 Last week, we were informed, after the monthly national economic council meeting held in Abuja, that the federal government had approved five billion era for each of the thirty-six states of the federation for the procurement of food items and fertilizers as part of efforts to alleviate the sufferings associated with your subsidy removal in the country. That news trended, but what didn't turn, however, is the fact that that net meeting ended up in a shouting march over a memo by the director general of the Nigerian governor's forum that the palliative would be refunded by the states. That's our first hot topic this morning on the breakfast. Also on the program, the director general national agency for food and drug administration and control and the registrar, pharmacy council of Nigeria have both said that distribution of ethical pharmaceutical products is crucial to the winning of the fight against the pig and the treated and spurious medicines. That is the second topic on our program this morning. We'll also be having off the press where we'll take a look at the stories that made it to the front pages of some national dailies this morning and our analysts will be joining us to look at them one after the other. Hello, good morning and welcome to the breakfast on plus TV Africa. We trust that you've woken up well. You've had a good weekend and happy holidays to Legos public servants. I am Maureen Menongue's degree. It feels so good to have you with us. And my name is Nyam Gul Aghaj. It's a mindset Monday. We're hoping that you have a positive mindset this morning. Yesterday, I was in church and the reading came from a portion where a woman went to Jesus to ask for help for her daughter. And after a lot of discussions, the last statement that Jesus made, even Jesus, the son of God made was that it is not good to take the food that is meant for the children and give to the dogs. So the lesson out of that was the lesson of perseverance, the lesson of positive attitude, the lesson of humility, because it didn't deter a woman from still asking. And at the end of the day, she had what she wanted. How many of us would say, OK, after all those kinds of insults, I might say, we'll still stand there and say, OK, we're going to press further and make sure that we get it. That woman did and she had it. We do hope that today everybody will have a positive mindset and see that no matter what the situation might be, if we press a little bit further, we might just have what we want. Yeah, indeed. That's a good mindset to have. A mindset that insists on getting what you want, persevere and not give up easily. And have faith. Exactly. Exactly. It's a Nigeria. And all the time we say, God day and God day. Even though they say it's a poor man's prayer, but everybody needs God. And if we know that we need God, while we are praying, we'll be working as well. Because it's not just prayer that will get you there. Nobody crowns a king that is not there. You have to be there to present that head that will be crowned. So there needs to be work that you have to put into it to make sure that you achieve what you're going to achieve. No matter what, we are going to survive it. If you won't survive, there are others that are going to survive. So if they will survive, why can't you as well? So it's fighting, I know. Yeah, it is, but it's true. Let's take our first up trend in. Three escaped deaths in Lagos multiple crash. And no fewer than three persons have escaped deaths in a multiple crash that occurred in the Antony of Vanikora area of Lagos on Saturday. And according to LASMA investigation, it was due to break failure. The 40-foot container truck while traveling at top speed collided with three other vehicles, including a fully loaded tipper with sand. The statement partly read, quote, the general manager of LASMA, Mr. Balaji Ereba cautioned the motor and public to always ensure that the vehicles are in good condition before embarking on any journey, both within and outside Lagos. Police men from Iluqba Juplice Command supported LASMA officials during the rescue operations. Very sad, young young girl. I mean, look at the picture. Look at the picture. That's, it's terrible. No one could have survived those two vehicles I'm looking at. Again, the unfortunate story of these trucks, these trucks on our roads, they made themselves nothing but death traps on the roads. You see them, you are apprehensive. You see them, you slow down, you see them, you're cautious. And here they've taken three lives. This is, well, they almost took them. This is adding to the fact that some of these trucks that carry containers, they don't even tie the containers. They don't, they latches, they call them or something. So they just carry them that way. And if it is not brick-filling, which we have always been seeing on the Tadolab Bridge, for instance. That place is their favorite spot to go. If it is not brick failure, we see container falling off the truck. And I wonder where the authorities look when they're inspecting vehicles, when they are on the road, what are they looking out for? So it's just terrible that this has to happen all the time. Brick failure, you don't check your car, you don't, that kind of a vehicle that is so dangerous on the road and at what time was it even running when other vehicles were also on the road? Haven't they said they should be running in the night and all that, anyway? Yeah, I kind of misinformed there. Three days, they didn't die. They didn't die, there was a slip of tongue there. So even when there's a strap, you know, even when there's a strap, it's so thin and it looks like this thing cannot hold. If anything were to happen, if they were to swerve as a result of brick failure or some part, it wouldn't skip, it wouldn't stay, it would fall and still fall onto the next vehicle, either