 Thank you for staying with us. You're still on the breakfast on plus TV Africa right now We'll be looking at what the headlines are saying on the national dailies this morning and joining us to review the headlines is Mohammed Abdul ahi He's a public relations analyst. Good morning sir. Thank you for joining us A good morning. That's my pleasure. Yes. Happy New Year to you Compliment of the season Snickers. Yes. Yes. All right Let's see what the national dailies are saying this morning and we'll be starting with the punch The major headline here says apc defends federal government as labor once against failed promises So yesterday the president Bola Ahmad Tinnable Gave a new estate speech to Nigerians talking about how he understands Our sufferings and all of the decisions he has taken so far Is you know for the growth of Nigeria and our economy and so APC right now is defending obviously his speech But we have some writers here which is pdp tag speech As our vest of the seats nlct uc says Nigerians are tired of failed promises And apc lampoon's pdp label party are just Nigerians to disregard mischievous opposition What are your thoughts on this on the speech the president's speech first and the fact that PDP has come to say it is a harvest of dissidents and apc also now Trying to just tell us that you know fighting back basically saying no it is not it's just a mischievous opposition And they're defending and the president right now Yes, um like we always have always have every you know first of january speeches by our president so it's not like A new initiative or something that is a novel thing. I mean we've always have this but What is what what is important? I think Is the fact that most times these speeches are just based on promises promises and promises and promises But they are actually no clear court agenda or clear court pathway For those promises to be delivered. Yes One of the major highlights in the I mean the president's speech yesterday was the fact You know, I think he talked about Electricity as a priority Right now, Nigeria as a country is actually running on less than and perhaps 5000 megawatt Of electricity for the whole country. I mean for more than 220 million people For a country that is uh more than 9 000 plus. I mean in terms of square meters and so on so which is quite appalling so hopefully Before the end of the president's four years because I know perhaps maybe a year is Not enough perhaps Before the the the the end of the tenure of the president. We should be doing more than 10 000 plus I keep telling people just a single mosque alone In South Africa just a single mosque. I'm not even talking about the city. A single mosque has more than 10 000 megawatt So why should Nigeria for 63 years still be running on less than 5000 at best? It's really disgraceful. I another thing I could pick up from the president's speech is the You know the issue of minimum wage. I know even in december Majority of the salaries of uh Public uh, what's it called? I mean civil servants even the military were not paid prompting rumor that The the usual armed forces celebrations this month might be truncated by I said rumor anyway, uh by by by by by by some of the military personnel Which is shocking. So it is it is encouraging that the president is talking about like a new minimum wage I mean in the speech yesterday Which like hopefully It will be implemented. It wouldn't be just three two weeks So yes the pdp like you mentioned and even the lp and odd opposition party have the right to uh query the speech of the president They also have the right to target what they wish because you know, it's like I said earlier This is speaking to nigerians every first of the year. I mean first of january is not a novel idea It's something that we've had over years, but it keeps being promises promises and promises and at the end of the year Uh, we have little to show for it when we go back to to to you know to to juxtapose The speeches with realities on ground. Yeah I don't know if it's really something to be happy about when we know that Like you said some salary people were not paid their salaries federal workers at least were not paid their salaries Um, at least we know of lecturers that came on the show and told us that they were not paid salaries for december And then some states have not been able to implement the 30 000 minimum wage And we're still talking about about a living wage improvement When we do not even have the ones that we are having that we're supposed to have now being paid So I don't know where that money will come from I don't know how nigerians are going to raise that money and then how it will translate to having a better life What about the people who do not work? What about the people who may not be working with the federal civil service? Because it may not cover for states and local government employees Yes, you're absolutely right. Uh, and that it be hopes on the I mean on on on the various state governments to Look at ways of improving the IG are, you know, uh, internally generated revenues and some other ways to to raise funds Uh, perhaps cost costs of governance and so on and so forth and so many of the frivolities that we spend money on in order to meet these very important uh obligations because uh, you know, uh whatsoever even the infrastructure that we talk about As well as other things that are very germane at the moment You agree with me that the welfare of the masses is uh, is paramount is should be top most Uh, I mean on on on the agenda of the government and even the private sector mind you I I I don't have the statistics Of off hand, uh, but I know perhaps if you put together the federal civil service and and and the state civil service Perhaps is I don't think is up to 5% or even 10 maximum of Of nigerians population. So, um What we are talking about is actually still very minimal compared to larger populations. So Like you rightly said, what about those people who don't work for government people? Perhaps at worst wouldn't even have anything to do. We don't have jobs and so on and so forth. How is You know, the the the government looking at making life Easier for for for such people. Uh, so it is a critical question which perhaps I can't provide answers to Uh, but again, I think what is important is for government to provide Enabling environment and some of the enabling environment that we talk about is like the issue of power You know, if if there is constant power supply that perhaps nigerians would