 Welcome to Off the Press of the program, and we want to start by looking at the headlines of the Guardian newspaper. And the Guardian newspaper leads with Naira Slums, a CBN commences rate harmonization, faces supply hurdle. Page 6 is where details of that can be found on the Guardian newspaper. And then you have, going down a bit, you have a small headline, DSS invites suspended EFCC chairman, and details of that, some page 3 of the Guardian newspaper. INEC LP beaker over subpoena as OB tenders IREV reports, outrage as Karno government demolishes multi-millionaire monument, FG to begin disbursement of student loans in September, details of that is on page 5. Well, that's the much I'll be taking from the front page of the Guardian newspaper. Okay, we'll move to the punch, and the punch newspaper leads also with currency floating, private sector economies back CBN Naira falls to 664 Naira per dollar. The riders are CBN allows banks to sell dollar at own price, removes cap on exchange rate. Economists are in this worry over central bank capacity to stabilize exchange rate. We also have a story on Bauer. Tinubu suspends EFCC chair indefinitely, orders proof. Student loan disbursement begins in September. President projects 500,000 jobs with data protection law. Okay, we have other headlines, prosecute justice, Bulkachua's husband, NBA tells federal government, and no division in Akira Duluth's cabinet states acting governor. Those are the headlines. Okay, just before we go, Lagos police brutalized trip lady over cultism allegation yet again. Moving from the punch newspaper, we'll go to leadership newspaper, and leadership newspaper is leading with DSS quizzes suspended EFCC chairman Bauer. You have the strip there, and details of that can be found on the inside of leadership newspaper. And then you have Tinubu begins the monetary policy reforms, floats Naira, page four is where you have details of that, and then you have subsidy removal, Repstax FG on palliative measures. Well, that's the much I'll be taking from the leadership newspaper. And so we'll move to the nation newspaper. The nation newspaper leads with CBN abolishes multiple Naira dollar exchange rates and riders are market driven currency regime excites financial experts. Don't shift blame for sloppy handling of your case. INC tells LSB's or B's lawyers. Outrage over debt of 106 inquirer boat accident, page six of the nation. Student loans law takes off in September, and then also we have federal governments, 819 billion Naira extra budget littered with ghost projects. Okay, that's the much we'll be taking from the nation newspaper, and that eventually ends our... Okay, that's... The final newspaper we'll be taking headlines from this morning. Yes, and we have been joined by Mr Ezekiel and 12 public affairs analysts who's joining us this morning from Aqaibam State. Good morning to you. You look in very high spirits this morning. Gee, Ezekiel. Is there a particular reason? You're trying to say something. Well, I want to thank you all for the opportunity you gave me to learn the voice to supporting His Excellency Apabio, who is now the effectively number two man, because usually he's the number three man. But you see, when you look at the position of the vice president, the guy is a spare tire, you know? So basically look at the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the president of the second arm. These are the two people in power. Judiciary, you hardly hear them. So effectively in principles number three man, but effectively number two man. I think that I owe myself and the nation the duty of staying as close to his ears as possible to make sure that the person I said was uncommon. I do not come to, like, apologize to Nigerians, but come and Nigerians will say, my guy, who is your next guy that you are recommending? So it's a responsibility to make sure that he lives up to the expectation of the office and not just that he's got in the office. It's important you're saying that because we wouldn't want to see a rubber stamp senate president. He's already said that he won't oppose the executive regards to Bill. So we are wondering how much of an oversight the House is going to play under his watch over the executive. There are two things. The very first thing, if you know Acquabio very well, is an extremely ambitious person. And he has a heart. He has somebody that you cannot but respect him. Like I said, politics is like many people just sit and watch the man in power. But the people who influence him, you know, let me just say this very quickly. My friend, Donald Dubin, he said he was concerned about running for presidency. He knows that he would have 70% of the vote, 70% of the people like him. But there's 10% that hate him with a passion. The unfortunate thing is that this 70% are often docile, quiet, and watching. While that 10% are so vicious, they are so vocal, they go for what they want, and they end up counting the 70%. So we must rise as Nigerians because like now, if Tinubu is to change a policy, the beneficiaries of that policy are going to be vicious like this Naira thing. We can't leave Tinubu alone. We must run behind him and stand behind him. Even also those people that were making this money, they've gotten so much wealth that they will start to influence us. They are starting to complain because they have the capacity to sponsor, but we need to rise up and no longer be docile, no longer be complacent, but occupy the office of the president of the citizens of Nigeria, which is the highest