 It's the breakfast in Plus TV Africa time for us to take you through the pages of a national dailies and we call it off the press. And as always we have Ezeko and Yaetouk who joins the conversation. The essence is he takes us through analyzing some of the top stories on the papers this morning. It's good to have you join us. Ezeko and Yaetouk, good morning. Always a pleasure to be with you on Plus TV Africa. Thank you. Let's start off with a daily independent newspaper and looking at the daily independent, of course the focus would always be on top stories and the banner caption is what we start off with always. Federal government to increase borrowing to fund 3 trillion Naira 18 month subsidy bill. That's what the daily independent says, to ask NAS for amendment to fiscal framework 2022 budget. Amend PIA to accommodate 18 month subsidy from 6 months. That's a right underneath the board caption, I mean that's a lot. And you also have 2022, BC Kuala Wale Wins, AKT PDP, Guba primaries and you have 183,000 APC members to elect a Guba candidate today. Court declares deductions from federal accounts for police trust fund unconstitutional. Federal government to refund river state. And Nigeria records 26 Lasser fever deaths, 115 cases this year. Sean will lose flags of road projects to link, or Jota link breach. You also have APC not zoned presidential ticket. Others says Boonee 2023 elections will push away foreign portfolios investors and constitution review reps creation of 111 additional NAS seats for women. Well, it comes at a time when we're talking about the cost of running governance, I mean the cost. The fact that the national, we're spending so much with our legislatures and we're thinking about 11 more additional NAS seats. Well, that's interesting. Let's move straight to the leadership newspaper with these headlines. The leading headline there, Phil subsidy, of course, taking the attention yet again, it's probably been about three days since the papers have been paying attention to this. Heat turns on NNPC as governor's NLC, a query consumption figures. And if you remember, sometime last week, the Senate president, Ahmed Lamon, who went to see President Buhari and was the first to announce that the president was not in support of removal of fuel subsidy, was questioning the daily consumption of petrol in Nigeria. It's hovering between 70 to 72 million trillion liters a day. Sometimes it's gone as high as 100 million liters a day. So this is an interesting headline. Fuel subsidy, heat turns on NNPC as governor's NLC query consumption figures. The following writers to that headline. Others want to 411 Naira pump price, say three trillion Naira subsidy, not sensible. Another writer to that headline. Federal government has wasted $10 billion on refinery's rehabilitation labor. It's worrying times as far as that sector is concerned. Another headline on the front page of the leadership newspaper, court stops FG seductions from Federation account to fund its own agencies. We have a law of worry meets PMB over NNDC's board for ports 2023 stop endorsing as parents ACF warns members 2023 stop endorsing as parents ACF warns members. Ghandu J. Shekharov feud, Boone leads APC reconciliation team. Ghandu J. Shekharov feud, APC leads Boone leads APC reconciliation team. That story talking about the former and present governments of Kamu state as far as the leadership tussle for the APC in that state is concerned. At the top of the front page of the leadership newspaper, FG reverses EFCC NFI use retention of 10% of recovered loot. FG reverses EFCC NFI use retention of 10% of recovered loot. NNDC budgets $6.7 billion for rebuilding of North East. Those are stories coming on the front page of the leadership this morning. All right, away from the leadership, we look at the nation newspaper this morning. The banner caption reads government to fund petrol subsidy with 3 trillion error in one year and the federal executive council or case 2.55 trillion error supplementary budget. APC will borrow to meet obligation. Reaver's fault ex-commissioners defends on dumped plane and Sun Walu will deliver Oqbebi or Jota Bridge next year. You also have the 2023 Sarakee or Khoracha 6 presidential ticket. Faiwashi's man, Kola Wale is APC PDP candidate and APC adopts direct primaries to pick APC candidate. This is some of the headlines you find on the nation newspaper. It was a back to back action as far as the APC PDP Gooba prime minister took account of it to talk about it. Let's go over to the punch newspaper this morning and of course these headlines on the front page of the punch newspaper. Governors NLC doubt fuel consumption. NNPC demands a 3 trillion error for subsidy. With the following writers to that story or to that headline rather, there is a lot of fraud in consumption and distribution figures, Faiyemi, reps race, 28 member panels to probe daily fuel consumption refineries and the last writer to that headline, Nigeria risks bankruptcy as fuel subsidy continues, experts warn FG, really, really a warring. Also on the front page of the punch newspaper, PDP primaries 150 political thugs arrest, raises tension, fireshakes candidate clenches, governorship, ticket. WIKE LIDE claimed abandoned aircraft stolen in 2015, WIKE LIDE claimed abandoned aircraft stolen in 2015. This is coming from the current transportation minister, former governor of River State. It's now a back and forth between the current governor and former governor of allegedly abandoned plane in Germany. Mr. Assault or sexual assault, Baba Ijesha drops no case submission, opens defence February 17. Accordia Plans World Conference on Presidential Bid seeks Senators' prayers. Accordia Plans, we should say, World Press Conference on Presidential Bid seeks Senators' prayers. That story