definitely gladly pay for these might create a lot of uh, uh, employment opportunities except employment like the welder Who doesn't have to buy gigantic? Generator look for diesel here and there that is so expensive to power the generator in order to do is our job The bar bar on the street and so on and so forth. There are so many things that are dependent On uh, on electricity. So, you know, these enabling environment that we keep talking about are some of these basic infrastructures that government need to put in place Uh, to make sure that lives become easier for everyone because like I said earlier Not everyone works for the government. In fact, very minute Uh, very small percentage of the population works for government, you know So we need the enabling and this enabling environment I mean the the the socio-economic environment in Nigeria to be to to be at least good So that people can latch onto that and create employment for themselves and even other people In order to live a better life. Yeah, but you you just talked about power and you talked about enabling environment There's this headline also on the point there saying federal government insist on um electricity subsidy Amid tariff review federal government insist on electricity subsidy amit tariff review. Okay, so Your thoughts on that Subsidy on electricity Yeah, uh We I know for for a fact that every part of the world governments subsidize one thing or the other whether it's electricity whether it's uh, Uh food whether it's transportation You know, there are countries in the world where public transport is virtually free I mean in loosenburg wherever you're going if you're using public transportation is free everywhere So, you know, it is not something that is that that should be You know out of hand or out of place No, my question my question is my question is that If you want to subsidize something shouldn't you think of what the Nigerian people will benefit more? Because you're talking about subsidy in electricity There are some people who there are some communities that do not even have uh public power supply But they still have because I I thought our fear was People hijacking the so-called subsidy and using it to benefit. That's what happened in the petroleum sector What guarantee do we have that if electricity? Is being subsidized there will be no hijack and if there's going to be a hijack Why don't we let them hijack at the place where we know that we're already gaining because if petrol Or fuel generally is subsidized Invasion fuel I can travel by air anytime I like because it will be cheap enough I can go by land if I have a car and all those kind of things. This is something that was critical to Nigeria's economy Now you are talking about electricity subsidy, which is good anyway on its own, but Is that really the subsidy that we need at this time? Yes, you can't take it. It's not out of place as well Electricity is very charming. It's very important even though not 100 percent of Nigerians enjoy public electricity Like you mentioned, but I know at least more than 60 or 70 percent do so if you have if you have Subsidies around that area. It's also important because if you are impacting at this 70 percent of the population That's a good number. That's a very good number. In fact a very good number So it's subsidizing electricity electricity is also very very important Yes, but how are they going to make sure that The money is being used the way it should be used the subsidy is transparent enough because that's the problem We had in a fuel subsidy Now that's that's that's left for the government to implement You understand they actually know the loopholes if they are being sincere if the government wants to be better Tell me now You know, they understand they should understand and know the loopholes Where to, you know, block all these Corrupt activities and so on and so forth and that's why at the beginning even I am not the proponent of removal removal of subsidy from the petroleum sector because I am saying You know, you don't say you have a headache and then you cut off the head You just find medication, you know, in order to relieve you of the pain of the headache rather than just Outrightly cutting off the head We've seen where the petroleum removal. I mean subsidy has plunged Nigeria into a Nigerians So it's not a bad idea if the government decide to subsidize Electric remember again that is not just meant for household. We have whether our You know, our economic sector. I mean the few manufacturing plants and here so on and so forth do not really use public Electricity whatsoever, but they at least use as well. So if you have subsidies in this area, perhaps it might also reduce The cost of production and the cost for Nigerians to buy some of these these goods So I think it's not a bad idea if the government decides to subsidize electricity and then make life a bit more Better and easier for Nigerians. I just think he's digging one hole to cover another one. Just Well, I mean, I think for me personally, I just believe that There should be power supply and if we're saying that we want foreign investors to come in We need an economy that thrive and if they're going to use power, it should be readily Available for them, but let's move over to the garden now. We're not even in the whole country We are not having as much power as luck like Abdullah. He says the one mosque in in Saturday So, what are we talking about? Anyways, let's move over to the guardian and the major headline here says deficits Execution concerns over expanded 28.8 trillion Naira budgets now From what we know the budget was about 27.5 and then it has been expanded right now What are your thoughts on this? I mean if we keep going to borrow if we have to keep borrowing rather to Fund all of these things and we're still expanding the budget We're not seeing this politicians or the government actually cutting their spendings But then they're increasing the budget by at least 1.2 1.3 trillion Naira well, what are your thoughts on this one the deficit the execution concerns over the expanded 28.8 trillion Naira budget The national assembly, you know over the years. I've actually Mustard the art of looking over itself, I mean If you if the increase the increment In in in the in the budgets just signed by mr. President You see is specifically On you know the side of the national assembly. They actually increased their own You know their own budgetary allocation and it is what they've been doing