 Welcome everybody, so glad to know that you're still there and watching the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. I'm still in Yangul, my name hasn't changed and I hope that you're having a field day. We've just had the weather report here in Lagos. It rained in some parts and in other parts it's dry. That's the beauty of nature, it can be raining on one side of the building and the other side will be dry. It happens, I've seen it before. Anyway, right now it's time to visit the press and see what is happening, what the headlines are for today. And we're beginning this morning with nature news only fitting because today is World Environment Day and what are the things on nature news this morning. So on nature news we have the headline that is leading there is Coca-Cola, Pepsi, C-Way, Nestle, Top Plastic Waste Contributors in Nigeria. It's a concern for people now that we're celebrating World Environment Day. We also have AFDB appoints of Forimante as Acting Director of Agricultural, Finance and Rural Development. So Ludo moves to Ban Sant Mining in Anambra, Gives Reasons. You'll find that on page 11. NNPC went down crude oil swap contracts. That is on page 9. There's also headlines on page 11 UN appoints AFDB's President as Member of Sun. Okay, subsidy removal. NLC Hell Bent on Strike Actions writes NUJ ASU Others to join the strike. And then finally stakeholders to dialogue on plastic pollution at Nature News Commemoration of World Environment Day. Remember today is World Environment Day and the theme for today is Bit Plastic Pollution, Ecosystem Restoration. It's hosted by Côte d'Ovoire and supported by the Netherlands. We move to the next newspaper that is The Punch. The Punch newspaper leads with Subsidy, NLC Shown's Federal Government's Meeting, Electricity Workers' Back Strike. The writers there are NLC Falls Negotiation Team, Lakers, Nassarour, More State chapters join the strike. TUC Demand, Salary Increase, Fuel Importers Seek Equal Access to Forex. Okay, that's still under fuel subsidy. Under there, right under, you have OPEC Resist Nigeria's Output of Saudi Arabia Cuts Production. 18 die in Kano Crash. FRSC boss warns against overloading. And then NDLEA seizes 390 kilograms of illicit drugs in four states. Up there at the top of that front page of The Punch, you have Senate Queries Accountant General over 910 billion MDAs loan. That story is on page 37. Trapped funds, Foreign Airlines Plan Meeting with Federal Government, that is on page 38. And on page 7, PDP wants Tinnable to make asset declaration public. Okay, we move from The Punch to The Guardian. The Guardian newspaper leads with Autogas Stalls as NNPC marketer's beaker over 500 billion Naira debt prorated fuel cost. We also have NLC Boycotts Meeting as Federal Government Committee. You see sick options out for Wednesday strike. There's also a story on why Tinnable has not appointed a spokesperson. Okay, so you find those reasons on news page 3 on The Guardian. Yoruba Ronu urges Tinnable to prevent labor union strike. Nigeria's broadband penetration drops as Telcos lose 2.5 million voice customers. Seven days into second term, someone lose yet to make appointments that's still on The Guardian. Terrorists kill many in Zamfara communities abduct 30 girls. Those are headlines on The Guardian and we will move to the next newspaper. The next newspaper and the final one for the day is Business Day. Business Day leads with Nigeria's oil revenue at risk as OPEC plus cuts output. Petrol price hike puts millions of businesses on edge. That's the big story there on page 4 or it starts on page 1 and continues on page 4. Who collected over 11 trillion Buharis spent on petrol subsidy? It's a question being asked. There's an explainer for that on page 35. And then I think those are the headlines that we will take from Business Day as well and that is the final newspaper for this morning. But we're very glad that today to help us make sense through some of the headlines that we have heard here today is Opunabo Ukotaria, political affairs analyst who is joining us from the river state. Good morning and welcome Opunabo. Good morning. Good morning Nigeria. Okay, let's begin with the headline which is not so bold on the punch. But nevertheless or nonetheless it's still a very, very important one. PDP wants Tinobu to make asset declaration public. The question is isn't that just a given that once you are elected into public office, even before you're elected into public office, this asset declaration should be made. What are your thoughts on the fact that it has to take PDP to call for this asset declaration? Well, asset declaration is a constitutional requirement. If you must as a public officer to declare your assets before an act of this. It is even a crime. You do so. But what the PDP is saying is it wants Tinobu to declare his assets publicly. The law does not require public declaration of assets. You declare it to the government. What is it called below? What is that thing called again? The charge of asset declaration. You declare to them. The Nigerians are not comfortable with that. We want the asset declaration made public just like you and me. And that will help to scrutinize whoever is in office. So that if you declare publicly, we now know by the time you're exiting office what you're going to declare because it also mandates you that you declare. What you're going to declare and with that we will now know if you're lying and if you also stole some money or stole whatever. Your essence is to call theft. Is to call embezzlement and other vices. Whatever budget. But whatever budget. The law is not making and dating for you to publicly be that is you are the problem is and that is what we are advocating. It must be public because you're in office, you're there and you're managing public funds. You're not managing your own funds. So you must make it public so that the work is scrutinized at the end of your tenure if you were involved in any form of graft or not. Okay but