 we're glad to know that you're there and it's time to look at the headlines from our papers. We're being joined by Chief Lecturer at Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos State, and the person of Mr. Gidey Johnson. Good morning and welcome to the program, sir. Good morning. It's a pleasure to be with you. Good morning to our viewers all over the world. Thank you for having me. Okay, so we're going to look at some of the headlines on some of the national dailies. We're beginning this morning with a punch newspaper. The punch newspaper leads with the story. Reps, we allocate 5 billion Naira Yacht vote, Navy class, Tinobu. And the writers on that story are Navy, not Tinobu, requested the Yacht for operations. That's according to Presidency and Neville Spokesman. And then Senegal case, 17.5 billion Naira Yacht. Air fleet, Reps approve a 54 or 546 billion Naira defense budget. Okay, so your comment on that. The Senate passed that section of the bill or it passed the bill including the 5 billion Naira for the Yacht, to buy the Yacht for the President. At least that's what the people felt it was. And then the House of Reps said, no, they're not going to pass it like that. They took down that 5 billion and added it to the student loans. Would like to hear your comment on the whole thing. First, there will be a constitution between the version of the bill passed by the Reps and that of the Senate so that they can afford a cleaner bill to the President for his asset. And that will be done. And then secondly, we will see that the House of Reps responded more to public outcry compared to the Senate, which is made up of former chief executive, former governors of respective states. And you will see the difference between the Senate and that of the House of Reps going forward. We'll see those that will respond to the needs and the earnings of Nigerians and those that will respond to the needs and the earnings of the political class. And totally, this issue of this item shouldn't even be part and parcel of what has been presented. Forget about the spin within naval spokespersons coming out to say that it is the Navy that requires. Nigerians don't know the difference between a naval gunboat, a naval warship, and in a yacht. It's just like someone telling you that you don't know the difference between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini and the name a armored personnel carrier vehicle. So sometimes they should not take us to be a fool. That particular item is insensitive to Nigerians and is inconsiderate considering the fact that in his independence, which was just for some few weeks away, the President said Nigerians should be ready to make sacrifices. We have expected that sacrifices would have extended from top to bottom, not the kind of items we are seeing in the supplementary project. You can't be borrowing money to fund your lifestyle. Nobody does that. Not even in this state of the economy we have found ourselves. So there's no amount of spin the Navy can do to it. And there's no amount of spin the Presidents can do to it. It's a bad item. And I think what the Presidents should have done without even waiting for the Navy spokespersons for them to have come out openly and said that, you know what, in view of the public culture concerning this, we are withdrawing this. And then the Presidents will have gained some measure of public sympathy, at least that, well, this is a listening government and not, rather we have a situation whereby the Senate passed it. The Rep did what is given to them by the Consulate, which is a power to have control over the cost to move that same amount of money into the student loan, into the student loan scheme. As far as I'm concerned, if you look at it overall, it was bad optics for the government, particularly the Presidency, that they were considering doing all of those items that were listed in that supplementary project, in funding their station lifestyles, which are not even afford to even survive in this present economy, the price of foods, goods and services have skyrocketed, inflation is some believable, and the level of poverty has seriously increased. So as far as I'm concerned, let's wait for the reconciliation. Otherwise, if you are not careful, this particular item might just be swept under the carpet, and they said that in reconciliation, well, the diversion of the Senate was eventually passed, and not the diversion of the House of Rep. So let's wait for the consul, the bill, and look at how quickly they quickly passed such bills, the bills with which the speed of light they use in passing such bills, such a provision bill that will fund the lifestyle of people that we have elected in the office, we have elected into office, and not bills that will address some of the major problems we are facing as a country as Nigerians, and major economic crises that Nigerians are facing. It's unfortunate, but let's wait and see. The game has just begun. We keep our fingers crossed and we keep drawing attention to what we need to draw attention to. But I want to appreciate the Nigerian public for putting the aid on government, the outcry, the public opinion against the substantial lifestyle made the House of Rep, which is more representative in nature to pass the bill, ejecting that Yacht. Probably they thought we don't know the difference between a Yacht and another ship. Okay. They said because of the fittings on this Yacht, it was supposed to be, but that's why they called it presidential and not that it was required by the president. It's a very laughable thing anyway. But let's go to what happened in Imo State. The Imo State government secured an injunction against the labor that they should never protest what is happening to them in that state. And in spite of that, the labor went ahead and did a peaceful protest. And unfortunately, the president of NLC was arrested. In fact, the NLC are using the term he was abducted and then he was brutalized and so many other things that they've said about it. So this headline says, labor tackles Uzo Dibma, but governor says Agiro meddling. So Agiro is meddling in his government by leading the labor union to go and protest in that. I don't know what your comment will be on this day on the punch