 Glad to know you're still there. It's the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. And it's time for off the press and our analysts whom I told you will be joining us is here. Chris Kennedy, one of the members of the Chartered Institute of Abiturators in the UK, is joining us here in Lagos, on off the press. Good morning to you, Chris. Good morning. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Let's hit the ground running, shall we? And begin with the Guardian newspaper. And it leads me to Nuguz Reform's phase stress test, a mid-labour threat, FX scarcity. We have a picture of the president there. Page six is where details of that can be found. Pilates, government silence, four days to eight week deadline for talks. Details of that is on page four. But let's start with these two, first of all. Pilates, government silence, four days to eight week deadline for talks. And then Nuguz Reform's phase stress test, a mid-labour threat, FX scarcity. Chris, these are not looking good at all. And it's become really difficult to do off the press, off the press of late. Every day we hear and see these horrible headlines reflecting the true situation on ground. And so it becomes really difficult to handle these topics. But let's go ahead and continue to talk. Labour has threatened that they'll go on strike without anyone into government if the price of fuel should go up even for one minute. Let's talk about these. Well, not only, as you rightly said, it's quite annoying and depressing for us to come here on a daily basis. On a daily basis and other situations to be analysing the situation. It can be very frustrating. Chris said that sometimes you just don't feel like talking again because it seems that you're just talking to some human beings that are already used to close their ears and they're not ready to be accepted today. So when you see people like us, the television, so let them know why we do what we do. And that has been a situation where we cannot stop. We are going to list hours to be able to look at issues passionately and be able to convey the feelings of 90 years, millions and millions of people who don't have rights to be able to do that. To the authorities and not just to the authorities but to the global world. So as I say in my place, the chicken that was carried by a hawk said that it's shouting and crying. It doesn't mean that because they know that the hawk that has clicked is going to drop it, but it's just for the want to hear the voice that has been taken away. That is the situation up to today. Coming back to the question in part, yes, labourers have treacherous effects. Even the labour that I was supposed to be for the masses, they are no longer for the masses, because three times now they're trying to go on strike. You might say they are going on protest, since the labour has been caged. And personally I just feel that they have been compromised. That's my personal opinion, irrespective of what the labour leaders are trying to say or do. Because if they are not compromised, this is not the kind of labour that Michael Moodu acquitted to Nigeria. This is not the kind of labour that Hazan Sumonu was the president. This is not the labour that even Adam Oshumoli was the president. It was the same labour that Adam Oshumoli rose on through the back to go into politics. And then he was widely accepted in those states. He became the time governor of those states. He became chairman of the National Party today. He's a senator. And he looked at the set of labour leaders that we have to deal with. That's what I said, where do we draw people? So, we expect whatever they are, I believe that they are just some of them. They are part of government. But the fact remains that, whether I would like it or not, the price of wealth is crazy. Most of the feeling stations I know are upside-adjusted. If you look at what happened in Lagos yesterday, you must have seen the queue returning and panicking. And that is what it is. Naira is out of that sort today. Naira is floating between 9.45 and 9.50. And you ask yourself, how did we get there? Look at what was the situation. Yes, pre-29 May. And see what we have less than 63 days. We have turned around to Talu. We said that where this government was worse and has no economic sense. I don't know what to talk about by the present government. We are told that he will repeat what he did. What he did in Lagos, is this what President Lubu did in Lagos? So Nigerians have just been left in their freaks. And the situation is just like things fall apart. Things are falling apart and the center cannot. And to even make it worse, the fact remains that this is a president that the Senate have passed his ministerial nominees close to a week, no more a week. He has not even seen them to assign portfolios to them. He is running a one-man government. Some of these issues can be handled by his ministers and he is of government. But he has not even doing that. Rather what they are interested in is going to Niger. In Niger, you have your Kareena lady pants on your head and you are using your feet to look for cookroach. And that is the situation of Nigeria. And we don't even know what to do. Yesterday he met with the central bank government. Yes, at the CBN governor. I had what the one was saying. The other one doesn't even know what to talk about. Where clearly we are going to deal with people. We are going to deal with this. At the end of it, nothing. You just see this one is just blowing air. He is just blowing air. No solution to the problem. Is it beginning to look like this Naira float policy was not carefully thought out ab initio? Or is it that Nigerians are not being patient? You don't have to say it from day one. That is not