 You're welcome back. It's still the breakfast on plus TV Africa. Now the federal government has pegged FX rate at 700 Naira per dollar and the overhead cost has spiked the 26 trillion Naira 2024 budget, you know, so but we have someone who will discuss that with us here. We have Mukta Muhammad international finance and economics analyst who will be talking with us from Lagos here Good morning and welcome to the program Mukta Yeah, some people are projecting that the dollar may get to two two thousand Naira or at least 100 1,200 Naira in the nearest future maybe in the coming days and the federal government is pegging There's at 700 Naira pay dollar. So let's start to See how this is possible. Why will they do this and what parameters are they using to see that this will be What the dollar would be like and to finance their budget In the in the market at his time It is a good thought having a few days. So I I might try and bring them that the current price coming different week between the Naira and the dollar that they are trying to use in the budget. It should be the actuality even if you go to be the water the plan for America has set on time. It will be set at the transition period 650 Yeah, but saying could is Isn't that dangerous to the economy if you are not definite about what is going to be? What if they place it at this and it becomes higher? But I tend to be corrected We don't we would not open to that one where we have so much shop I've tried to see where and the only thing that's going on down at this time I think we did it. And when you make one of our liquidity, we're talking about the inflow of the best We which have not been at it used to be a speciality because of the We experience students in and then the COVID-19 pandemic the Russian Ukraine crisis the Impotation of the front page of our product and If you look at what the product of many things by the NFC or what we are expecting from the final We respect that order to be committed of the partnership as possible future. And now we use the pressure on the Naira I'm all acting that I have put the pressure on the Naira at the clock Especially those that have to do with the aviation company and I think and the government said they are working on that They are working on our stakeholder to make sure that it is at that as soon as possible Even the city and government promise that they in the next couple of weeks They will be paying off the problem of about nine billion dollars to Financial and so I think again The oil I market. So hopefully, I think they have the parameter right. They should get it. I'm excited about putting the pension marker 72.5 dollars or higher, even if presently it's in a book, 90 dollars or higher. So now we have about 20 dollars in services and health care and that would be making a lot of difference if I do submit a petition of 2.2 that different government is proposing. Okay, let's make some sense out of it for the laymen like us. We know that or at least experts say that the pressure is on the dollar because not many things are bringing dollar into the market and there are so many things that are removing the small ones that we have in the economy and now it doesn't seem like there are deliberate efforts to make sure that we have more things that will provide us dollar into the economy and then a few days ago the federal government removed the ban so to speak on 43 items that were banned some time ago by the previous administration and some people fear that this will bring even more pressure on the Naira. What do you think? Because you're trying to make the Naira stronger, the dollar to come down a little bit and you're pegging at 700, then you're removing ban on items that will need dollar to even import. So will that be, will that not be more pressure? It will be more pressure. I think I understand what you just said but again we also look at what the city is trying to achieve because what is causing the volatility or the pattern of the Naira is this for the grain buying item because most of these items are not adequately produced here in this country, not enough of it. So a lot of things become out on the show of this country and so what we are seeing is that we are seeing the government let them come to the official market and we'll be able to provide for them. So for them to see that I mean they won't have made provision for that and then make sure that provision has seen that. You shouldn't forget that we have a three billion dollar that we are connected from from from a face-to-face to the NMPT. So I feel also maybe they are also looking at that also using that to to to reduce the pressure of the Naira and the work and also said that the Nigerian mind need to go ahead with the ability to meet the volatility in the IST. So when you look at all this I think if they are able to get it like you said, if they are able to meet your demand they will bring down the pressure. But if the Umband is an item and still they are not able to meet those demand from this Umband item to bring in these goods then it will be the Naira so far so much again. Yeah well because I don't know one of the items was rice and if rice now can be imported freely into the country that means the federal government seem to have given up on the fact that we can produce rice that we can export to other countries as well. And if that is the case well then I don't know. I think they understand the field of most Nigerian but I think what the federal government should do is they should think that all is local production and then maybe they begin to put tariff on those 43 van items so if they are coming in their tariff would be high so that they are not able to compete with this because most Nigerians are not even happy with the local government saying that why can't we think they are producing something locally and it seems to be more expensive than what is imported into the country. And also not to forget that most of these fine items they find their way into the country without paying the normal tariff through the border whereby these things are smuggled into this country with coalition from security in them. So we need to know that also it is a major problem. Okay well okay the projection for 2024 budget is 26 trillion Naira. Let me just have your take on that. That's the biggest so far 26 trillion Naira budgeted or proposed for 2024. Mukhtar can you hear me? Okay I'm saying that the projection for the 2024 budget is 26 trillion Naira what do you feel about that figure and how realizable is that? It should be easy to come to I think that they will be able to meet it and they are looking at internet with the revenue we have been waiting for the reform in the tax sector. We don't know how that means after revenue. For me I think it's a little bit very ambitious especially with the minister of finance and the economy planning. We give also more details on that. Okay well most of this money is overhead cost and I don't know how that's going to be but we know that our states and maybe the federal government before the implemented budget is mostly less than 80 percent of the budget and now it is going as high as this. Just some pointers to how to make this budget a reality work for us. Let this budget work for us. We have just one minute to go. What are the things that they need to do to make sure that they can implement this? We've not seen each other's strategy. We've seen the worst in terms of strategy with this current term administration and it seems to be more political appointees than we have ever ever seen. So the cost of the cost of government is being up and the revenue is not improving and then expenditure where you look at them, the national assemblies and all that. So we are not so excited about it. So I'm not so excited about the current expenditure. It's very important and I want to say something about that. So that's where we have each other and that's why I think that the budget implemented this budget will be very challenging for us. Okay well thank you very much Mukta for coming on this program and talking with us on this issue. Thank you. Okay we've been talking with Mukta Mohamed, International Finance and Economic Analyst. He was talking with us from Lagos here. We'll take a short break when we return. We'll be looking at making room for disability and disability issues in governance. Stay with us.