newspaper. We have seen the increase. The fact that you have democracy does not mean that you can't see despotic tendencies in those that have been elected into public office. But we have seen the growth of despotic, autocratic, unimaginable, totalitarian tendencies from people that were elected into public office. First, let's talk about the judge. The judge that granted that injunction that it should be in any protest. I think what labor needs to do, and all those are concerned with democracy, is to identify that judge rights to the National Judiciary Council and such judge and then also right to the Nigerian Association and other agencies where the Nigerian was this name of this body that body of ventures and then that such they should withdraw the legal practice of that judge. That person does not fit to be a judge. I think we need to begin to do some certain things the way it is done outside the shores of this country. How will a judge that study the constitution that is meant to test and the rest of it? We use you an injunction. I can't seem to complain that. That's on the judicial level. On the path of the governor, the governor should not forget that he's only elected as the executive governor. It's not the improv state. People have the rights to protest and it cannot accuse anybody of menly, particularly in democracy. Majority will have their way. The minority will have their say. So as far as people are concerned, they have the right to express their public opinion, right to lawful and peaceful assembly and right to protest. And anything that infringes on their rights, underscored the tenets of what democracy is all about. And we've seen something which you raise red flag for a lot of Nigerians moving forward. Because if we begin to see this template in 2023, how is 2027 going to look like? We saw in River State whereby the police released water cannon on a sitting governor. And then it's everything was swept under the carpet. It was like business as usual. And then the former governor of River State came out and said impeachment is provided for in the constitution. The constitution does not provide for impunity and abuse. And whenever we see abuse, we must collectively speak against it. What happens to, if that could happen to the national president of Nigerian Labor Congress? It is. In fact, Obama said he did not treat Adam Sushima. Obama said he had the former military. He had a military antecedent. He had a military antecedent. He did not even treat Nigerian Labor president the way the people that did not even leave one day in the barracks. They now have acceptable, the way they are treating, they are treating opposition. It's unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this situation. And then as usual, nothing will happen to that as far as I'm concerned. If I'm the president of Nigerian Labor Congress, I will institute a civil case against the government of Emo State, and then we will pursue that case to a logical conclusion. And after, after it's through the standard, I will institute a criminal case against him. Because people have right to protest. If that could happen to the president of Nigeria, what would happen to an average individual? How many people have been battered and have been beaten to a pulp because they share a different political opinion that is contrary to the establishment in that state? Emo State is particularly very, very notorious in very controversial things when it comes to security and labor problems. And even the coming onto office of the governor till date is still a political abracadabra that a lot of people cannot understand. How he came from behind. The same Supreme Court, the same Supreme Court that said that ABC did not have a candidate in that election. It's the same Supreme Court when it comes to, I can't recall his full name but also I know the in-law, the in-law of the former governor of Rocha Soko Rocha that said ABC did not, it was that same Supreme Court that declared opos on him as a governor. So where you have conflicting judgment and that's why one of the things where a lot of people have lost hope with respect to the credibility of the judiciary. The judiciary said to be the last up of the common man but it seems that we have an uncommon judiciary because you be hearing contrary judgment coming from the same judiciary with respect to the same. You believe that the principle of the law applies universally. You see in one state the principle is applied in another state. The principle is the same principle of law to case of similar tendencies. It's an opportunity. Okay, so we will move to another newspaper possibly the nation newspaper right now and we're taking the headlines from the nation newspaper and what it says is that a reverse crisis while we are with tenable by PDP governors and under that we have that situation capable of breaking down security. I'll protect party structure according to what we can insist. You've just mentioned something that he said now that impeachment is a constitutional provision. It's not a coup like in the military and all that and people keep asking the question was the difference between a civilian planning to outseat the unseat the the government or the governor and the military also trying to unseat the governor. So is what's the difference? Now you can't eat your cake and have it first and foremost which party which structure is we talking about? Is he a member of PDP or is he a member of APC? That's the question that needs to be asked. If he's talking about political structure, if he wants to still be in PDP and at the same time be minister under an APC government then it means that there's more to it that we don't know because if you use some PDP governors are saying that they are okay and comfortable the president an internal PDP crisis because the governor is a PDP elected governor. I thought that when the PDP will use the instrumentality of their internal machinery to resolve the matter but what you have is what some people have called PDP APC and that's the arrangement we have and that's why you have seen that some of the governors who are ever taking go to to visit the minister is unfortunate why instead of siding with their fellow governor they are siding with the former governor