just rushing and just making pronouncements. A government is what you do first. It's too eholistic. It's just like a sick person comes to the hospital. You don't just say give him panadol. Give him fencing. They will ask you to run a test. If you say, if you say I'm having malaria and you go to a hospital, a doctor will not treat you. Based on the fact that you say that I have malaria. If you say you have AIDS, I'm bringing a big permission. A very, very intelligent person will say go and run a lab test. It's based on that lab test that the doctor will not start going to say, is it the malaria? Because at that time what you are calling, what you will see as a layman, as malaria, could be typhoid. Oh, it's typhoid. Is this, is that? By this one that came, this president came, he started by on day one. He was told not to talk about the issue of removal of subsidy because subsidy has been paid for the next one month. He came, he says subsidy is gone and the problem started. And since then, nothing, everything that you see that what they're just doing is economic magumago. Just try an error. What we call ubioma, ubioma artillery. That is what this government is doing. There is no economic direction that is going. Absolutely nothing. And it's not an opportunity. What you saw, they say you just try to pay 50. Give them time. Give them time. How many times do you want to? Let me tell you a minute. If pre-20 May 29th, you have 1 million Naira in your back account. By this valuation now, yeah, that million Naira has reached about 400,000 Naira. And all these are living in truth. Look at Glasgow, Smith, here. My goodness, when I read that, when I read about that. I just left. Nobody is saying anything. When I read about that, Chris, my heart sank. I thought, oh my God. But I wasn't so surprised. But then it was shocking and painful. Do you see confidence? In a country that the energy sector is not being looked at. Nobody is talking about reviving the refineries. We have gone as far as putting tax. But on this group, those are the critical products that manufacturing companies use as energy sources. They are even putting back on that. There you are talking of petroleum. Everybody is talking about importation. Nobody within this company knows that. He said to the protocol refinery, we start working by December. Nobody is telling us how the process is going through. Nobody is talking about Cardona. Nobody is talking about worry. What we are just looking at, talking about importation of petroleum. A meeting, this same government set up a committee with the Labour Union to look at ways of piloting. See, now that committee has not been meeting. The chief of staff to the president is the chairman of that committee. And let's say I've come to say that for one day we have not met. We have promised them to make a broadcast to the people. A few weeks ago, rolling out a source of palliative. See, now not a single of that palliative measure has been put in place. And you continue to ask yourself, what is really going on? What is really going on? Now marketers are saying that they would have to stop importing fuel. Because, well, as it stands, the refineries are not working. If we have to see fuel to use, marketers will have to keep importing. And they are saying as long as the Naira continues to drop with the way it's going, they can no longer import. And they are calling on the government to do something to stop this free fall of the Naira. How can they do something? I'm not an economist. In fact, in my first attempt at school, I had F9 in mathematics. So when you come to mathematics, I had F9. So when you come to mathematics, I wouldn't say that. That was why, generally, when you read journalism, then only to come back later to read law. But the fact remains that it's a country that its import dependence cannot have enough dollars to be able to execute it. Because that is just it. Because we are going to be importing close to 99% of what you need. It's not possible. Other countries are exporting. It's only when you export that you make foreign currencies, not only dollars, pounds, yen, name it, whichever currency that is, that is how it is done. But if you are import dependent, but how are you going to be import dependent when your power sector is not functioning? Because whatever it is going to, we are going to manufacture here, if it is expensive, very expensive, then you cannot export. You cannot compete in the international market. Rather, people prefer, now people prefer to import this from China. Because of its cheap label, we import everything for China. We import the fact, the fact remains that if you import slippers from China and you compare it to the one atariara market being manufactured atariara market, it's fact cheaper. So what are we talking about? So those are the issues. So that the fundamentals, it doesn't take any skyrocket scientists, economists to know this. The best thing that we need to put in place, but the fact is that first and foremost, we need to fix the power sector. We need to fix the petroleum sector. Once we put it, we can export. The president said, he said they saved 1 trillion naira within the first 30 days. I've just told you how much we've lost within the first 30 days. They tell us how much we lost also in the first 30 days. What does that mean? Definitely, I am sure that we have lost more than three times four times of that. So it's as good as not saving anything. Even what you say, you have said what is the impact on the life of Nigerians? None. So I think that this government should really get, it is just not, it's not rhetoric. That was where it came from me, in 2015. Nigerians based on those promises put it for him and at the end of it, he came out