 Welcome back. It's still the Mindset Monday edition of the program, and it's time for Off the Press. And I must tell you that Opunabor Uncultaria, our political affairs analyst, is standing by to join us to analyze the headlines. So first, let's move to the leadership newspaper. And the leadership newspaper leads with insecurity, hope rises for northern businesses with new service chiefs. The writer there, there are three writers, insecurity hindering revival of region's economy, industrialists. How banditry stalled 30 billion era make factories, Zungeru dams in Niger. IGP meets police squadron today. Details of that is on page four of the leadership newspaper. And you have the strip there on top, 10th National Assembly, Atmabio camp dismisses planned upset in the Senate. You can find details of that also in that newspaper. Labor fears job losses as this goes raise electricity tariffs. That's on the masthead and above the masthead you have Zennid Banks, Adam Wins, CFO of the year. And then you have Hajj all 95,000, 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims to be at Arafat tomorrow. Looking down, you have smaller headlines, Naira. Importers grown as customs raises exchange rate to 589.45 to the dollar. And you have mob kills, man accused of blasphemy in Sokoto. Page six of the leadership is where you find that horrible story of a man who was killed by the mob there. Let's move from the leadership to the nation newspaper. And the nation newspaper leads with why these skills are bent on electricity tariffs increase. AEDC, flotation of Naira exchange makes upward review inevitable. Above the masthead you have Envoy, population of Nigerian students in UK rose by 107,000 in three years. And at the bottom strip you have flood sweeps newly wed man in Ondo. Gunmen abduct nine passengers. Where did that happen? Well, details of all of that you find inside of the nation newspaper. From the nation newspaper, we go to the national economy. The national economy leads with 21 billion dollars divestment in Nigeria's upstream oil sector. Dangerous signal. Stakeholders worry as multinationals capital expenditure in upstream sector drops by 74% in eight years. See more investments production needed. That's the front page of the national economy. The headline there, dangerous signal, it says. And then going down at the lower headlines you have how your fingerprint will change the authentication game. What is that about? You need to pick up the national economy to find that out. Page 10 is where it is. Navigating Nigeria's debt, a prudent approach to sustainable development. Page 12 is where you find details of that. And there is an article there, what you need to know about the new forex regime. That's the much to be taken from the national economy. And we end it with nature news. Nature news leads with why Lagos ranks fourth. Leads liveable city in global index. Page three is where you have details of that. We discussed that on the breakfast on Friday. Lagos ranked fourth. Fourth. Leads liveable city in global index. On the master, you have name a hands over relief materials to families affected by Patigie boat mishap inquirer state. Well, the nation's finalized $100 billion climate aid at Paris summit. Macron, page five is where you find details of that. AFDB assures present a number of support for agriculture and power. Nigeria maintains world stop five open defecation rate for 15 years. That is not a good report. Abuja flooding. Trade more estates residents laments government negligence of drainage channels. Page six is where you have details of that. That's the much to be taken from the headlines of the nature news. And time for me to unveil my guests this morning for off the press upon a war on cotaria. Good morning to you. Open up. Good morning, morning. Good morning, endurance. Well, let's start with the headlines off. You're looking good. Oh, thank you, whenever. Thank you. You are looking good as always, always with your night at delta camp. I'm mistakable. So this burning issue, which the nation is leading with, why discourse are bent on electricity tariff increase? Let's start with that. Okay, excuse me. I, it is still a very largest and justifiable because the company, the discourse are in Nigeria. And we're all aware of the first string economy. And so you don't expect them if, for example, they were buying the diesel, just for example, hypothetically for maybe 700 or their fuel for maybe 700, 189, 198, nine up a liter. And now it has gone up to as much as 520, 530 or whatever it is. You also expect them that that increase in price because it's going to have a domino effect on everything. You have to fill in their cars. They have to, I don't forget most of these people have lots of vehicles. They have maintenance overhead costs and a whole lot of things, payment of workers and everything. So they will definitely increase the prices or whatever they, what is it called again? Sorry. Sorry. What is this thing