office of the land. So what is good, we emphasize is good, and then praise him. What is bad, we don't only criticize, but we give him an option. Leaders are effectively a reflection of the society. Okay, yeah, let's just begin with the suspension of the EFCC chairman. First of all, it was Mephile, the central bank governor. He's now on the investigation. Now it's the EFCC, and a lot of people are saying there will be a, it will be a trial. We've had central bank, we've had EFCC. Maybe the next person will be DSS. We don't know. This cleansing that has been going on, what hit you when you heard that the EFCC chairman has been suspended as well just a few days after the central bank governor was suspended? There are two answers to that question. One is the honest answer. The other one is the political answer. Which one do you want? We want both. Hello. Yes. Both of us. Yeah, we want both of them. Both of them. Okay. Now the political answer is that there's a new czar in town who is not going to tolerate anything and the moment he feels that there's something that needs to be investigated it must be investigated. Now that is the political answer and it could be right. But the honest answer to me is that this guy must have done some things before time. You go down step on this man's toes way back and the guy is like way till I come because the first thing I've heard concerning him to the best of my knowledge there will be other things I don't know has to do with the acquisition by one of the governors of a two million dollar bribe that he demanded. And if that be the only thing which I'm sure is not then I would expect that there will be an in-house investigation first on account of which he would now with time take the next decision. It's different from that of MFLA where the whole country knew that things were wrong the monetary policy needed to be addressed and things like that which I think will go into it as we progress. So that of MFLA was pretty obvious so people were not surprised. That of EFCC chairman I think there must have been some things before time that's my personal opinion and it's a function of my limited knowledge so I would not say that that's a very correct position but I want to believe that the political answer might be the safest answer which is that there must have been certain things that had to do with security and even the financials because EFCC and central bank there's a very big correlations between them because of financial crimes so I believe that he must have had certain files before even assumed office or after winning election that period of between swearing in and winning election a lot of documents start to come to you because he's in a hurry to hit the ground running with respect to kickstarting our economy he wants to make sure that all institutions that have to do with the economy that have not been right he pushes them out so that he can focus on what he needs to do I think that might be a more rational thing to think because you cannot attack monetary policy without EFCC you can't that is probably NFIU and they'll look at maybe ICPC those kind of those legs that have to do with monetary policy and I think that if that be the route then I doubt my heart for him because it means his visionary he knows where he's going to he's not just picking one person to deal with him he's taking the holistic stance on which economy rests and if that be the case then I think he needs to be the president needs to be applauded and then supported and prayed for it is possible that they may have looked into some things before suspending him and even if they haven't I would imagine in my opinion that that allegation from the governor is waiting enough to have him step aside for thorough investigations I mean we are in a where people do not resign no matter what you do or say no matter what they've done or said Nigerians just do not have it as a culture to resign in some climes just being accused like that some public official would have resigned and just left the office so I think yeah go on no no go on but I remember also a governor that was accused and footage shown where he was receiving dollars and he stayed in his cap the difference the difference between the EFCC chairman and the governor you know gandolas is that the governor the governor had a certain level of immunity so it is now that they can bring back the evidence that they had and then deal with him but for the EFCC chairman I really think that you know all things considered I think that there is a certain audacity a certain boldness that the current president is exhibiting and I would say as somebody who was not his fan I would say this I think I've always been praying that they you know I've always said which tinuubu are we meeting the political tinuubu or the technocrats tinuubu they are too and I think he's trying to tell me who he is coming out as which is the technocrats tinuubu that will reflect again on the appointment that he's going to make is it not dangerous is it not dangerous because now people will seem to be afraid if you make any move you might be removed and scrutinized because everybody has one small thing or the other hiding somewhere and if this is the case that anybody who seems to be in a position in court will be removed as swiftly as that and things go against him in such a hurry will that not be a bad thing for us because a lot of people will be afraid you see let me tell you something the moment we learn to be objective it helps us as a nation now I wasn't a fan of