can be found on page 13 of the punch newspaper. Overwhelming majority of Igbo don't believe in secession. In Spectre Killed, fighting herdsmen attackers, two bandits dead in Ogun Forest and another one finally from the punch newspaper, Keredolu alleges massive payroll fraud, vows sanctions against culprits, those are the headlines coming on the front page of the punch newspaper. Well, let's have Ezekiel Yai to share his thoughts on the stories this morning. Thank you for joining us. We do appreciate your time. Thank you for having me, as always, I'm grateful. So I was set off with this one and the Daily Independent Newspaper, Constitution Review Rep 6 creation of 111 additional seats for women. And you also have the fact that recommends six more in state assembly across the entire Federation and rejects state pleas, despite insecurity challenges. I see some good in some of the things that they are trying to do. For instance, the presentation of big men in the National Assembly is not okay. For more reasons than one, on the first instance, probably on a personal side, I've found women to be more trustworthy and more stable and more patriotic a lot of times and the process of lawmaking needs people who are like level headed and think more of the larger good and women from my personal perspective seem to have a higher affinity to achieving such ends than the men. So when you go to the national and their commitment value is usually on the very high side and they are usually very, very good nationalists. That's what I've come to know about women. And I think it's actually right because if you look at the countries around the world where they are led by women in this is show that they are much better governed than those led by men. I mean, that's that's a proven statistics. I could name those countries, you know, that is on one hand. So when it comes to Nigeria, the sort of politics we play the money game completely disenfranchises the women. So looking for an ingenious way to get the women to be on the ballot and to not just to be on the ballot because they are now to be on the ballot, but to win on the ballot. I think it's ingenious and between you and I, and one talks again, maybe a little side talk about, you know, the cost is so much, why we want to increase the cost. I say, look, if you have a hundred Naira and you have 10 people, they each go over with 20 Naira. No, no, 10 Naira, okay? If you increase the people to 20 and bring the take home to 10, you've had to take home to five. You still have the hundred Naira you're paying, but now you have 20 people instead of 10 people sharing that same hundred Naira. I believe that the take home of the National Assembly members needs to be honestly looked into to the end that even if we increase the numbers to accommodate the women, we don't need to pay more. All we need to do is to say, guys, you've got to take less and let's have the women in it. And any National Assembly member that will oppose that is somewhere that we need to look into very well. So on that score, I believe that a good point is being made, the women should be given a little consideration and so that they come in on board where there are too many men in that National Assembly, we need a lot more women. So to that extent, I agree with him or agree with, yes, I agree with the National Assembly. In the area of state police that they are rejecting, I don't agree with them. Every policing is local, there's something I put up called the National Eye. You realize that at the end of the day, the security of Nigeria is not in the hands of the police or in the military, it's in the hands of the people and the sooner we get into that mode, that mentality, the earlier it would be for us to achieve national security because we are thinking too much of security in the wrong direction. We talk in terms of state policing and we go down to municipal policing or local government. In fact, we need to get down to the world level and then we change the mentality from the first angle to the involvement of the people, to the synergy between the people, bringing in even the traditional rulers and even every village head, giving them a responsibility. The moment the people own the security apparatus, just relying on the security agencies as instruments that the network and lairs with, that will be the beginning of security in Nigeria. I have such a template that is very, very, very unconventional but is the way forward. So to that extent, we need not just state policing, we need municipal or local government and world policing in a completely different mindset from what we are having today. Thank you very much. Interesting. I would love to look at your template, Mr. Ezekiel and I took. Let's stay with the independent, the daily independent newspaper. And of course, last night, the eyes of some Nigerians who were interested in the political happenings were locked on Adoakiti. Of course, with Ta Gavna Iman Udom, superintending over that Akiti PDP guba primary. It was a lot of huff and puff from last week with the leading contenders, you know, apart from one of them going on the protest, saying that the primary was being hijacked by a former governor of Akiti State, Ayodele Faeshe. Well, Faeshe himself, being a delegate and a member of the PDP was in the building at the primary center yesterday. And his anointed candidate, B.C. Kolawale, emerged as the winner of that Akiti PDP guba. Senator Biodore Lujimi herself, one of the leading contenders, had submitted a letter withdrawing from that re-citing the fact that she was being disenfranchised. But Shago Oni was still there. He was beaten by a wide margin, a wide gap by B.C. Of course, Kolawale, B.C. was a preferred candidate of Ayodele Faeshe. What do you say to this? What is your thought