called? Yeah. Tartarus. Yes. In order to meet the demands of running the office, sustaining the company. So I don't blame them whatsoever. And you can remind the stratospheric increase in the cost of fuel. A lot of people have packed their cars and so many because you already live in a country where we have an economy that is exceedingly inflammatory. You don't. So you don't blame anybody like the market to anybody. But my own worry is that when you increase your tariffs, let us have commensurate reward. There should be productivity. Let us have that light we are paying for. Because even now we don't have, most times, especially for those using estimated and not on the estimated bill, they suffer most. It's terrible with estimated billing. It's terrible. You are paying, in most cases, five times more than what you ought to pay. That is the truth about it. So if they come and show permanent supply of power, if we can get, even if we get, let's say, 15 hours a day, I tell you Nigeria's will be very happy. And the micro-industries will grow. But that is not the case. Like in my house that I was shocked when I saw light this morning. As we are entirely discussing, there are my repair outputs. I had to move from Mr. to these smaller generators because you can't really afford it. Now even with the smaller generators that we thought, we are going to be cheaper, we are talking about the 90 VA's and so on. I can say that you can power your AC and some freedoms. Even though it was that, Telugu has made it impossible for us to use, with the so-called removal of subsidy. In actual fact, in actual fact, the money you said you were easy to subsidize, if you had maintained our refinements, if you had stopped paying workers, the MNP, the MNPs, the MNPs and all those things, who would have had a bite that came from the so-called forces. But because the last president, Dr. Mohammad Udwal, was part of that so-called cattle, if you are not part of the cattle, you would have named and shun them. Because he was also the not just the president, but the minister for petroleum companies. And for 80 years he did not name, he did not shun members of that so-called cattle. So you were part of it. And you were paying for turnaround maintenance. In addition to the salaries and so on, you were paying. Is that not fraud? You are maintaining a comatose industry. You are maintaining. And you are paying people salaries to, to flatten new working in an industry that is not working. Yeah, that's why Nigerians, Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see how President Tenubu is going to investigate that sector. Haven't suspended the CBN governor. I pray he's not part of it. I pray he's not part of it. Because he was leader of the APC as to when the president, what his excuse will be, I can only advise from the outside. It is up to the president to accept or reject the advice. That is his only excuse. Now, if that is going to be his excuse, then let him prove. We are not saying somebody must be indicted. That's not what I say. But it should be an open and transparent proof so that Nigerians will know if actually there was fraud in that sector and not. And if there were, then the corporate is going to be brought to work. That is what you want. Not just under Bwari. Not just under Bwari. Under all administration. Not just under Bwari. From when the refineries stopped working. The president is in office. From when they stopped working. I don't want to say it was Bwari. But for 80 years, you could not address the substitution by fixing a refinery that we saw, sorry, that Dan Gote built in how many years. Okay, why were we touching that? Yes, why were on that? Let's look at this headline just to post them. Let's look at this headline on national economy. $21 billion divestment in Nigeria's upstream oil sector. Dangerous signal. Maybe I should take the riders again. No, no, no, no. Okay, okay. You want to take the otherwise? Yes. Okay, go ahead. Doing business in Nigeria has become more complicated than that. The issue of diversity, it didn't just start. I think I think about some years back, some years back, about three, four years, about five years. Was it on that journal? I forgot. But it didn't just start. One has to be very honest. But this is when you have a volatile forex. It becomes almost difficult for international businessmen to function because they have projections. They're not as rudderless as Nigerians. If you go to the UK, you go to the US, there are projections. They might not be too sure of the exchanges, so to speak, even though to a very large extent they can be contained back. But they might not be too sure. But there is a range. Worst case scenario is going to be this. I'm not an economist, but it's just simple logic. Worst case scenario is going to be this. So let us take the worst and work with it. I don't know if you understand what I'm saying. That if the environment becomes conducive, then it becomes a willful. So I have no point in that. But