beside it or behind it. I'm a little bit asking why are they allowed on the roads like that, are there no standards that they should follow and if they're not following the standards, is it someone who's being grabbed somewhere or why are they, are the authorities holding their hands and just watching these things happen all the time? From time to time, we hear that there's a regulation stopping them from moving at certain times of the day, but then we still see them, you know, on the times that they were set not to be on the road. And so if your door boils down to, you know, regulation, strict adherence to the rules, to the laws of the land, it's sad that we keep talking about this. What did they even talk about? Because some of these vehicles are so rickety, some of these vehicles like this one has no reason to have brick failure if they had the vehicle checked. A lot of people want to cut corners even in things as dangerous as this and the authorities are on the road and just asking you where your papers, when your papers are complete, they are even angry with you because nothing else will come. You know, I asked the question when we had the commandant from, you know, when we introduced this red wordiness, renewal and all of that. And I asked, I said, look, what about those vehicles we see on the road that look so tilted to one side? Every part of it is looking like it's going to fall off any moment. Why do we see them on the roads? We find out, yeah. Because they don't mind the body. You know, and then they see them stop, they know more vehicles, they're looking okay. You know, and then he explained that some of these heavy duty vehicles actually not in Lagos, that they're not registered in Lagos, they just pass through and as such they do not, you know, apprehend them, some of them. It did that. For me, it wasn't, it didn't suffice. It didn't suffice at all. As long as they're going through Lagos state, they should behave normal on the road and look worthy for Lagos roads. If in my house smoking is not allowed, even if you are just visiting, you shouldn't smoke. I'll tell you that in my house we don't smoke. So leave my house, go smoke wherever you want to smoke and come back. So if they're entering Lagos, they have to, like I say, if you go to Rome, if you have like the Romans, if you're entering Lagos and the laws in Lagos say a certain kind of vehicle cannot enter Lagos, in fact, it should be something that people will be applauding the state for, that in Lagos, they don't take any nonsense. So you can tell us that they came from another state and what if they kill a Lagos resident? Which they've been doing, they've been killing so many people. If they're not killing on that Otero Labrige, they're killing on Ojaleba or some other part, these two places, Otero Labrige and Ojaleba, the incidents there are just crazy from these heavy duty vehicles. Anyway, but I'm talking about vehicles. The president is targeting 11,500 gas-powered vehicles in new initiative, that is the president, Bola Nagwetu, who has approved the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, that's BCNGI, to facilitate nationwide adoption of gas-powered vehicles. The initiative which comprises a comprehensive adoption strategy will include the following. Empowering workshops, programs, nationwide network of workshops, local assembly, and job creation as key points of emphasis with an initial focus on mass transit systems and students' hopes to significantly reduce transit costs for the general populace in the immediate term. To reduce the effect of fuel subsidy removal is what he's saying about it, and we are seeing gas is part of fuel. Gas was down at some point, and then it came back up, and there's a possibility it will still go up. So it is up right now. So if it is going up, and then you're saying gas-powered vehicles and all that, how much will that really help? And 11,500 to service maybe 200 million people, I don't know how that would work. And it keeps bogging my mind. You've removed fuel subsidy, and then you're giving 50 billion to every, is it five billion, sorry, to every state to go and do palliatives. Palliatives that will not even get to everybody. You remove a common good, and then you're giving a specific good because it's coming to specific people and not the general populace. And you say you're helping the nation. I don't know how our leaders think maybe when I become the political leader, I will think that way, but I don't know how. Well, that five billion era is creating some sort of Rofo-Rofo fight right now because from what I said earlier, the governors now want to refund the money. They said if they refund it, how then is it palliative, all right? It's not. The argument is valid, it is not. Why not just put the five billion into a common good, like we're saying, instead of just giving, even those governors, even if they say they are going to return it, the amount that will get to the people will be less than half. Is the unfortunate scenario that we're not explaining this unfortunate lack of trust and confidence in our public officers, especially the governors, the counselors, all of them, the fact that we can't trust them, all right? Because they've not earned our trust over time. And so even if there were any good ones amongst them, we still cannot trust them. I mean, we have different experiences to draw from. And so it makes it difficult to trust that this much needed palliative will be used effectively. And of course, as some have also done in breaking down how much would get to an individual, even if they were to use them effectively, even if they were to judiciously, sincerely share this palliative, of what effect would it be? How are they even sharing palliative? First of all, there's no data with which they're going to share the palliatives. The