Mr. Tinuubu I said that again but when you are objective it means when you see what is good say it is good Nigeria is sick and tired of we set up a pro panel the pro panel will now have another panel that will review the reports of the pro panel and when that review has been made we need to bring another panel that will be able to synthesize it and give it to the president before he takes a decision he needs to also have certain inputs at the end of the day nothing is done we have gone that route for so long and Nigerians are tired now there is a guy that says you know what there is nothing wrong in you wait panel can now look into it but you wait so I think he is coming with another extreme but let us start with that extreme and more comfortable with that extreme which we need to also give him that support and let it be like let's get finality to it it's not enough to say he is suspended the next thing is I would have expected that a panel would have been set up immediately and if I were his advisor I would say let that panel have two weeks maximum three weeks then bring out the result the result is that okay guy what they said about you we didn't think that there was anything so apologies go back to your work or we have evidence against you and not just that you are removed but that you are sent with the weight of that evidence to the necessary prosecuting agency which is the court of law and we want to see people jailed that is when people now know oh boy this is serious so you can have the boldness to do what you are doing if you know you are right and on the other hand you should also have the fear of God you remember that I have always told you I never knew that my mother used to tell me he told me again back but any child that has nothing to fear never amounts to anything we become a country where we are not afraid of anything we are not afraid of the court of law we are not afraid of government we are not afraid of anything impunity is our number one problem without corruption number one but corruption actually stems from that impunity that it doesn't matter the moment it matters we will cool down on corruption what does this say about the the level of energy we need to put into the fight against corruption because the man before this particular one was also suspended for corruption for me yes for me it is a good signal if you use a sledge hammer to kill a fly do it but just don't let that fly come and patch on our food and give us this entry so for now with time there is going to be a balancing but let him start on that hard note let's have a hard reset and then we now start to balance out instead of wanting to make it quietly before we know those hard guys they will take over the system so for me fighting corruption I think that this man has started well I commend him and I will continue to say so alright let's look at this issue you touched a bit on it the Naira the harmonization of the rates you touched a bit on it but some are saying even though it's a good step in the right direction it's just the first step to be taken in getting the economy out of the deep hole it's been plunged in do you share this idea yeah let me say this I've never claimed to be an economist I'm an architect at the risk of sounding immodest or arrogant an acknowledged one at that let me not say a good one at that because having been given the honor of being housing man of the year and winning lifetime achievement award in housing I think I can say thank god coming back to I'm saying that just to say I'm not an economist so what I'm going to say I want to talk as a layman but layman I read economics in secondary school a good school and I understand the concept of supply and demand where the supply exceeds demand the price falls where the demand exceeds supply the price rises when Nigerians have that mentality and we talk of exchange rate what are the factors that determine the influence exchange rate two things one are the natural forces of supply and demand and the second one is subsidy which we call government intervention when we don't have enough demand enough supply and the dollars starts to go up what central bank would do is they will bring extra dollars into the system that will now make the supply to be either at par or higher than demand and the price is relatively stabilized but the question is is this a sustainable policy? on the other hand how do you get supply of dollars into the country and what do we need the demand for our test as Nigerians does not reflect who we are as a people if we can import two peaks we will import if we can travel we will travel and I hope that our current president he has started on a note I didn't quite like go to Obudu Kato Ranch for your relaxation just go there come to Ibum Gulf Resolve in Akwaibom for a weekend let us learn to you know I think my children did once that almost brought tears down my eyes usually I save money try to let them go abroad on vacation but this year they said they wanted to go to Ibum some years back they are adults now they said they wanted to go to Ibum Gulf Resolve and they went and spent two or three weeks there the total money they spent there was less than the ticket for two people what am I saying if my children could prefer my state it means that we have things in this country our test must not always be abroad abroad abroad we put demand on our forex number two is that we are not producing anything reasonable that brings in which we now export and get the dollars back so the dollars seem to be racing on only oil that's