you can't do that in this part of the world. You can't do that. You can't do that. This is aside from the problems with the issue of militancy, ban, disease, and so on. That is also part of the problem conflated the hosting. We agree. But even the government itself is also responsible because you don't have a policy. You run the government without policies. You just get up in the morning and decide, okay, look at they said by end of June, people had prepared their mind. All of a sudden, May 29, you got up and my fear decreed. Because it was not in the budget of this year. It was not in the budget of this year, but your predecessor managed it to the point. There was nothing on ground to pallate the aspirations of the removal of the hostages. So the business environment becomes hostile. And what do you want them to do? Every businessman wants to make money. So when the environment is hostile, he leaves. He leaves. And that is why there's a lot of the digest. He leaves. That's the truth about it. And now, taking us back to the very first hot topic, the very first headline we talked about, which is how to do with the tariff in electricity. The leadership also has something in that regard. The label fears job losses as this goes raise electricity tariffs. It is a holistic thing. First and foremost to the consumers, the issue of scale of preference comes in, opportunity costs. Even in your establishment, if they have to pay for electricity, which is mandatory, which is compulsive, without it you can't fund it. But I believe that you are constantly on gen anyway, because it is difficult to have a broadcast situation and depend on never. You're definitely on gen. Now, yes, now you can imagine with the increasing, I'm trying to liken it now, with the increase in, of course you're using diesel. But hypothetically, once let's assume you were using petrol, PMS. Now, with that increase in price, there has to be opportunity costs. You're going to lay off some workers. Not because they are not good enough on the job. They probably are square person square workers. But the issue is you have to pay them. Right now, they even pay salaries. It's a problem in most establishments. It's a problem. Most establishments are, the people are being owed. I know of a sister station. They will just give you the ID card and tell you, well, this is your food. Don't bother me. And most times when they go out, they go out, very popular. I can't mention them. So they depend on what they get from outside. That is the truth. So in this particular instance, it's definitely going to have an effect on the establishment. Then they will lay off the workers. They will definitely lay off workers because they cannot afford it. So what do they do? They lay off workers. Those two ones working there are automatically pushed into the labor market. Not only the discourse. It will affect every other stratum of the economy, of the society. Every stratum of the society. We all go to the same market. We all go to the same markets. Yeah. Economic reforms are sometimes inevitable, especially for a new administration. But what we are worried about is if it's not happening way too suddenly, I was discussing with a guest on Friday, this same issue of possible 40% increase in this, you know, billings. And I was saying, because there is a talk of the subsidy being removed. You are talking about the tariffs now? Exactly. The tariffs. The subsidy being removed. So all this removal of tariffs, subsidy back to back, back to back, one would have thought that as we carry out these reforms, we do it one after the other to give Nigerians enough time to absorb, to adjust. But it does appear that it's happening in such a way that Nigerians feel so they are gasping for breath. They are gasping for breath. Oh, I like, I like, I like, I like that expression. We are gasping for breath. You see, I will tell you something more interesting. That's, it has to do with leaders, kind of leadership. You know, a lot of our leaders have, what I refer to as intellectual and women, they get up in the morning without giving a penetrating thought to the steps or actions they want to do. And the effects on Nigeria and Nigerians on Nigerians on Nigerians. They just bring you to action. You know why? Because they are not directly affected. The president will not buy food. He buys not right now, we feed him. Anything, even if the debt is going to buy from today, will be bought by the, by the Nigerians. Everything. It's not affected, it doesn't feel it. So, call us, call us, they wake up in the morning and all these officials go surrounding him because of what they get from him. And those who want to intercede themselves with him, will support him. When we're in their bedroom, they are condemning him. They are condemning him. Now, the problem is lack of leadership. How can you get up without of the subsidy? People were preparing for June 1st. You get up May 29th. They gave a very difficult excuse. But you would have