to be a disaster. He was one of the worst president we ever had in this history of Nigeria. I hope that he knew who is not going to go down that lane. Well, Nigerians face more hardship as transport fares jump by 100.6%. That's another headline there. Steel on the Guardian newspaper. All of these tied together. I was coming to work this morning, just as you alluded yesterday, the queues this morning, the queues is still fine. Even the NNPC stations are shut down. No fuel. The surprising thing to me is that despite the increases, and that's what I say that Nigerians are one of the most resilient people. I've never seen any species like Nigeria. Despite the fact that if the increase is to 1,000, you still have people still going to queue. And some people say, what alternative do we have? So in other countries, just a new increase in the life in the low price of low supply brings down government. We have resigned ourselves, and that is why I've always said that our problem in Nigeria is also part of religion, is religion. We are willing to give people for sure. All will be well. Pray to God. Everybody, and they use that to be able to cage us. And the fact remains that how can you, a country that produces good oil are now having to depend on importation. It is not done. Our Nigerian safer is much, much stronger than our Niger. We are moving towards the Zimbabwe situation. God have mercy. Yes. The Zimbabwe situation is what we are running into. We used to hear that 1,000 Zimbabwe dollars to 1 dollar. Is it not 1,000 Niger now to 1 dollar? It's the same thing we are moving into. You know what it's talking about? The same situation that has happened in Venezuela and the rest of it. I remember asking that question some weeks back. I said, I hope we're not approaching that. We're not going to get there. It is the fact. That is where we are. Fact is how much is the loaf of bread? It used to be 1,000. It has moved away from 1,000. It moved it to 1,100. Loaf of bread. And you are asking yourself what is the situation? There you are talking about transportation. Yes. Because what do you expect then? They have to increase because there was increase in Petropa. They also have to increase. Somebody came there and said, no, he is reducing illegal state government. They are reducing the transportation by 25%. What is it now? The union is going to not only the chairman of the whatever illegal state say we are going to reduce. And the the transporters are you the one buying our buses for us? Are you the one paying for our bus? They said they are going to reduce the prices at the park and the rest of it. Is that enough? The prices are increasing by the day. Most Nigerians don't see who use the vehicle. You only go out when it's necessary. I joined bus. So those are the situations and I continue to say it's quite tremendous that this president has to hit the ground rolling. A president that was talking about cutting down cost now a president have decided to come up with a 45 member cabinet. Instead of cutting down he is increasing and he is still telling Nigerians, we have to cut down cost. Does that make sense? Even the one that he is talking about, he cannot even give some state governors some state governors are beating him to it. Have you seen the portfolio, the list of aids, just aids, not commissioners? Some state governors have come up with what is some title? No, because once the head is running what do you have? Because they are supposed to take if the president shows leadership his appointment. There is no governor we have the governor, we have the state independent of the president. But when you look at the president and someone looks at the cabinet then you can come and say no, no problem but the situation where the president who is the head of the state is increasing his number of aids increasing his number of advisers, increasing his number of ministers in this crucial time. They have a big plan to stabilize current volatility and how to strengthen the CBN and the president yesterday, the acting governor for Lashodun, Shonubi, yesterday. So for Rice Crisis, CBN likely to flood market with dollar. Where is it getting the dollar from? That is flooding the market. They continue to deceive themselves. Where is it getting the dollar? Let me tell you, everything about Nigeria has a rise. People are withdrawing their money and buying dollars and not kidding. In the banks, that is what is also happening. If you have 10 million naira, if I just go and buy the dollar, because if somebody, the wise ones, if they have bought, when the dollar was just about less, about 503 to 29 May, you decide to use your 10 million naira to buy dollar and keep in the bank. That money, if that's, you know how it will be appreciated by close to about 50 percent or 50 percent by now. So, and that is what is happening. So everything has been dollar, even when they go to the fact, what are they sharing? What are the governors sharing? Corruption is creeping back in the day. Have you, have you, do you know that? Creeping back? Did it go to anywhere before? Nobody have ever talked about corruption within this government since the president took office. I've never seen him say anything about corruption. He never, I've never, I mean, wrong. I need to be corrected. But everything happened within the system. He still goes down to corruption. Something is going on that we are not aware of. And the fact that when somebody is there, do you just go to outside and go and pick dollars? I've said it, that you have to be productive. It is in the course of a sport that you are going to end dollars. That is simple mathematics. We don't manufacture, we don't print dollars in Nigeria. So when you say we are going to flood the