how secret is this document? Because freedom of information gives you or gives the citizens right to even sometimes very sensitive documents. How secret is this document? Because if it is a way anybody can access it then there wouldn't be need to even call for a public declaration. What do you think? Now I completely agree with you but you see the problem there is basically in the office and that's it. Well I'm trying to remember the day the office in child has said declaration. If you can drop my memory on this. Now the fact is with the FOI acts everybody has access to any information anywhere except the ones classified as they are classified in any country in the world. You have classified documents. That means by the way the former president of America went to with some classified documents he was sued. I think he's facing that no status right now. Well yes you have the FOI acts and the access declaration shouldn't form a classified document. It shouldn't be a group of classified documents. But the truth is those in charge in most cases should have access to them. And I can't really comprehend why they should be in the case. Maybe they are doing that because they want to aggression themselves because they don't know this. Maybe you can say the journalists or certain persons are asking for your declaration. And you know that if I make it available to them these are the consequences. Maybe and in so doing they might have some form of our gratitude or gratification as well. But in a human sense why you are going to make this sort of declaration a secret? Because it doesn't negate the whole essence of the whole essence of asset declaration. It doesn't negate the whole essence. But sadly that is what is going on. And I can tell you that most journalists have tried to have access to certain declarations and they were denied. They have tried and tried to deny. This ought not to be the case, especially in the Air Force Highlands. But that is what we see in this country. But can't that Bureau, I think it's Code of Conduct Bureau, can't there be sued? Code of Conduct Bureau, yes. Can't there be sued for withholding information that the public needs? Well, if you go to Code of Conduct Bureau to get these mandemons, contain the Code of Conduct Bureau to have you actually have access to these. That's what you're going to get. And I don't know if some persons tried it, and I don't know the outcome. But it may be due to your virus, it may be due to your right to sue. And I think that the Code granted them access to you. But if they are actually granted access, I don't think they are allowed. I can't really call. But you can, why not? You can. But in this country, most of the others are flouted. You only got others that are executed and others that are in favour of the government. That is the truth about it. Most of the others are flouted. I'm going to say that of the President, the FCC Chairman, the Secretary-General of Police, and a whole lot of them. Most of the others are flouted. If you really have these children and they can't move to the detention and so on, most of the others are flouted. And because the court doesn't have what it takes to have forced its others, because you really need the police to have forced you to have cut others. So what it belongs to is something that is related just to the authority and not what they call it. Unless you are more or less in court, a common man. Even before the government is giving you the possible. But if it belongs to the criminal agreement, I mean the authorities just like point one side at the back of the dumpster. Well, that's serious. Well, okay, let's go to another issue. NLC is polling for a fight that saying that there will be a strike action. And electricity workers have joined. They were called for a meeting. TUC attended the meeting. NLC didn't go. And they're insisting that a legitimate body should be set up by the federal government to hear their complaints and profile solutions to what is going on or their grievances. Other bodies are also asking that if the fuel subsidy must be, there should be an increment in salaries and so on and so forth. Do you think this is a solution and not a strike action on top of the fuel subsidy? What are your thoughts? Well, in other words, the government here understands a strike action. And in all cases, even when you have a strike action, the government will employ what are called the Fibian policy. They will invite you to a meeting. An endless meeting, just like you did. Simple, simple, simple. An endless meeting. And all they are doing is to buy time. Now, talking of the fuel subsidy. First, this is one government that will be annexed in perfidy. You remember, before what the President said was that subsidy is gone. That when you now realize the Ferrari generated, somebody came trying to, in a flaccid manner, explain that that was not what the President meant and was trying to also, in another break, justify it by saying it was not in the budget. I agree with you. But then, it was supposed to have ended June and Nigeria's were preparing their minds towards that. You came and carlosly, we started to treat our concerns. Said subsidy was gone. And that was what triggered the chain reaction. What we are seeing is the corollary effect of that pronouncement. We live in a country where it is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. If you want to, actually, yes, it doesn't include anybody. But the predecessor was smart enough not to have affected it because he knew the consequences, the domino effect and the reactions. He was smart enough. You ought to know why the predecessor refused to stop this. You should know why he said, because you are part and parcel of life, why he said, no, let me transfer this burden and pay to my successor. You came on board. Because probably your own filling stations, probably involved in the oil business, you know that you are going to profit more from it, you decided to remove the subsidy. Before you remove subsidy, what