asked your predecessor why he did not remove the subsidy. Why he handed over or transferred that body. And just one more question. Now, you look at the tariffs. You will not blame them by their own little just honest. Yeah, we are, we are, we are. My only ground is that the, even when we pay, we don't have the electricity. That is it. That is all the ground. The only liability of the greed, the, the greed has been a major issue. The greed. Are you trying to do into the greed? The human beings. The human beings. They are exploiting us. This character is exploiting ideas. We pay heavily for electricity that we don't even get. So it has not to do the greed. I don't believe in excuses more than in my life. It's not, it's not an excuse, but it's what we are told. Oftentimes you find that the greed collapses. We generate to a certain level and we hear that the greed has collapsed. Ask yourself a simple question. Why is it that it's only Nigeria that we have the greed collapse? Exactly. You ask yourself that. Why is it that it's only Nigeria that the dance are doing this. The dance dry up. Why did you factor on all these things? Why did you factor on them? Okay, then why should I pay for what I'm not, what I'm not a politician? So if the greed collapses, then let me reduce my tariffs. Because you're not giving me electricity. You're not providing electricity. We take that period. So reduce my tariffs. Why will they be constant? Well, now that the states can generate and distribute and, you know, let's hope that. Let me see what my state, let me see what my state government will do. Exactly. Undoubtedly. Yes, undoubtedly. The problem I have was distribution. I just hope those facilities are still there. Because with this new act now, we should have constant power supply diversity. And indeed across the country. Indeed across the country. Well, I don't know what the last, I don't know what the last state is doing, but I'm talking about, you ask, I couldn't believe it was enough as a government. The only problem we had was the issue of distribution because of the law inhibiting states from distributing. Now that has been moved. So I hope, yes, I hope that those facilities are still in place and maintained all the way net in 2007. I don't, you see, you understand what I'm trying to say. Yes, I know. I don't know. Because, yes, if they are, if they are being maintained, or if they can be serviced in less than three, six months maximum, we would have a state to be distributing and we should have constant power supply. Because not only have done everything and he left in 2007, you know. All right. So Legos ranks, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. But I said my job is starting. I know you take down some time, maybe a year or a year about, with any government I see. But the reverse is all we need to do is just to service. Probably they must have stolen everything. That's if they've not stolen everything there. Well, let's go to Well, the nation's finalized $100 billion climate aid at Paris summit, talking about that global finance impact summit that took place in Paris last week. Global warming? No, the global warming. No, global finance impact summit that took place in Paris last week. In Paris last week? Yeah, President Nubu was in Paris for that summit, where they went to talk about how to reduce poverty and the adverse effect of climate change, you know, on the world and the financial system. That's what I said. That's what I said. That's how we do the climate change summit or whatever it is. The one that our president mentioned. Yes. Okay, what's the question? What's the question? Yeah, the headline here from Nature News is talking about how the wealthy nations finalized $100 billion climate aid at the Paris summit. And that's quoting Emmanuel Macron of France. I know, yes, but it's not new. This is not the first time that we have such summits, but the effect, the impact of the summit. We've had all kinds of summits, we've had all kinds of conferences and everything. These things are put into practice in civilized clans. Yeah, whenever we get such ease, it goes into private pockets. I ask you a simple question, which is going to be rhetoric. I don't suspect an answer. So how many times, how many times have we used foreign aid for the very purposes they were made? You find out that in most cases, because most times I'm meant to assist the poor, almost all. You see that the IDPs, you see that the economy, the targets as a problem. What happens? Our ministers, agencies who just take this money, come up with bogus, you go like this, go feed them, see a program. Even when students were at home, the ministry and the minister were feeding students in their parents' houses that we could not see spirits. They fed spirits and so forth. That we could not see. Students were in their houses. Schools were closed, they were feeding. No one came to my house. Let me say that. Don't bother. They didn't go to your house, but I know whether