 We're glad to know that you're still there and watching the run-up. Now we're concerned about the budget. We've talked about the budget a few days ago, but we remember that a total budget deficit under the President Muhammad Abu-Hari is said to be going to 47.43 trillion naira according to an analysis of the federal government's data from the budget office of the Federation. The budget data covers the actual budget deficit and projections for 2015 up to 2023 fiscal years. And according to data, deficit financing has risen by 370.54 percent from 2.41 trillion naira in 2016 to 11.34 trillion naira in 2023. We're now joined by Dr. Chinwike Uba. Hello and welcome to the program, Dr. Uba. Hello. Thank you for having me on your program today. Well, we have a few bullet points from your write-up that we had the privilege to see. We may touch some of these specifically, but in a broad sense help us to understand, doctor. In your words, you said 2023 federal government of Nigeria budget figures are unrealistic and not in agreement with budget objectives. Work us through how you came to this conclusion in a layman's terms. Yeah, if you look at the budget, the present in his budget species is a budget of fiscal consolidation and income administration, but by the time you look at the budgets, I did say that you don't consolidate your fiscal operations of fiscal states by spending more on consumption and as you just stated a few minutes ago, our budget deficit has been widening since 2015, but the major problem is not that we are having a budget deficit that is financed through borrowing, both domestic and external world paying, but the major problem is that most of the borrowing or deficit or the money is used to finance recurrent expenditure, whereas the law says that for every borrowing that the government compress, it should be used to finance capital investments and human development. That we have seen the weighted average of the borrowing that we have had in the past about just about 28 percent of it has been used to finance capital investment and human development, so about 70 percent of that are about where utilized to funding recurrent expenditure, specifically personnel, recurrent and also debt service payments. And you find that also that when you look at the budget performance in the past, in terms of revenue and expenditure, we have never had a revenue performance that is above 70. Last year, as of November 2022, which we just had one month left, the revenue performance is about 60 percent, and most of the revenue sources are on that performance, even out 25 percent, so that gives an indication that the projections that have been made both on the revenue side and the expenditure side are quite unrealistic. But also, when the economy is currently facing very harsh conditions, as I did say, we have over 133 million per person that are in abject poverty, not just financial poverty, but abject poverty. The literacy rate is also on the high side, so it becomes increasingly impossible to meet those revenue projections, and we can't also continue growing. Yes, we might be credit worthy to reasonable extent, but you can see, based on World Bank and IMF projections, you might not be able even to assess the fund that we have projected to assess to finance the deficit. Moreover, the ways and means growing that we have, as of last year in November, we have paid about 1.5 trillion in interest on ways and means, and that is causing, is part of the things that are contributing to the inflation that we have, and inflation also is expected to rise, even when the government has said that they are projecting to be at 17.1 percent, or currently we are already at 21. something, and like I did say in that statement I issued, inflation will keep increasing. Moreover, when they have secretly increased electricity tariff, we also fail with poor scarcity, and the price of fuel is expected to increase, we expressed fraud last year, which also will impact on food prices and others. All these things means that we are not projecting well. Secondly, all your outputs last year have raised to 1.2 to 1 bar per day, and the government is projecting 1.69 for 2023, and I ask, how would that happen? What magic would they do in order, so it shows that we are very ambitious, we have increased the revenue projections in order to balance our budget, so to say, which I think is not the right thing to do at this moment. Bayo, over to you please. I just one question because at the time, he has almost given us everything that we want. Just one question for you Bayo. Okay, Dr. Oba, thank you once again. Just from my perspective, one question actually, and this has to do with, I don't know if you've addressed it before, since 1999, we realized that in every transitional year, the outgoing government will make his budget for the whole year. Okay, so what the Bahá'í administration is doing is consistent with what we've seen before, it's budgeted for the whole of 2023, even though the administration will live in May 2029. Now, the incoming administration at federal and state level, since 1999, they always send a supplementary budget to the National Assembly once they are sworn in, and I may be wrong, but I haven't noticed if there is any agency of government which tries to ensure compactivity in these two budgets in the transitional year, and given the concerns you have raised, will you foresee any challenges as we transit in 2023? Yeah, already there is a challenge, you know, staring at us in the face. It depends on what the policy thoughts of the incoming administration will be. The truth is that they are going to face serious fiscal challenges, except that they adopt a difference, you