on the involvement and the emergence of Kolawaleas, the flag bearer of the PDP? The very first thing is that I have a personal, do I say I have a personal issue or he has a personal issue with me? Talking about my brother Faeshe, because in 2007 I contested and he told me that the only reason I lost was because I refused to involve him and make him my campaign manager. That was just on the lighter side. We're just talking about our friends. But let me tell you the simple truth. Like him or hate him, you cannot dismiss Mr. Faeshe with the wave of the hand you can't. And he has established himself without any aorta of doubt that he has good grasp, grip and control over the politics of equity. It's not surprising that the results went that way because long before then, I think it was on your station or one of the stations where he just made it very clear. Look, this is a game of numbers and I've got the numbers. He said it very well. He said he's got about 60, 70% of the numbers and he told you how he had it. So I think that what has played out in equity politics is something that was just expected. And I think the love of Faeshe is the beginning of election success. I don't know to what extent he's going to translate that to go beyond the party into the state for general elections. But I think that if places game well, it seems to be somewhere that is pretty loved, but it's for equity people to decide exactly what they want. The issue is now that we are going through with the primaries. I want the smaller parties to bring up extremely credible candidates so that the conversation, like we are changing in Aquabomb, it moves from hashtag, you know, party to hashtag person, not party. So we now start to interrogate because today nobody's talking about APC at the center. They're talking Bwari, Bwari, Bwari and that's the fact. In Aquabomb, nobody's talking about PDP. They're talking about Gov Noudom, Gov Noudom, Gov Noudom. So the mentality comes to the fact that it's about the person and not the party. So I'm looking for an extremely credible candidate to pick a ticket on one of the parties and then run that hashtag, person, not party and see if equity people would rather go for party or for a person that will liberate them. I really look forward to that conversation. You know, but the issue, you know, because of course there was a video circulating on social media showing, you know, members of the PDP going at each other with blows, even the DSS officials at the venue had to try to separate them and they also got involved in the FISCOFs. There's been a complaint of doctored delegates list, you know, by the other aspirants in that primary. They're saying that the list of delegates was doctored. Beode Olujimi and her complaint said that she could not even muster her own delegates from her own area. The things were taken out of her hands. And if we check, you know, you go online, some videos circulating show delegates showing their ballot paper to Fahyashay who was seated, that he was there with a pen and of course a notepad. Of course he'd be expected to write the results. But it's in color, full color. Delegates went to him to show him how they voted. They showed him the ballot paper. You know, so what do you say to this? As far as internal democracy is concerned, the conversation around consensus, candidates share direct permits or indirect. And we're looking at 2023, one credible candidates to emerge and everyone to have a chance. I'll tell you this and I want Nigerians to listen and listen good. I was the pioneer national chairman of Young Democratic Party. What is going on is not a coincidence or an accident. It's a well orchestrated, you know, mechanism that allows people in power to control power and retain power. That's what it is. It has nothing to do with free, fair, credible, transparent processes, whether it is direct or indirect or consensus. It's about the power block holding onto power. Why do I say this? Look at the constitution of each of the parties and see whether they are ambiguities in the processes of selecting. Which party tells you who makes the delegates list? There are two. One is statutory delegates, you know, appointees and, you know, several, you know, elected officers at several levels. And then those that you bring up through election at the lower levels, the congresses and things like that. And those lists are so subjective. It's a power game. You know, I was the world and local government congress committee chairman of the PDP to one of the states. And that is where you get the structure of the party handed over to certain people. And you discover that the people in power don't do direct primaries the way people think. People standing on the line, being counted, that transparency, accountability, it's not there. It doesn't exist until the day, which is what I started as a national chairman of YDP, until the day where every party member is mandated to register electronically. You say how about the villages? Are they not using ATM cards and POS in the villages? Forget that. They have no problem with electronics. They just know that that transparent process cannot be because the day it is, the power is removed from the power bloc and given to the people and they won't stand that. We're looking for a party. I'm in the ADC and yesterday at the BOT level, we actually sat down and talked to ourselves, why can't we be different? Why can't we do something that energizes Nigerians to know they have a critical alternative? And from what we came out at the BOT level yesterday, I think Nigerians should look forward to something exciting from the African Democratic Congress, which is the ADC. Okay, so Ezekiah, I took. Let's move away from that now and look at the nation newspaper where government is to fund