you agree or not, they didn't go to your house. Of course they didn't. And I do not know anyone whose house they went to. But the thing is this, Oppunabou, we're going to continue to hear stories like this. If something is not done, to bring those who have given us these false stories to book. Thank you. That is where we are happy with what the progression of going on in the MDAs, what Oppunabou does it. Now, you shouldn't end at that. You should be investigated. And everybody found wanted to be run to book. That is it. But that is the only deterrent we can have. Like the issue of Bawa. But I'm waiting for Tinnibu to do that with Aenec Chairman. Because you don't cherry-pick in the administration of justice. Definitely. What is going on in the tribuna, it is obvious that the chairman was compromised. He has refused to even honor any summons. So let it cut across both. The tempest of justice must not be fixed. Let it cut across both. So back to the issue of the Congress. I am not really excited. I am not. Because when the monies are released, at the end of the day, what these international donations do is that they budget for countries, especially the African countries, the poor nations. But when these things are released, I can tell you now that the conference to be dosenest last week, I can tell you now that our weather will get hotter. I can tell you that the agendas will be poorer because those monies will be used to feather people's pockets. And not for the very purpose they have been set aside. I can tell you that. So those conferences don't mean anything to me. Tinnibu are telling me because it's the president. So you just attend them. I don't really believe that you really understand what they are saying there. You just let me attend. The president has to attend them. I have been invited. So let me attend. If you really understand what went on there, then implement it to your country. That is the only time I know and I agree that you understood what went on there. That does go like Buaritra would run the wall and came back to match it. Buaritra did what they did, what they did not enjoy as the military had to say, I must enjoy it now. Even if a conditional doctor was Well, President Tinnibu was there. President Tinnibu was there and President Tinnibu was there. Had had some meetings with Nigerians in Europe on the you know, on the sideline of that event. Had some meetings with people marketed Nigeria to would be investors, letting them know his policies and how sustainable those policies are and how they should come and invest in Nigeria. Very good. Very good. Very good. Very good. Just tell the one president that left his country to demarcate the country. He said, didn't you help? They said, actions to slaughter them. It's not right going to say, if I come to you now to tell you now that the forest is beautiful, you can live in that forest. Oh, there's no problem. Well, you know that there are dangerous animals there for a living. It's actions to slaughter them. But if you come and you see that the forest is well taken care of, it's an inviting environment. Nobody will tell you because you know that there are no snakes. Those in charge of all this animal would have taken care of them. No rodents, no this. Beautiful houses or tents or whatever I call them. Maybe I'm talking of maybe going on holidays, going to camp or something. You know, nobody will tell you. You just go in. Nobody will tell you. So you don't need to go and market Nigeria. These people you're talking to are in the world. They see what is going on in the country. They're on their own. It's American marketing. Well, the way Nigeria has been demarcated over the years. President, it's not the head of Dubai. I don't know what they are called. I don't know anything about Dubai. Well, it is only what happens. There's people see and they go. Because your marketing means there's a problem. We have a peculiar situation in Nigeria. Nigeria's image has been batted over the years. And yes, there is need for, we've had, you've seen capital flight over the years. We've seen the brain drain. So there is need for someone to go out there and say to people like that, we are cleaning up our house. We are cleaning up our house. The atmosphere is changing. The environment is changing for investors. Come in and see what you can achieve with the new situation on the ground. Now, let me say this. Nigeria is a beautiful country. I am now in charge. The economy is going to improve everything. The amount of talking starts at 211, but swell for 80 Naira per liter. Now he asked, okay, Nigeria, the economy is going to improve. So how much is your PMS going to have 50 Naira per liter? And what did he say you should go and examine your head? He would leave me scared. He would leave me scared sitting with you because you might just sit inside or something. Like something that they don't do. He might, he, for example, now you come and tell me, maybe I leave now and you come to me to