over the years For the past three or four five years They do that every time every time the executives submit a budget On their own part of I mean their own part of the allocations They always increase by trillions of Naira, which is shocking, you know Some of the some of some of the frivolities like I keep saying that the budget for is is for What I call a play area within perhaps the national assembly where they are budgeting for a whooping 4 billion A 4 4 billion for I call that a play area like, you know You know a relaxation area for the senators and the house of verse member at this time Nigerians are groaning, you know, but again Aside that again some of the challenges with our budget over the years is that yes The only thing I will give kudos to in the past four five years Also in Nigeria is the fact that you know over the years before five years ago We are used to passing the budget perhaps in the middle of the year Sometimes may sometimes June or even July when the year is fast spent that is when we pass the budget but this kudos now for the past three four five years We've resorted to say before January 1 or maximum January 1. We have passed the budget that is actually the very I could that's actually the the very best thing I will say about Nigeria's budget in the past four years But in terms of implementation is still very very appalling seriously because we are doing less than 60 to 70 percent Of budget performance every year, which is very poor Seriously, because I know as at December 31st. I mean two days ago You know, I follow tracker a private initiative I follow them every time and I see so many mentioned On their their their handles about things that are budgeted for perhaps some some of them Have been paid for and then outrightly not done Projects not done so many all over Nigeria And you have it's like it's just cut out all over the country Then who is pursuing these things? I mean, why is the ICPC there? Why is the AFCC their Private entities have actually taken the initiative to do the harder job of digging up all these things But yet Nigerian Taxpayers money have been allocated to some people and then projects are not done outright Then some of the project that I even You know Done they are done shabbily. You are located 200 million for Very simple building and what you see is less than Maybe 20 or even 50 million that have been implemented. So we need to go beyond this I I hope this 2024 budget will not be the same as what we've been having in in I mean in in In our previous years It's it's we need this budget to be fully implemented And then we start talking about The impact on the lives of Nigerians because like I said earlier We've been doing poorly in terms of implementation of the budget People or organizations have just been paid keep we keep paying people and then they don't carry out You know the functions. They don't carry out. They don't implement the project and then they go scot-free You know with taxpayers money And some of the some of the very funny things that we see again is that we have perhaps in Nigeria Nigerians budget at this age and time we still budget for utensils at I mean at the state house with three budget for ports plates scarps and so on and so on so many privileges We pay restaurants to carry out Building constructions. It's it's so appalling. So I hope this 2024 budget will be very different Because we need every cobo to be accounted for Nigerians are going through so Much hardship that we need every cobo seriously to be accounted for so that at least The lives of Nigerians will be better as as we keep praying I spray out all the time. We like praying for me. I I I think that is that going to be a time whereby they budget there's a budget of maybe Five trillion and then they come back and they say, you know what we're trying to cut Spendings and we would just want you to give us three trillion Yeah, I repent. I'm not being devil advocates anymore. It will never happen How will they come and say it's it's too much. Let's cut it. I don't see that happening anytime soon Okay, if it will happen, maybe but not now But talking about people going scot-free It is still fresh in our minds in the previous previous administration where some Security chiefs were said to be corrupt and they had done a lot of things that they needed to be sucked But they were they retired and they were given Ambassadorial appointments. We know that is very fresh in our memory But now generals have been promoted and Horewa a body is Quaring the promotion of generals and meet insecurity But we'd like to have your thoughts the generals were just promoted. We are seeing killings in plateau state Where the people even have their frontry to write letters to communities and say we are coming again after killing up to 200 people And they actually went back and killed at least about four people Uh in communities that they wrote letters to so what are your thoughts on the fact that Generals are being promoted even when there is no security in Nigeria Uh, it's it's it's it's actually um, it's happening. Uh, what has been happening across the country It's not only in plateau state. Perhaps the number in plateau state. I mean the plateau state Incidents came to fall because it was a very large number. Yes, but it is across the country. Let's be very honest Again, the thing is this. Yes. We can't fault the promotion I mean of generals because you remember if you appoint a new service, I mean new service chips It means those people on the same rank with these service chips have to go We I mean is is a general Kind of perhaps whether on written or written policies. I mean in the military So because you can't have people on the same rank or the same class now Let me use that word with the service chips because you know in the military you can't be saying You can't be saying sad to your mate. You know what I mean You know, so so these people have to go and then you have to promote others You know to fill in that gap. I think that's what happened because if you remember before even the promotion of the generals You have generals that were retired, you know, uh, and it is because of the elevation of The new service chips, but haven't said that I mean The problem with us is that we actually know what is right or what we needed to do But we are not doing it. You can't keep doing Same thing and then expecting different results Nigeria is just three years old for god's sake, you know And we are said to operate federalism But that