petrol subsidy with three trillion dollars in one year. That's what you find. And the fact that the Federal Executive Council, that's the fact, okay, is 2.55 trillion narrow supplementary budgets. President says it will borrow to fund the obligation. What are your thoughts on this one? My thoughts on this one are so complicated that I pray God gives me the capacity to unpack what's on my mind because this issue of subsidy, I want to tell Nigerians that we should just let me come with that word that we don't like to hear of, that we just pray that God takes us through this administration. Number one, number two, that we make up our minds that this APC-PDP never again. Number three, that a credible third force emerges that works on transparency, accountability, and nationalism. The reason is this. When you sit down and interrogate this issue of subsidy, it's one of those, one of those very, very well-ductored, manipulated, and controlled constructs, okay? It's very well-ductored, very well-manipulated, very well-controlled. This confusion is not, is not, is not happening by accident or coincidence. I will tell you something. If you have a thousand blocks and you stack them in modes of 50, you understand me, 50, 50, 50, 50, you understand me? And they are well stacked. Within three minutes, you can count a thousand blocks carefully. But if you have just 100 blocks, and you just scatter them all over the floor, when you say, they say, no, you've counted this one. No, you have not counted this one before. Yes, you've counted 100 blocks. We, one hour, you have not finished counting 100 blocks for everybody to agree that this is 100 blocks. Why is it so difficult for us to know the volume of consumption of PMS or petrol in this country? What is rocket science in it? Why is it so difficult to do that? Number two, what is really the landed costs of petrol? What are the plus plus that takes it to, you know, the cost of petrol doubles when even in the international market, the price has not doubled. So the question is, you can say, oh, the international benchmark, you know, the price of crude has gone up. The percentage difference just has no relevance with the cost of petrol in Nigeria. Why is that so? Number three, what is the rocket science in fixing refineries? I know, and I can tell you without batting an eyelid, that if I want to construct a certain type of building, within an hour, I can tell you the specialists in that area, not just because I'm an architect, and in every area we have professionals, but because the social, the internet makes certain information available to you in your bedroom. So you look at one, two, three best practices. You call them, even if it means paying them, to come and profile what you've got and profile solution. So within one month, within two months, within six months, you can know the real situation and the real solution. So the next question is taking an informed decision. But this government has been on the seat for over six years trying to unravel how to fix the refineries. We've all agreed that refining a product in-house at home is a solution. We've all agreed. Now, if before President Buhari came in, he said that subsidy was fraught to the best of my knowledge. And he comes in, what expected that for such a fraud of such gargantuan financial implication, $3 trillion in one year, $3 trillion in one year, is not something, as a president, is your first priority, number one priority. Because you fix that, it will have implication on security. So you cannot, in six years, know what it would take you to fix the refineries. Doesn't make sense. OK. All right. You see, I'll end on this note, because there's so much on it. We can still go back on it. I'll tell you this. These people need, in my opinion, this money to fund the election. There's nothing as sweet in fraud as big volume of money coming in under shrouded circumstances. OK. Interesting. Interesting. Let's see how that plays out. We will definitely have some more time to talk about this. Let's move steel. Stay with the nation newspaper. Mr. Etukendem, let's look at what's happening. As far as the 2023 presidential race is concerned. And if you look at the top right corner of the front page of the nation newspaper, we have a new name or some new names joining the presidential fray, even though the supporters of Bola Metin were claiming that he opened the floodgates. I see that's an achievement. But 2023, Sarki Okora-Char to seek presidential ticket. We expect what Okora-Char is calling a world press conference to be held in the matter of days. Your thoughts on this? Two things. I want us to, you see, I have, how do I put this? I'm a friend of the mainstream media. But I'm starting to have a very major problem, a very major problem with the mainstream media. That giving us that animation that Nigeria has two choices. Everything you want to do is PDP, APC, PDP, APC, PDP, APC. It's a construct that is not in our best interest as a people. I'll give you a very simple illustration. There is a man called Professor Kings Limogalu. He declared for presidency long time ago. There's another man called Ogon Bola-Admed Tinugu. And he's just declared the media is falling head over heels over him. But I want to ask a question. Just assume that these two people are appearing before a corporate board on choosing a CEO for a corporate institution called Nigeria. Please tell me who amongst the two, the criteria is talking in terms of character, talking in terms of competence, talking in terms of capability, talking in terms of all these things put together. Not to talk in terms of the sentiment factor. I want to put that aside. Are you honestly telling me that Professor Kings Limogalu will look at like a Boy Scout in terms of competence to run a country? You