sit and you call the, when I left, it was 18 Naira per liter. Now you tell me, how much is it like 500 Naira per liter? I would just tell you, sorry, let please myself. And I will go because I don't know if there's something on your head. Openable, we have to keep hope alive. We have to keep hope alive. We've been told that market forces will stabilise the prices and bring them down. And so we keep hope alive and look forward to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. What an economist. Oh, thank you. Thank you. That's as much we'll be able to take. It could be a fire light that will burn you. It could be natural light. So it depends on the light. No, we're expecting the good light. A good light that will illuminate the country and make Nigeria good for everyone. That's our hope, a better country. It depends on the touch of Naira. It depends on the touch of Naira. Well, Opunabwa Unko Taria, thank you so much for your time. It's always good to have you on Monday. Join us. Pleasure, beautiful morning. It's a pleasure, beautiful morning. And this is a beautiful morning. No, I said beautiful morning. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day, Opunabwa. Okay, all right there. Well, that was Opunabwa Unko Taria joining us from River State to analyse the headlines of the national dailies this morning on the breakfast. The breakfast continues on Plus TV Africa. Stay with us. There is a realisation that it cannot continue this way. We have what it takes to fix it. And the conversation has already begun on what do we realistically do to be able to get the Africa Union to take charge of their affairs of our continent. Let me give you a case in point. We decided, for example, that we are going to assemble our market using the Africa Continental Free Trade Area market. Yes, that's a good decision. And the positive thing is that it was unbelievable at the rate at which we were able to achieve consensus and we were able to achieve ratification. And I want to tell you it is among the things that happen in the shortest time possible. It tells you there is greater realisation that unless we act in concert, unless we act together, we are unlikely to make any impact anywhere. How many? We have at least on the market issue we have put that together. There is a debate that is going to evolve. Like, for example, we have also decided that if we're not going to be business as usual, we have these meetings, Africa-U.S. meeting, Africa-Europe, Africa-Turkey, Africa-India. Now we are waiting for, there is another one, Africa-Russia. And Africa-Japan. And Africa-Japan. We have made the decision that it is not intelligent for 54 of us to go and sit before one gentleman from another place. And sometimes we are mistreated. You know, we are loaded into buses like school cheats. And it's not right. Well, you are summoned, you know. It's not right. So the decision that we have made as AU is that going forward, if there is going to be a discussion between Africa and any other country, we are going to be represented by the chair, the outgoing chair, the bureau, let us say. Chair of the commission and the chair of the Rex. And we have five Rex. That should be sufficient for, I mean, a meeting of maybe six, seven, maybe six, seven. That should be able to represent Africa. And that is the position I am taking as the president of Kenya. For any other meeting that we are going to have with all these requests that we have a meeting between Africa and one other country. We respect the sovereignty of others. I think to ask for, to be for reciprocation is not to ask for too much. And for us to agree that let us have this kind of setup. The only, because I had a conversation with President Kagame, and he actually led that particular position. I have had a conversation with Prime Minister Abi. He believes very strongly that that should be the position of our continent. Because as you have said, if we don't respect ourselves, nobody is going to respect us. And we should be able to take that kind of decision. And part of that respecting ourselves is when we say African problems, African solutions. We must be serious about the solutions. It cannot be rhetoric. It cannot be talk. It must be accompanied by what realistically and practically we are doing. And with our capacity. Yeah. No, this is wonderful. But what's just one question. Why are you having this discussion in closed rooms? Why don't you bring civil society, all those people in this discussion? Because we can also put good pressure on our leaders or whatever to behave in a better way. African people need to tell the presidents we care about Africa. That should be a priority. Unless we act really together, it doesn't work. And in the reform agenda of the African Union, if you and your colleagues are proceeding in that way, they need to be really a serious discussion about the structures. And how Africa is... One problem is African countries refuse to see any sovereignty to the African Union.