not good enough so for him to now say look and then the worst part was that instead of targeted subsidy which is very important for instance I want agriculture to become what we need we need equipment any equipment you bring down here we will give you the exchange rate at a subsidized rate which is subsidy that is targeted subsidy and now look at maybe educational materials which are not sourced locally I mean that can be sourced locally as much of it equipment largely even technology laptops and things like that for our children we want our children to be in tune with the current realities of times which is ICT and we are really gifted in that area so when you have this targeted subsidy you know which can even supply at 50% and all that but when you now do this exchange rate differential where you don't know how it's being applied there you'll pay allow it to float at the market so that when you know that you need something you've got to find out if that is absolutely needed so that all this bringing money to wage on the on the on the on the Naira so that it will now come to balance out I think that that policy has taken is going to be difficult you know in the long in the short term but if Nigerians are explained to like I've tried to do what makes the difference and why the current decision is going to now leave our foreign reserve so that we can use it for something more productive and then come up with targeted subsidy which can be the differential that you give maybe you can do it by way of forget about foreign exchange stuff do it by way of maybe the taxes that are put on it or setting incentives or setting understandings with production of production of tractors and things like that then you now have an economy that the Naira people will be willing to bring their Naira because of that differential now before if you brought it Naira you bring it to central bank rate or why would you want to do that when you can sell it at an open market now with that abolition people abroad can now send in the Naira through the banking system here because you're now sure that they will get a cost-reflective rate that makes sense okay well let's talk about the student loans that's another thing now it has been signed into law that student loans will be given to students and it is supposed to kick off in September yet again some people out of the school of thought that these loans are coming with a baggage that Nigerians may not be able to to bear because they're talking about repaying these loans and they have mentioned tuition which they ask who people have come up to say that the university system as it is now doesn't have specifically tuition so if tuition is added then that is an extra burden what is your own take on the student loans law now you know what I contested for the governorship and by the way my case was dismissed some days back on a very very sad note which I would take but that's not what we are discussing now I the student loan was one of the packages that I had as a governor because it's absolutely important necessary as an individual a private individual I know how many indigent students I have to sponsor and I have a foundation and we have so much of them on my birthday I had to take on a hundred of those students to sponsor and I just keep doing things like that so it is absolutely necessary and important and it's a real need I can tell you that for free but the difference is this I think that Mr. President hurriedly signed that law it was hasty what I would have expected him to do was to address the nation or the students one word the other in fact address the students because you're going to come out as a president that is going to engage with differences of imagine him having a kind of forum where he addresses students I know that there is this problem now we like to give you a loan which must be repaid but the issue is that you cannot repay when you are not working so we are going to look at how we are going to make sure that when you take this loan and you graduate you have something to do on the base of which you will be able to repay so that it doesn't become a big problem that's number one number two I have been aware of this entitlement mentality occasioned by the way our government have been in the past I will tell you about the trader money we just collated and it went I will tell you about the program of CBN people just collated the money and it went I will tell you about so many things so there is this tendency to think that when you collect government money it is government money and you go with it and it is not going to be like that because it is going to be a revolving facility that must benefit others as well and the only way that we are done is when you are able to pay it back now I want to interface with you and to interface with the banks interface so it kind of sends a signal to the people to say wow hope is coming loan is coming and then oh boy this loan is not going to be free it means I have to think in terms of how we will do and return it gives hope and conversation so when you eventually take off with it it on phases that they can understand okay this is sort of people that are going you know the ICT people they are people that they don't need to be employed they can actually based on what they have learned they can start to make generate income because as they are applying they are being taught on how to generate your own income and then boom and secondly there is a group of people who are like entrepreneurs they are not coming out to