and some other people took office. We hope that that is not what's going to happen in Bielsa state. So we have another story, Oyan Dam, Ogun communities panic over fresh flooding. It's really a worrisome thing, this flooding that is taking place all over. Not only Ogun people are worried, everybody in Nigeria is worried. Lives are being lost, farmlands are being lost and so many other things are being lost. That means money also is being lost and whatever the government needs to do should be done because it's not enough to just say leave your ancestral land, go to a higher ground. When my ancestry is in a particular land where my source of livelihood is on that land that I'm asked to leave, if I leave to a higher ground my farm cannot leave with me to a higher ground. Whatever holdings I have in that village or that community cannot live with me to a higher ground. I'll go to a camp to leave but my money is in the ground as it were. So people who can save money in the bank are people who can save money in the bank but there are other people who save money on land and that is by the crops that they plant and whatever else they put on the ground or in the ground to make sure that it yields money for them. And if it keeps happening every year that it will flood it or places will flood it then food security is going to be a problem. We're going to be discussing food security today when we talk about how the food prices have skyrocketed. In September the report of the NBS said that we had more than 20% increase in food prices. More than 20% that's being very modest and more than 20% could be up to 25%. In some food items even went as far as 28. something percent in the month of September. We haven't factored in what is happening in October or what happened in October because this is the first of November. Okay, so it is going to be very, very, a very, very tough 2024. So we have to start looking at solutions to these problems. Every year we get this problem, especially when these dams are, water from the dams are released, water from the oil dam is released and also water from Cameroon Dam is released. So the ripple effect gets to almost every community. So whatever needs to be done should be done. If there's something that people have to do, let them know on time and let them do it, something that will not impoverish the people more and turn them into beggars or slaves in their own communities. We should, or refugees in their own communities we should do those things and make sure that next year or beyond next year we're not going to be experiencing all of these things anymore. So we'll move to the next newspaper. The Guardian newspaper is our next port of call this morning. The Guardian newspaper is what we're looking at. What are the headlines on the Guardian newspaper? Okay. The Guardian newspaper says here as the leading headline, MDA's firm Sean Local Data, data centers spend scarce effects abroad. It's really worrisome. I wonder why people keep doing this. I had a story, I had an experience once. Someone was trying to get me from Lagos to come and give a talk in somewhere in Cross River State in, it comes precisely in Cross River State. And everything I was going to say could be said by people around there. And I asked the question, maybe which I shouldn't have asked because the money was going to come to me. I asked the question, why do I have to come all the way from Lagos, take flight to the place, lodge in the hotel for as many days as I'm supposed to do, and then give the talk that people in that community can give. I can give you a few names of people in the same profession who I trust that can deliver. And the person told me if the person comes from Ecom itself, it will mean that there will be no overhead cost or how did he even call it. When I'm signing the papers for the transportation, for the hotel accommodation and all that, what will I say about someone who came from Ecom? Nothing will come back to me because the person is as much as trolling into the event center. So we need someone to come from far so that the money that we have to sign for your transportation and accommodation and feeding will be such that we too can get something. As plain as that, I didn't get to go anymore. I recommended some people, I had work to do in Lagos anyway and all that, but that's not an excuse. Why do people keep doing this? People will have conference rooms in their MDAs and they go and hold meetings and AGM, all other things in Sheraton Hotel, in a co-hotel. They go to other places. So why build a conference room when you know that you can always get somewhere else that you're going to stay? You have a conference room and you're going to somewhere else to have an AGM. Who does that? The money you're going to spend in these post-hotels to do whatever you're supposed to do, what if you spend this money putting your conference room or center or whatever you call it in good shape, so much so that people will even want to come and rent your own conference center to do their own events. But you have a conference center and there's nothing that goes on there. You go to a hotel that you will spend millions and millions and maybe you'll take blank receipts so that at the end of the day, if they charge you 200,000 for a hall, you are going to say 2 million for the hall. Corruption is not just people in the National Assembly. A lot of people, even the lowest rung of the ladder are also very corrupt and it's from this rung of the ladder as I'm putting it that people grow into becoming whatever they become. All the National Assembly members come from among us so it is maybe the kind of attitude that we've imbibed from when we are low that we take to when we become greater people or higher people and all that. Like they say, money does not make you good or bad. It just amplifies what you already are. Position is the same thing. It amplifies who you are. If you are a good man, your office will not make you a good man. You were a good man before you got to the office. If you are a bad man, you've always been a bad man before you got to the office. It's just now amplified because more people see you and there's more power in your hands to do that. So why would MDAs go and contract some other person outside spending good effects to do what they could have done back home? We also had that story, that kind of a thing when the logo for the Nigeria Air or the Nigeria Airways, I don't know the name that they called it, the one plane that the whole country of Nigeria was going to float, the logo was contracted to a foreign firm and millions of dollars were spent. And someone was asking, what if they had just said a secondary