you would have considered was to ensure that certain things are in place everywhere, anywhere in the world, before certain actions are taken. It takes a long time. The plan, it might take four years, three years, two years. You have to increase the salary of workers because you have to palliate the disparities you remove out with us. You have to increase the salary of workers. You have to provide buses. And even if you want to buy a thousand buses, even if you have the money, you can't just go to the shop to buy a thousand buses. It's not possible. It's not available. You have to ensure that electricity is in place because the Nigerian economy, as we speak today, shamefully depends on generator. Generator. All businesses, medium, small, all, they depend on generator. Look at the cost of diesel. And look at the effect it's having on industries. Both of them are folding up. Then if you talk of the small scale, these are past my neighbor, you find out that even when with that, even without the world subsidy, the prices of things went up because they have to factor the issue of purchase of petrol. You can't go to a public saloon while continuing that there is power outage and the environment will tell you to go. No, you've got to find a generator. So that is already factor. So when that there is power outage or not, it's already factored into the cost. So when you consider all the same, you must ensure that you put into consideration this issue and also provide remedies before you talk of removal of something. Both of our refineries, trillions spend on the refineries from turnaround maintenance. This is a group. You can't go to a public saloon because it was one of those who said in six months, one year, two years, they are going to fix up the refineries. You can't open this man to see. He was the leader of the diesel. He's still the leader because as President, he's the leader of the refineries. What happened to our refineries? Trillions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance. Yes, there are three commodities. Why not fix the refineries on the ground of something? Look at one man doing the refineries and the countries depending on their figures of refineries. Is that not a shame? Why didn't you fix those refineries before you talk of removal of something? You should have moved it immediately. You shouldn't. Yes, you said you want to... You said the subsidy was a fraud. Now you come to a good as a reality. Okay, you want to medicate the economy so much has been spent on fuel supply. No problem. But then it's like this. If I actually need a tenant to get out of your house, there is a process. You don't just get out of your house. You don't do that. There is a process. You serve it to notice. If you stop on, you go to court and so on. That is what you expect. Anything in the world and there is no country that does not subsidize one thing or the other. No country in the world. No. So what is the whole removal of the subsidy? Okay. Look at the effect already. Look at the effect on food on everything. Most houses... Most houses... I can't explain it. No lights. They can't even afford the fuel. Okay. Unlike before where you go to buy... You go to buy petrol for maybe 2,000 to 3,000 Naira. Now, 2,000 Naira petrol, I don't serve you for just one hour, one hour, 30 minutes. Unlike before, you could take it all to the night. So what is the removal of the subsidy? This subsidy... So this subsidy removal... So this subsidy removal... This subsidy removal has been a long way coming. It's been there. We've been talking about it and all that. We remember that when Jonathan was thinking about the idea, he bought buses that we saw all over the place, Shopee, Shopee and all that. Ended up not removing it. Yes, it's understood. But now there's going to be strike because of the fuel subsidy removal and all that. And before the election, there's a video making the rounds where the president now was campaigning and he said, no matter how much protest you engage in, fuel subsidy must be removed. He said that he didn't give plans of how, when it is removed, whatever was going to be done, like some other candidates were talking about, gradual removal and things that will be put in place. But he said, no matter the amount of protests, fuel subsidy will be removed. And just right after that, he said, I will win this election. He has won the election. He has removed this fuel subsidy. Do you think after the statement he made, it's on video, everybody watches it, it's on video. After the statement he made, do you think this strike will solve any problem or there's another approach that could be used? The strike will solve the problem. Yes, it's going to be difficult. It's going to bring on two and a half years on Nigeria. But like I said, the only language the Nigerian government understands is strike. That's the only language. Like what does it mean? I will just go ahead and accept whatever the government does. That's the only people in the hand is to go on strike. That's the only people. And even if you go to court, I can tell you that Nigerians have lost faith in their music. Look at what happened within the game. Look at what happened. So the best thing is to grab the economy. People will tell you the price there will not suffer. Because it's going to bring on some danger. Because when a government decides to be incensed, it has sides or warrants of its own debts. And you're sure should the method could last on that even. Just less that. That's the very big problem. Look at the crisis. Look at the problems. It's very big. I told you that this man is getting into your office for self-isolation. This is the contrast. It's parchment. It is my rights out of over 200 million and it is your right. Because according to you, you make people and so what you want. You make people that you have control of your bodies. What happened to everybody? You make people that will bring good results to you. What happened to everybody? If I cry, who told you? Are you? Are you