look for job they are coming out because of what they have studied and what they have been enhanced to do they are coming out to do so when you said those templates and dynamics and then departments and sections and then you now actually start it off you shouldn't talk for too long you know look for the no hanging groups okay then start it off even if it is 5 billion I had 1 billion and like excuse me are they serious even as a state government I want to start it with 1 billion okay it's something that the youth will know that bam you care about them now do what's your statistics what's your analysis the 1 billion will affect how many people at what cost you understand me you've got to do the analysis you can start with 1 billion so I think it's a good project I think the president needs to get a lot of people that will come in and get a buy-in and then start to do enlightenment program and let me say Mr. President this is not part we are discussing I just want to make an appeal the most important appointment you are going to make is going to be the appointment of the director general of the national orientation agency so you need it like no man's business and that's not going to be political you are going to if possible set up I don't know what sort of template for you to bring out that Nigerian that is loved that is respected that is seen to be objective that really is patriotic in case about this country put that person in you need him more than the minister of finance because the moment Nigerians are gingered in the right direction even wrong policies will be made to go right but when we are the way we are the best of policies there are people who are looking for how to tear it down and see it faster than you can imagine alright let's move to the punch newspaper and a headline that I think would interest you very much persecute justice who was husband NB A tells FG talk to us about this and how excited you are about it of the mic of the mic it's sad it's a tragedy you know I just said something in person and I do not know at what point I'll be at liberty to talk about it I file in a petition for something so important and make all the payment I was asked to make all of them and if I tell you this payment you will feel scandalized I made all the payment my case comes up for pre hearing then the judge says have you paid for this said yes how about this yes how about that yes how about security deposit yes we have how much did we pay call the security and he will just sat on it and at the end of the day he said no no no you are not supposed to pay 1 million you are supposed to pay 11 million and like how okay if it must be no case dismissed you didn't pay 11 million you paid 1 million he said we were asked to pay 1 million case dismissed because of that petition because there were other costs okay let us go and pay no you cannot go and pay it's too late case dismissed but put that aside when you get setting judgment in the past you just wonder where is this coming and then this man comes to tell you well well in the past I've had to tell my wife to grant some favors and you are beneficiaries so it's not speculative you guys before you are a beneficiary it means that there was something you had it and if this is how judgment it means that it is not just prosecuting man no it's not it's bigger than prosecuting man it is how can we interrogate our judicial system such that there is justice for the common man and not that to think that forget they will buy it they will buy you know some of us are caught and it is so prevalent they will just say that don't waste your time they will buy the thing don't waste your time it's either you have the physical cash influence or you have that connection influence so if you don't have the cash you don't have the connect where do you get justice in the federal republic of Nigeria people are asking for all the judgments delivered by that woman during her time to be reviewed it's something that I don't know it's it's there's something that God is doing in Nigeria and we should wake up not just to the news but to the essence we should wake up prosecuting one person might not be it I expect a conversation within the NBA to say how do we restore confidence in Nigeria and Nigerians there should be a national discourse discourse that may be that catalyst that would engender that discourse I think it is, it's a catalyst you use the right word, thank you it is a catalyst but let us not let it drop, let's take it up civil society has engagement NBA coming the judicial council coming let every national assembly come in and say what do we do to restore confidence in the judiciary for the common man well unfortunately these people that should come in are the ones that were described as beneficiaries so we have to call it quits at this point but we will keep praying for our nation we'll keep being positive we'll keep thinking that good can come out of even the most unlikely or from even the most unlikely places would like to thank you this morning I should thank you first for releasing me on time so that I can coordinate I can so much for being a father I would tell you that Nigerians are watching and listening you should not realize I would tell the Nigerians are watching and listening yes, tell him that alright thank you so much Mr Tanjo God bless you, thank you that was Mr ZKL Nyaito public affairs analyst joining us from Akwaibom state and we will take a break now when we return we'll be talking something else it will be our first hot topic, stay with us