market, where are you going to get the dollar? Do you print dollars? You don't print dollars now. Dollars is an international currency. I see, but you want to flood the market with fake dollars, which is not possible. So. Well, the CPM acting governor, the acting governor is saying he does not believe that it is the market forces that have caused the scarcity of the forex, but speculators and that he's going to shock them a few days time that they're going to lose. Congratulations to him. That is that he told us that they're going to shock us that the problem with forest Nigeria was a bokeh effects speculation. Have you forgotten that it was a bokeh effects speculation that was causing the rise in the cost of dollar. And for that, that platform was shut down. What happened? It is top dollars from this way. They knew what to do. They're just deceiving us. And if they don't know what to do, they'll ship out so that we get people that can be able to do the job. We have millions and millions of Nigerians that can do this job. It's not that we are like this. This is Nigerian. This is a country where Nigerians go out and go and see the deputy head of treasury or secretary of treasury in the United States. What we call the minister of finance deputy vice minister is a Nigerian. Go and check it out. Go to other countries. We have Nigerians that are doing very, very well in all this sector. But the fact is that we cannot put the right won't put the right people at the same. It is always a party party people are nose nest to nothing about what they are doing and that water has gotten nothing. Instead of him to be telling us, giving us policies, telling the president the right thing to do, he's talking of going to like, I would like to see him to likely flood market dollar. How? Where? Where is he getting it from? Okay, just because, okay, so because of time, let's see what else we can talk about. U.S. presses echo us to pile more pressure on Niger junta and the riders. No to Basm trial and a key main doors is actions. We're still on the nation newspaper. U.S. presses echo us to pile more pressure on Niger junta. How do you see all this unfolding in that axis? Well, why do they don't have said that they're open to negotiation with echo us? It seems that they're trying to consolidate themselves what they've come at yesterday that they have enough reason to try to come in the post president for treason, including that has been contacting foreign leaders and rest of them. But the fact that I thought I still believe that where the echo was led by our president one bulletin who did the wrong thing by issuing a seven day deadline to that junta. I am more diplomatic with going about that. You have to do that. After you've suggested those diplomatic channel and that is the problem they're having now. They are not doing what they're supposed to have done first. Now they need to try to do it again. The fact remains that the junta in Niger has contributed and when you talk about echo was music was 80 percent of funds and and all the necessary instruments of effort are going to use to prosecute certain decision in the call be provided by Niger and I just have a comment about what I mean to say. No, we are not interested. We are not interested in what everybody is saying that but let's see what that negotiation will be able to do. You have to say oh echo has to do that. You guys have truth in the Niger Republic. What have they done? France have truth in the Niger Republic. What have they done? They will only continue to push the echo was But what can they do? Is it their battle? Is it their business though? It is your business. It is our business. I mean I'm talking about U.S. and France. That is what I'm saying. Is it our own business to make sure it's an independent? I'm saying is it our own business to make sure it's an independent country? You cannot take a country how to rule these people. If they decide to go to to go and remove their leader all well and good. It is our business. We have our own domestic problem and that is not everybody's Let us not drive and it has been seen as a Nigerian Which is a very deadly dimension. It's a very unhealthy dimension. We have 1600 kilometers of borderline with Niger. The other people that we've been trying to intervene in Sierra Leone and Liberia don't have any border with Nigeria. And that is why everybody say let us be very very careful. This is not like Liberia war. This is not like Sierra Leone war. This is a war at our own borderline. And anything that happens, we filter into Nigeria, take our leader to be careful. We have enough problem of our own. Okay so Air Force probes helicopter shot down claim by bandits? It's quite unfortunate what happened yesterday. Investigation is still going on. So we cannot jump into conclusion. A lot of people, you know people when this cannot be speculated as journalists rather with proper investigation. But if that is that, that plane came down yesterday in Nigeria state. We learned that one of the pilots died in the process. The investigation is on. But let us wait and see the as that is fly us with the investigation before this vacation. Yeah well very sad thing there. Well thank you so much Chris. The much time we commit us to take this morning on off the press. As usual it's always a delight to have your insight on these issues that I'm holding. We keep our fingers crossed and hope that things get better in the next couple of days. Because of Nigeria, I've been wonderful to have it. You too Chris. Chris kind of wonder member of the shattered institute of our betrayters in the UK has joined us on off the press this morning. He's joined us from Lagos. Do stay with us with the back to give you a first hot topic.