this is just merely on paper Now, why do I say so? You can't say a sitting governor for instance in plateau state You know who is said to be the The chief security officer of his state But does not have power over the police does not have power over the military and so on and so forth Things are happening in plateau state in remote areas like for instance the bow coast and so on and so forth And then he has to call maybe abuja to react Even if you think abuja is close is closer is close to uh, what's he called to just and so on and so forth It takes hours our kind of roads and our kind of Topography and so on so we take hours for reaction and then we are always reactive. We are never proactive We've had this crisis separately. This is not the first time two three four five even ten years ago What have we done? What have we implemented? We've had white papers. We've had community sit-ins and so on and so forth What we are running away from Is the fact that we do not want community policy. We do not want state police We do not in fact, you know In my kind of advocacy I talked about even local government policy Yes Because like I said from just to bow coast probably is another one hour or two or three hours where you have perhaps maybe bad road You know people are being killed it took It about 200 people were killed in different areas of the same local government and so on and so forth Imagine it did this didn't happen in just two minutes or 10 minutes Even it must have taken at least one two three hours. What were the response from the military and the and the police almost zero You know, it is almost one week or even more than sorry. Yeah more than one week of this happenings How many were being arrested? You know At two uh, what's he called 24 hours after this We find that state governors were just hooping into um legos to say hello to the president and they were married You know, they were patting like I like I would say for for the xmas period Why 200 people 200 lives already were already lost in play too. Come on. Come on So we must rethink and I think the way forward is state policing and even local government policing We can't run away from that this idea of Making calls to abuja anytime there is crisis here and there We should understand that we need a restructuring and that restructuring means we need Local government policing because it will understand and know the area better than people who are bringing from abuja or elsewhere to come and police Perhaps so koto arms or even or play too So we need to rethink about this and I think it's one of the cardinal thing that the president promised Restructuring so perhaps before he leaves office. These are some of the things We need to sit down on the ground table as Nigerians to discuss and then implement All right, let's look at daily trust and a small headline here says dango tear refinery receives fourth crude shipment On another paper here on the punch. He says dango tear refinery gets fresh 1 million crude barrels So we know dango tear refinery is about to start producing I mean the president even spoke about it in his speech even though I want to believe dango tear is a private Refinery is not part of the government. So I'm wondering why that isn't a president's speech except Maybe dango tear is another arm of the government. We don't know But yes dango tear is about to start Producing and they just received a fresh crude oil of 1 million barrel What is your thought on this and the impacts we're going to have even on our fuel prices Is a good one that at least perhaps the we keep having shifts of Production dates, maybe at least finally, maybe I'm sure sometimes this 2024 will have dango tear refinery producing. I mean refining PMS and other petroleum products for Nigerians to use but in terms of pricing I am not optimistic that it will change anything. Remember dango tear perhaps the crude oil is not buying in Nairo. So I doubt it if you will be selling To government. I mean the nmpc who are in charge now to now dispose of Nigeria. I doubt it will be selling in Nairo I really doubt it. So what will my just be saving perhaps might be the foreign exchange You know, and then when we are saving that it means we are able to You know to use that savings of foreign exchange for other critical sectors like the aviation sector. Remember, we still have more than 700 million plus all the International airlines and so on and so forth, you know people that they are they are their their funds have been trapped in Nigeria For about two years because we actually were actually broke because we don't have enough foreign exchange to To go into that sector. So perhaps if we are saving from dango tear refinery producing We might be able to you know, look at other sectors that are also critical like aviation and so on and so forth that I mentioned And even agriculture But that might be the basic and the only advantage But in terms of pricing crashing I really doubt it because remember dango tear also is not just Coming into business. I mean the petroleum sector is not his first business He's been producing cement for only god knows when in Nigeria and then The price keep skyrocketing, you know, he's producing everything in Nigeria I mean the raw materials is there the whatsoever is there the plant is there, but we don't have it cheap You know, uh, so I don't think uh, there will be any great impact in terms of pricing The only impact I'm seeing is that perhaps it might save Nigeria some foreign exchange Money for us to use in other critical sectors That might be because it isn't saving Nigeria some money because if he's buying in dollars and selling in dollars Is it not the same thing? It just may be the shipping the money for shipping it from overseas down here that will change Yeah, definitely that would be great because you know, if you follow if you follow the trajectory of that The money for shipping the landing course and so on and so forth Actually make some huge difference in foreign exchange Uh Yeah, it's all right. Uh, this is where we'll drop it this morning. It's been a pleasure having you Mohammed on the show Thank you so much for being a part of it. Thank you Thank you very much. My pleasure. Happy new year. I hope you traveled and you are part of the people that I wish we I wish we took we took this headline, but it's okay Okay Well, we're talking with uh, Mohammed Abdullah he a public relations analyst and we'll take a short break and when we return We'll take a hot topic. Stay with us