more of a Nigerian? I don't know that. But you say it's your right. Okay, well. So the thing about today, even if it becomes insensitive, you see, the nation has lost into a state of victimism. A lot of people are incensed. They're angry. Even if it becomes insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, what would be for them and by a state of the country to shock the world? Okay. People are speedy. They can follow their lecture. People are not happy with their performance. Okay. So when you say, hey, you said that and I didn't go with you. That is a lie. We all know that the elections are real but the bad guys are false. Let's look at it. Let's look at it. Are you there? Come on. No, I'm not. Are you there? Come on. Let's look at a related issue. We can't have a leader that is so calm or something. Open up. Let's look at a related issue. We have these problems in the oil sector. But right now, OPEC has raised Nigeria's output as Saudi Arabia has caught production. The output for Nigeria has been raised by OPEC, the petroleum exporting countries. So is that a good thing for us or something to really be afraid of? Because sometimes, for some time now, our production capacity has gone down. Now OPEC is raising our output and Saudi Arabia has caught their own production. Should we be happy about it or not? You see, ordinarily we should. But the problem with Nigeria is not the lack of funds. That's what you should understand. It has to do with the management of our funds. Now, most times, the leaders, I call them vouchers of our economy, academic perpetrators. Most times, when we hear such good news, they are very happy. They are not happy because the money country will get enough money through our livelihoods. With the interest of Nigeria's, which is the primary role of the country, they are happy because they don't make more money for themselves. Yes, I did try, but look at what we have that we didn't sell. That's what we did with the money. So, it is not about the policies. It is not about the money we have. No, it's fine for me. It has to do with cataclysmic leadership. The money will not go on. It will probably, because it was younger, much younger then. How can anyone come to say we have money, the problem is how to spend the money? How can you say that? Everyone will say that today. Then it was a military man who never went to school. Today he has a piece, but probably because it was a military man. But as how can you say, look at Dubai, every day we go to Dubai, something new, my mission was, why did he talk to Niger to Dubai as a matter of fact? So, we have money, but the problem is how to spend it. So, money is not a problem. The problem has to do with leadership, leadership, bad leadership. So, even if we make more money, the truth is, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. That is the truth about it. So, whether we increase our output, whether the output, if the output increases, it may be the age of money because they have not wanted to sell it at all. It's a problem where the output reduces because then there is contrast to how to meet certain demands and certain needs. But once the output increases and you make more money, of course then the citizens search a public campaign to the detriment of the masks. That is the truth. So, it really has nothing. Look at Ghana. Look at the little money Ghana has, where they are destructing. And look at Ghana today. Look at Mabufini, a blessed memory. So, it really has nothing to do with it. It has to do with leaders. So, I'm not elated. I'm not happy. I'm not moved when they say the output will increase. If it increases, who's managing the resources? There are one we are regarded as, one of, I tried to, when I say 1986, as a little boy then, we're traveling to the US. I brought, we brought $1,000 or $609. Yes, we brought the last $609. 1986. Yes. Yes. Oh yes. I just did a circular store. And we were going on vacation. So, you can imagine. It has nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with it. It has to do with it, to manage the resources. That's all. So, it's not yet a guru. It's not a guru yet. Let's all see how we are going to manage The effect of the increase, the outcome, that is what we should consider as essential, not a harm or justice for anybody in the country. No. Look at it. The specific corruption that people talk about, what is something like that. Okay. Just a minute. Let me turn around and tell you something. Okay. Let's look at something more political. We've been talking oil, oil and everything, yeah, well, everything is connected to politics. But there is also from the newspaper, the Guardian newspaper headline saying seven days into second term, so will you yet to appoint or make any appointments. And this cost across board is not only so, there are so many other governors that have not made very tangible appointments and all that. And for a governor that is returning, because a lot of them returned is not as if it's their first term, it's a wonder why they would not make any appointments in seven days because it's expected that they have built a team, even if the people who were there in the first ten are not returning, but they've identified people who should work with them. Does it not give you any worry that some of them are taking too much time? Yes, my brother, it has become a norm and sadly true, you know, the truth is most of these governors or even the presidents, I also ask the same question, I also wonder, you had the intention to contest, you have won, before and during the campaigns you already know those that you want to appoint. Immediately after the election, what is delaying their point? Now for this, it's even worse when it comes to the second term, governors, because second term, first term, you can see I'm waiting for my godfather to give me the directives. These things happen, that's the reality, you get into office, the godfather sends back to say first and foremost every appointment must pass through me, they