data, in quote, that they had from the previous administration, they say they don't trust it. They have not done anything to have new data. Now this palliative will go to the states before this data is heard. Okay, you're giving five billion to every state. A state like Lagos has over about 20 million people. They have five million to be given to them. Then you go to Jigawa and give the same five million. Go to state, five billion, sorry. You go to states that the population is not that much and give the same five billion. How is that equity? So how is the Lagos population going to share the five billion palliative? Perhaps they're living that to the governors to fashion that out. I mean, they're not governors for nothing, right? But then, as I said, I think the issue is that of confidence. That lack of trust. That lack of trust. We've given you this money. Go use it and make sure that your people are, you know, receive some sort of help because of the ongoing subsidy removal suffering that everyone is going through. The inflation puts the money at... 2000? Is it 2000 or 1,500? So everybody in Nigeria will get like 1,500 or 2,000. Don't say everybody. They're talking about the poorest of the poor. Are you among the poorest of the poor? Well, as in Nigeria, I would say God of the poor. But what kind of shiggy is the poorest of the poor seeing that I'm not seeing? I don't know. That's the question. Even if they were to share it to the poorest of the poor and, you know, it gets to them at 2,000 there and 1,500, which is what I've said earlier. It's of what effect would it have? And it's a one-time thing. It's a one-time thing. And at the end of the day, it becomes a debt that the states will have to pay back. So these are things that, you know, they really need to... We don't want to use the phrase trial and error. Do you understand? Because it would seem as if we're not patient. It would seem as if we've been too critical. But then these things playing out back and forth gives a sense of, you know, lack of some grip of the situation and lack of thorough planning and thought to these things that have been dished out. And it's not good for our psyche because we need to be able to have something to hold on to that would give us a sense of renewed hope, to look forward to. So these are things that we really hope they sort out and make things better so that the poor can actually breathe. A large percentage of us in this country are actually poor. Yeah, whether you describe us as the poorest of the poor or not, the fact is that most of us in this country are poor, unfortunately, because if you had 2 million, 5 million, say in January, and you felt rich, now that your 5 million, that your 2 million, 3 million Naira is close to nothing. Yeah, because everything, almost everything is double the price it was, even in January. Because the worth of the Naira plummeted. Thank God it's beginning to gain some sort of value, but it still adds like 700 to the dollar. So it's still very weak. I want to see Naira, our currency, receive value, let it appreciate so that it can compete favorably against the Naira. It's very crucial. It's very crucial if people will be removed from the poverty level. It's very crucial to give value to our Naira. They kept telling us that it's a very good policy. It's going to make our economy better. Everything they have done, they tell us that it's good for us. Falities, oh sorry, the subsidy was removed, it's good for us. I don't see any good is doing me as a person. I don't know about the next person. I don't see any good is doing me. And my family, and my village. Okay, they told us that... Okay, that your village matter, yeah I'm going to say this. It's better for another day that your village matter. It's a special case. Whatever, I think democracy is about the people and what the people will stand to gain. And the people having a voice in the kind of governance that they have. Now if the people cry out that this policy, no matter how you think is good for us, we don't like it. The government should be humble enough to listen to the voice of the people and reverse. It's no shame in saying that. We didn't think this thing through. It does appear that the government is beginning to listen. I mean the 8009 thing was reviewed, although I don't know how much it is now. And what is the situation with that 8006? I mean, what will that do? And then the cabinet reshuffling that we just heard of engineer Bubaka Momo no longer signed to ministry of youth because the guy is no youth. I mean, we discussed it on Friday. Why would you make someone a 61 year old man make him a minister for the youth? And so he's been moved to Nigel Delta now and he's the supporters of president. To Nibbu, we say this shows he's a listening president. And of course, on Friday when we discussed it, it looks like Nigel Delta ministry had been scrapped because we didn't see anything. No one was assigned to it. So now engineer Bubaka Momo has been assigned to that. And someone else is going to be designated, will be designated to go to the ministry of the youth. I imagine they're going to put someone who's much younger, maybe someone in his 30s or early 40s. 30s? Well, not that for nothing. But the reshuffle meant, we didn't even see these people perform whether they were going to do good or they were not going to do good. They had been reshuffled before they even started the job. I don't know what informed that. If they're saying is because it's a listening president and all that. Well, let's wait to see whether it is a good move that he made or not. But we'll still have our analysts discuss that with us off the press because we know that there's no screening headlines there. Yeah, definitely. But at this point, we will have to take a break and when we return, we go to the press. Stay with us.