and what wants to be minister. So which structure is we keep talking about? And what people are talking about these people are just short on memory in Nigeria. Don't forget that when Miki was minister of state for education and then Jonathan was the president. We came in an attempt or people were to we can PDP them made an attempt to impeach Amici as a governor and that house and that house where the I recall there are video evidence whereby the maze the maze was broken on one of the one of the members and then the the there was a fracas in that particular in that you know the fact that the council met with provisions for impeachment the higher grounds that you must follow before that impeachment not people guarding in the middle of the night or not people guarding in the in the early hours of the day protected by police police condoning people from assessment and then you quickly move an impeachment order without having the notice without going through the process and procedure that is provided you see the way we go about it it's like sometimes when you look at this democracy you begin to wonder whether this democracy is a cost that probably the people we have given the opportunity to superten over this democracy don't even understand the values the tenets and the principles and the norms of what democracy democracy is all about you see people justify criminality and that's that's that's the danger if we continue on this path you see no matter how long you travel on the wrong on the wrong track it will never get to your destination no matter how people no matter how if we continue on this path i can assure you if you continue on the path of the fact that you cannot be free and fair election the path that you have too many litigation after elections the path that several months after the election some senators have been removed so most of the members have been removed in that election which we have suspended a lot of money and then we now have offside election in which i like is asking for 18 billion and the same story will repeat itself you have a situation whereby in the president of nsc was beaten to a pulp we have a situation circulating in in in the media and social media whereby state resources are being used to book all the hotels in cokey states and within him estate for one week and then using state resources to book all the hotels for electoral purposes then this much to this democracy that we can see as well as i'm concerned uh those governors that are calling for the president to interview is just a matter of time they would come to a pc there's nothing there's no they would come to a pc we have we saw the trend in 2003 we saw the trend in 2007 after the emergence of yadua so we saw the trend in 2014 so it will not be out of place for you to see the trend that is just the matter of time that some of the pdp governors would just go to a pc in order for them to secure a second time in office okay that's the easiest and easiest to win to win election okay let's let's just wrap it up with this question here relief as cbn this headline rather relief as cbn begins clearing seven billion dollars effects obligations we hear that because of these even the naira gained a little bit by 15 naira i think in the market it's so this is on daily trust relief as cbn begins clearing seven billion effects obligations facts almost all the papers are carrying this and would like to hear your confidence or otherwise on the naira really gaining as much as the government is telling us that by december it will come down to less than a thousand naira look the value of naira will not appreciate until we deal with the a various demand of the political class for dollar check out the transaction and the currency of preference of people who own the political offices in Nigeria which currency is the currency of preference in terms of transaction in terms of exchange is the dollar the the the the the quest for dollar as a currency of exchange by the political class from local government chairman from local government chairman to state house of assembly members to governors to national assembly members to senators and to ministers and people working in the presidency if you look at the the the the chorus and the demand for dollar as the currency of preference then you understand why there has not a significant value the question you ask is that why as the currency of republic of bedding that is not producing any hoy or that of food before or that of gunman okay or that of togo of that of pity why as the value of the currency why as it not collapse absolutely like how we have it on good authority that there was a governor any types of states collect their the local government collect their location they ask them to a grand change into dollar and they bring the dollar value to it is unfortunate look dealing with the issue of naira it's very simple the exchange rate is very very simple it is a very very very very simple approach okay do we have do we have the political will to do it okay forget about dc blade and the rest of it is all the political will to do what's needful and i tell you the value of naira will appreciate okay well we do hope that the president administration will have that political will to do the needful it is unfortunately is here we're going to end our segment of of the press this morning where there's so many other headlines that we could have loved to talk but we'd like to thank you for your time this morning mr johnson it's a pleasure to be with you thank you for having me yeah have a wonderful weekend you too sir mr jete johnson is the chief lecturer or is a chief lecturer in nigerian institute of journalism here in lego state he joined us for of the press right now we're going to bring you a recap of what happened in the course of the week first of all we're going to take something uh on uh river state the embroglio in river state and the uh and the questions that were answered there uh to debunk some of the claims that were flying around in the social media and after that we're going to take back to back um an interview we had with two young women who were lured into going to dubai for lucrative jobs and ended up as sex slaves so that 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