see, there is politics, there is governance. And I expect the mainstream media to run a narrative on politics and governance and let Nigerians start to change the conversation and bring in competence. In defense of the media, I didn't see that coming. But in defense of the media, I mean, we don't take sides. I'm sure you know. We just give people the news. No, no, no, no, no. We could say that we're not trying to ship any narrative as far as any of the candidates is concerned. We're just giving people the news. And who is the newsmaker? No, I'll tell you this. Who is the newsmaker between Mogalu and Tinibu? You tell me, sir. Who will turn the biggest heads? I'll tell you. Your biggest responsibility, which is captured in the Constitution, is to be the fourth estate of the realm. That's your biggest responsibility, which is captured in. You are actually captured in the Constitution. So what do you do? Well, we can't be telling the public who to vote for. No, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming, brother. This one, Nami and you, brother. You know what you do? What you owe this country in the Constitution is narratives on good governance. So what you do is not who is more popular. It's like the narrative here is on good governance. Nigerians, who will be a better CEO? They're not taking sides. But you are driving a narrative, which is not on who has more capacity. Capacity does not help Nigeria. Competence helps Nigeria. So the media narrative should be, who is more competent? And they sit on that line of competence. And they drive so that the conversation becomes competence, competence, capacity, character, competence, capacity, character. My brother, if the media runs that narrative within a few months, many people who want to contest, we go back with all the money they put together. Today, even if Dango Teh becomes the president of Nigeria, look at Donald Trump. The day you become the president, your money becomes irrelevant. What is between your ears becomes what is needed for the office. Nigeria does not need capacity. In terms of financial, you know, political sagacity, they need that character, that competence, the CEO. Look at, we need a coach. When you are going to take a coach, you are not looking at how rich he is in terms of financial capacity. You are looking at his technical capacity, technical ability, fit for purpose. Can the media start to drive fit for purpose narrative? That's your job. That's actually your constitutional asylum. We have to move on. We have to move on. But can you blame the media for simply reporting what's happening? I've asked you, sir. Sorry, sir. If I were to ask you, what news has Mogalu made in the past one or two weeks? Can you tell me? Tinibu went up north visiting some political godfathers and all that. Tinibu made a statement saying, you know, you need to go and get your PVC renewed because it's expiring. You have him meeting a lot of groups, holding events in Lagos, in Abuja, and other parts of the country. And then the APC is the ruling party right now. And the intrigues in the APC with his political protege, Mio Sibaj also making a run for the presidency, and putting him on sort of a collision course. You don't know what's going on between both men. That's a news item, this is a story. And people are making statements about it. Nobody's talking about Mogalu for now. He hasn't made any news. And I have the responsibility to report. I agree. That is because our perspective is in the wrong narrative. You want a coach for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and you're telling me about his family, he's going there, he's done this. The narrative is on competence, character, capacity, capability. We will be running narratives on Mogalu's capacity. Whether he speaks or he does not speak, we are looking interrogating him. My brother, let me say this. The day that said Tinubu becomes a president, if he pleases God and his soul. So that day, visiting Karnu, talking about this, become irrelevant. And we have become the poverty capital of the world. The decisions that are being taken are emasculating the people. We are dying. We should be asking us, who is that surgeon? We should even be going around and bringing out the different surgeons. Who is that coach? We should be going around bringing out the best coach. The richest coach is not necessarily the best coach for a country. Now Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world. We are having problems, mega problems. So our narrative cannot be, oh, the man is making news. That cannot be a narrative, brother. You know that. It cannot be the man is making news. We want to know this man that is coming, even the media, also has the duty of interrogation of, oh boy, this man, when they come, oh, the man get plenty money. Do we need this man? Is he the person for us? Will he make it us better? That should be the media narrative. Why I say this is because I am a product of the media to a great extent. I've enjoyed the goodwill of the media. I am known today, nationally, internationally, because of how favorably disposed the media is to me. So I'm a friend of the media, but the time has come when we've got to call ourselves to order and say we owe this nation to drive a narrative of good governance and not of capacity and comfort. I'm sure you know who I'm coming from. Thank you so much for being part of the conversation. We really do appreciate your time and it's always inspiring, I mean, listening to you. We look forward to more of this time. Thank you, God bless you all. And that's the size of it for the press. We will return with a major conversation, looking at the deductions from the Federation account before the speech to respond. And before that, let's tell you what happened today in history.