know, approaches or strategies in terms of showing up the capital days and also ensuring that the businesses in the enterprise. Part of the problem we are having now is that you can see that the revenue, the strength, even though we say that not only revenue is improving, but from where? It's more of half revenue, which you're overboding businesses and the individuals with tasks when their profits and income is shrinking. So it's just a matter of time before they will revolt over these things. So what I would expect the incoming administration to do is to find a way to encourage businesses by making the business environment more friendly, such that new businesses will thrive. And part of the things that I think needs to happen quickly as soon as the new administration comes in is to also provide the necessary enabling environment. I did say in that statement I issued that you can see that most of our manufacturing industries are dead and even some few are diverse, even multinational industries are diversifying from the country. And that is also the business environment we find ourselves. Just one policy cross and not just a executive order because most of the executive orders can be neglected, even though laws are also being fragmented, is to make sure that certain goods, I don't think that there's any federal or state MDAs that is using locally manufactured cars, all of them import cars. If we cannot jumpstart our automobile industry by having a policy that makes it compulsory that all government MDAs must patronize locally manufactured vehicles. I'm not just talking about assemblage alone, but manufacturing. What that would do us is that it would create the kind of employment that we need as well as also bringing the kind of policy without taking those funds outside the country. Already we are bedeviled with so much demand for forest. So when you do these those things that it keeps, it helps our Naira to appreciate that while also creating employment and also reducing poverty and enemies. This is the one that can be done as a quick mean. It's also the test files. If you watch before now, we have a lot of test file industries in the north that we are thriving, but all of a sudden all of them are dead because we, everyone of us who wants to wear clothes that are imported from Turkey, China and all the rest of it all. A government policy that will encourage all schools in Nigeria. I mean, even government personnel, those we are paying with our passes, should always patronize locally made fabrics. If we do that, automatically we have created the market for locally produced fabrics in our climb. You can also give them a task holiday. I'll provide interest free loads where you want you want to monitor them. And I said, I didn't say that also. Instead of sebbian, you know, dashing money to big organizations, you can give low interest loads or grantee loads to corporatives that are managed that have been trained and for whose uh uh proposals of business operations has been audited and satisfied to be okay. You know, you give them low interest free loans and monitor them because those are the kinds of organizations that will create the needed jobs and also help us to, you know, jumpstart the airline economy. So for me, it depends on what the incoming administration wants to achieve, but we can't continue on the trajectory that we are now. If we continue on this trajectory, the challenges will be even worse, you know, in the next couple of because we are subsidizing patrol. You know, it's a chicken and egg. If you say remove immediately, based on perception is not so that is the reality. Based on perception, it's found that the prices of goods and services will even skyrocket so high, you know, not in tandem with the removal of we all are buying in a new glass at this money. We are buying fuel at 400 and something. Yeah, but people are not really complaining so much. But as soon as that announcement comes from the government, you find out that prices will just, you know, move up so high. So it depends on what the new administration intends to achieve, but I think they must find a way to encourage local businesses and the people in the country become more productive by creating the enabling environments through policies and laws and policies and laws that will be implemented without being flagratted. Dr, there's so much when we're talking about how to improve our economy and improve the livelihood of Nigerians. And we'd like to thank you. We cannot have enough time to deal with all that, but we're sure that before the next administration comes in, we'll have opportunities to talk and set agenda as it were for all of us to be on the same page as we move into the next phase of our existence as a country as it were. We'd like to say thank you so much for coming on the show today. Thank you. And bio, our time is up. We would have had a lot to say as well, but your final goodbyes. I mean, today's edition has been quite informative and unbalanced, you know, so it's been a pleasure, you know, being a part of the program. Okay. Well, from all of us, the run-up family, we're saying thank you to you for being there. Remember, elections are coming. Do the right thing. We heard some other people saying that we're just going to vote for someone that we know will win, even if it's going to be a disaster. Well, that should not be the mindset you go into the election with. You should go knowing that you are voting your conscience and you're voting who you think can make Nigeria good, no matter where he comes from, no matter what he believes. So long as he believes in Nigeria, that should be your choice. Anyway, my name is Nyangul Akgaji. Let's do it again on Monday. Bye for now.