school or tertiary institution competition between schools let people bring as many logos as possible and we chose from the best. Maybe we will have a first price, second price and a third price. If you give even one million here to the first price and second price 800,000 and 500,000 to the third price, you have empowered so many people and they will be so happy. Instead of spending like $50 million or more on a logo that could have been designed in Nigeria, who designed the green, white, green flag? Who composed the national anthem that we are using right now? Are they not Nigerians? So why couldn't we have done that as well? It's something is a slave mentality that a lot of people say is a slave mentality. You think something that comes from outside is definitely going to be better. And then there's the other angle of you making money off something that should have been really, really simple. So we have to stop all this if we want corruption to go. We can't expect Tino Buu to do everything. We can't expect Bauer or not no Bauer now. The person at the helm of affairs of EFCC to do all the thing or ICPC to do the fighting of corruption. You have to start fighting corruption from your conscience and then the nation will be the better for it. Okay, we're still on the Guardian newspaper. We just talked about MDAs and firms shunning local data centers and spending scarce effects abroad. Still on the Guardian newspaper come in rivers as Tino Buu negotiates ceasefire in Wike Fubara feud. Okay, we've had a lot of that in all the newspapers they are carrying it. And then we have Obifle's executive criminal mindedness seeks parliamentary system of government. You can see that on the news page three on the Guardian newspaper. Akere Dolu and governance void in, governance void in on those state. Remember that the governor lives in Ogun state. And then he superintend over affairs of his state. Is it Ogun state or your state? Then he superintend over the affairs of his state. It doesn't live in his state in short. And there's problem in that state. The deputy governor is on the fire. A lot of political intrigues are going on and on. So there is this editorial on page 16, Akere Dolu and governance void in on those state. You might wanna read on that. Nigerians spend 975 million daily on online betting. Okay, I don't know how that one should be treated. Maybe it should also be treated in the same way drug abuse is being treated because it is a problem. Betting, we know how many lives have been ruined. We know also that people do win from time to time some money, but it's betting really something that we should encourage. And whatever happens to a national lottery, we haven't heard that. At least we know that the national lottery, whatever money is gotten from there is put back into the building of our country. So if people are betting and they're buying the lottery and they're trying to play that and all that, we know that the money is not going into one person's purse. Maybe the government should think about that since people like betting. A lot of people in this country bet. In every office that you go to, people bet. And so many people that you think cannot ever do something like that, they bet. So is betting evil? Maybe not, but does it have an adverse effect that might ruin families? Definitely, yes. But can an alternative be given that will make sure that whatever you're spending is being plowed back into the economy? Yes. Why is it not happening? We do not know. So maybe government should think about that. A lot of people may not come out of betting, but can there be alternative kinds of betting rather than what we are having now? So somebody made a joke that in some other countries, footballers have been building schools, building roads, building health centers and all that, and bringing a lot of things to their communities. What our celebrative footballers bring to us is betting houses, and we see that a lot. So it was a joke anyway, but some jokes, you just look at them and you see the truism in them and you begin to wonder, is this what we can import to our country and make our country better? Well, we don't know about that. It's very lucrative. Betting, religion, some other things, the things that are really very lucrative to some people and they are going into it with all their hearts. Still on the Guardian newspaper, ENSA's NHRC receives panel reports from 16 out of 29 states, from 16 out of 29 states. The question is, what will be done about those reports? We hope that the reports will be taken seriously and then whatever needs to be done will be done and seen to be done. It's not a question of let us bury the bodies that were never there and then after that, no, let's not bury the bodies anymore because of XYZ reasons and all that. Let's see that, okay, those people that need to own up to whatever will own up, those people that need to be punished for whatever need to be punished. Those people who need to be rewarded for whatever need to be rewarded. ENSA's is something that will never leave the history books. So we should be careful how we handle it and history will remember us for good or for bad. Okay, and then that'll be just about that from the Guardian newspaper and eventually that will be the end of the last newspaper that we're taking this morning. You've seen all the headlines. These are not the only newspapers in Nigeria. There are so many others that will have, you have Business Day, you have Premium Times, you have so many newspapers that carry different stories. We know that one of the biggest stories will be that of River State. We do hope that there will be peace in River State and all that. So we'll be talking on food prices, food prices rather rising in September to as high as 26.76% and our concentration will not be only on the fact that food prices have risen but how to make sure the food prices come down. We have been told by one of the committee members of the Economic Planning or was the name of this committee. I can't remember of the cough right now but we've been told that it is possible that the Naira will come, the dollar will come down to maybe 600 or 700 Naira per dollar before the end of 2023. And we're just crossing our hands, crossing our fingers and just waiting for that to happen. And if that happens, good. But if it doesn't happen, that will just be yet another talking point for everybody in Nigeria. Why promise the things that you cannot fulfill? We're waiting and hoping that that does happen. But right now we're going to take a break. When we return, we're going to be joined by Nick Aggule to look at the food prices rising to 26.76% in September. Stay with us.