nominate about 90% of the appointees, they nominate, that's what these godfathers do, so probably the sitting below godfather is waiting for his godfather, but that shouldn't be the case, which the second term governors, they shouldn't, because you already are your own godfather, having served the first four years, rather than being aware to certain persons, people are aware to accept the likes of maybe the president and one or two other, but even at that, the person will give you maybe one, two or three names, because you already are sitting, you are sitting up now in the contest, so you know you're loyalist. So I can't comprehend it if it's also part of our mentality of humanism, so that people will come reveling before you begging for appointees, I can't really understand why seven days after, if you look at the president, seven days after no appointments, if I'm contesting, I already know those that I will give appointees to, at least I'll appoint 70 to 80% of my cabinet members, and maybe even leave the remaining 10 to 20% for the godfathers, that's it, so I cannot comprehend it my dear, I can't comprehend, because it has become a norm, it took about six months, this one has seven days, Sam Olu is the sitting governor, who was the sitting governor when he contested, he's back, maybe he's also waiting for the president to come next, and in the case of Sam Olu, he's actually going to wait, because his godfather is the sitting president, so he's actually going to wait, as far as the appointment of finance commissioner, appointment of, he's going to wait for Mr. President, who was even the governor of Lagos State, in order to stay the same thing, even in reverse, in order to stay the same thing, to wait for the godfathers. So godfathers will never leave us, because everybody campaigns and says that they are going to retire godfathers, but it seems as if we are still here, godfathers will not leave us. That's a pretty good question, you cannot retire godfathers in reverse in Nigeria, you know why, because of their financial might, you know, success, many fathers failure not, once you're the governor, everybody comes to you, trying to ingratiate himself with you, once you're in office, once you're out of office, you're on your way, you see only very few friends, so after that time, you're in office, you have also the financial might, most people around you are not really your friends, they are criticizing you behind, but before you, they're seeing your praises, they serenade you, but behind, they're castigating you left, right, and center, so you are the one dictating the pace of the financial muscle, and probably the one that is contesting does not even have that financial muscle, does not have somebody back in here with equal financial muscle, so godfathers must continue, unless you have your godfather in the sitting governor, and maybe, sorry, your address is the sitting governor, and probably your godfather is like a TV book, or a dango too, but even at that, you must have a godfather, because you don't have the resources to fight the sitting governor, who don't have these billions of dinars, where are you going to want the billion of dinars? Alright, let's take a final thing, let's take a final thing, very briefly now, very briefly, because we've really run out of time, today we're celebrating World Environment Day, we've heard that plastics are the major concern in this year's celebration, in fact the theme is beat plastic pollution, ecosystem restoration, so it hangs on plastic, to beating that plastic pollution and all that, but the general question is where does Nigeria stand in the fight against environmental, what I call it degradation, or fighting against climate change and all the things that we need to fight if we need our environment to be clean, where do we stand, and do you think we have that political power? I think it's a question of culture, we don't have that culture, you know, it makes the idea work, under why, or against discipline, was trying to inculcate in all that culture, there was some level of sanity, there was this orderliness and so on, maybe not so, but with the sudden, I would like, the orderliness, everything dies, and then this guy came with Y, YC, or what against that corruption, I mean it has to do with culture, more of culture, you see, under the devil, where the devil is here, you dare not litter the road, they don't throw it into the window, they throw it into the car, all cars have baskets and so on, so it's a culture thing, in civilized class you can't even trim the tree or cut the tree, because it plays its own role in our environment, you must seek the permission of the authorities to cut the tree in your house, that is the culture we are talking about, which is lacking here, so you see people living drinking pure water until they can do the drains and so on, and all of a sudden you have flooding and all, most times this flooding is not as a result of the government's negligence, it has to do, in most times they are caused by Nigerians themselves, because you brought the drains and the water cannot flow, so it has to do with culture, and also maybe the minister of environment is just there for nothing, I don't even know what the minister of environment is doing, we don't have a minister of environment yet, all things have passed away, thank you so much, that's how we are going to wrap it up about this segment, thank you, it was a pleasure having you on the show, thank you for your time, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, we have been talking with Open Arbo in Kota area, political affairs analyst talking to us from River State, today is world environment day, and we are hoping that you are doing everything to protect our environment, especially here in Lagos where plastic bottles are everywhere, blocking the drains and all that, this day, the theme of this world environment day, big plastic pollution, ecosystem restoration is talking to us directly, we will be right back, stay with us.