 A very good morning to you. You're welcome to the breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. My name is Roman Paulson. And my name is Nyam Ghul at KG. It's a wonderful Tuesday morning and we're very happy to know that you are there and watching us. Today we'll be looking at existing oil firms, how the polluted Niger Delta will pay 36.1 million litres of crude oil in eight years and also we'll be looking at navigating the dollar inflation with rights of software for your business. So let's see how technology is going to help us to navigate around what is happening in our economy right now. Yes, we'll also be looking at what the national dailies are saying this morning as well as some top trending stories. So just sit in. We are here for a ride. Nyam Ghul, how was your weekend? My weekend was fine. How was the Afghan Well, Afghan was Afghan. Like I said the other day, I wouldn't mind even if Ivory Coast won and they won. It's not as if I don't want as a Nigerian for our country to win but the story of Ivory Coast is a very inspiring story. So the fact that they won, they deserved it. Yes and honestly I watched the game. I think they played a very good game. We had a lot of something possession. They literally do it on our heels and I think they really deserved it and there was this guy, the Sebastian Hallow guy that beat cancer, come back to take them to the finals and become the winners of the Afghan 2023. So like you said, it was a very good and inspiring story. I wish we had won as Nigerians but it's okay. But there was something I saw on social media yesterday. Someone had made a made a message like a comment or something and said this showed the importance of being able to share wins because as Nigerians most times we always want to be the winners. So when it comes to Africa we're like what a giant of Africa no one comes close. It's okay to be competitive. It's okay for you to say I want to win all the time. But something that he said that was interesting was when you do that then you become the target and when you put a target on your back every other African country is coming for you. So it's okay for you to be the big brother and share the wins or you know pull them with you and say okay you know what these are the ways to go these are what you can do and when we celebrate each other when we share those wins the target is not on your back and when you win I mean other people are also going to cheer you too. I thought that was quite interesting. You're not talking to Nigerians because Nigerians will drag everybody. Before the match I also saw something on X where someone wrote that super heroes share you know share one and no say we don't drag every country so that's Nigeria for you and all that and then after the win and a South African said can we have our piano back you know like Nigeria has taken everything now that they have been won can we have our piano back but that's just the fun of it. Nigeria lost but I don't think we really lost lost we didn't get the trophy we didn't get the trophy but we won. Nigerians are so funny I saw on social media people were like oh the coffee is not even fine self don't worry we're okay with the silver. Is it the smoke boom we'll be killing ourselves again. Oh my god I had a good laugh. Congratulations to Ivory Coast and congratulations tonight. That's right. A lot of odds were against our boys but they got to the finals. Oh my god the stadium was orange. You could barely see green. The stadium was. There was also talk that Nigerian fans were not sold. Yes because they knew if our fans were in that stadium the way they should have been maybe the narrative would have been different. Because I think I think the super heroes did a good job. It's not easy playing in a coastal environment for instance you are in another nation. The stadium is filled with those people. Guess what they're going to be chanting. They'll probably say you would not kick the ball in. They would be chanting so many things that could actually start to demoralize you or mess with your head. So but I think they still did a good job especially with the lead that they had in the beginning. I wish they put another one. I'm like can you just get another goal before these people equalizes. But I mean enough about football. The Afghans come and go. Congratulations Nigeria. Congratulations to them. All right let's take our quote of the day and just see what we have in store. And technology revolutionize our lives but memory, tradition and myth frame our response. And this is from Otto Schlesinger. He's an historian. He says science and technology revolutionize our lives but memory, tradition and myth frame our response. What do you think of that one? It's quite deep though. It is deep. It is deep. Science and technology. Well yeah our lives have changed a lot because of technology especially because of science because a lot of things that our forefathers may have seen as coming from the gods as a punishment or something. Science has given us the opportunity to yesterday in church that we're reading about lepers being cast out. You have to be somewhere else. It is a result of sin and all that. Today we know that even lepers can live among us and become as useful as any other person. So we've seen a lot of things but like they say tradition meets and the way you were raised, the way you were brought up will show how you respond to this innovation that is coming up and this revolutionizing of the world is coming up. So response is very very critical and it is the response that leads to good or bad. It's not what you begin. Because sometimes we take technology overboard. So when I read this that it says science and technology revolutionize our lives. I mean you're doing something different something that has never been done before. So that's like a revolution. But the memory that you have, the tradition, the myth, the things that you've heard. But I will always tell you remember who's daughter you are. Do you understand? Yes. So that keeps you in check. For instance I can say I want to take science and start to build bombs. But when I realize that that is not good and what my parents have said or the tradition that we know that okay there are certain things we cannot do. You know that you can't use technology for such evil act. Do you understand? So that frames your response like okay no. Instead I should use it for a better cause and that's what technology should be about. When it's to revolutionize your life it is for you to say I'm using it for a better cause. I'm using it to make humanity better. I'm using it to make our lives better. So really that frames our response. So I mean it's also is why science and technology revolutionize our lives. But the traditions that we have, the memory, the myth, they frame our response. And I think that is a very good quote this morning. So today is Tuesday so we talk technology, we talk science. So it's a very up one today. But let's go to our top trending stories. So our first top trending story is a large six billion dollar fraud are going to ask court to prohibit EFCC from trying him. Justice Jude, of a federal Capital High Territory Court in Abuja has declined to hear the preliminary objection by the former Minister of Power, Minister Olu Agulio. Mr. Olu Agulio challenging the power of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to prosecute him on the alleged six billion dollar hydroelectric power station fraud. The judge held that the application was not ripe for hearing. He subsequently adjourned the matter till February 26, 2024. In a preliminary objection, Agulio is seeking an order prohibiting the EFCC from further prosecuting the instant charge against him. Agulio also said the alleged offenses in the charge were on his activities as a public officer, where it was alleged to have awarded the contracts without budget through provision, approver and cash backing. A father said that another of the charges bothered alleged disobedience of the directives of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and forgery of a letter dated May 22, 2003. Mr. Agulio was arraigned on a seven-count charge, bordering on the fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption in January 2024. Is this even possible? Why do you, how do you go to a cause and say, please tell the EFCC not to try me? Well, it's a tradition here in Nigeria. Everybody just goes there and says, let them not have an injunction against the trial and all that. If you're, if you're guilty, or if you're, you know, why will you even prevent that? Whoever is coming to try you say, okay, I'm open. I see in other countries, once there's an allegation, even presidents resign and say, okay, let me give room for investigation and everything. And everybody, you can try me if you, if you think there's something against me. But in Nigeria, you get an injunction. So I believe that in some other countries, integrity trumps every other thing, integrity trumps position. So that's why you will see maybe a precedent or anyone who has a political position would resign or even most times help the investigation. They will tell you, you know what? Call me anything that you need, any information that you need, I'm willing to give it to you, because they understand the power of integrity and they don't want a situation whereby people don't trust them anymore. So they want to be transparent. They are open to be transparent to you to tell you, okay, these are the things I've done. If we're talking about fraud, oh, I did not commit any fraud, but you cannot start to tell the EFCC that or you cannot start to tell the court to, to, you know, put an injunction on the EFCC, not to try you. Then my question now is, what are you hiding? If you're saying no one should try you, that means you're guilty. So you've even come out to already make yourself guilty or make yourself look guilty, even though they say, you know, you're not guilty until, until charged, but was it proven guilty? Yes, you have to be proven guilty. But what you've just done by coming forward like this, you're just telling people like, I have skeleton in my cupboards. So please don't check, don't check my skeletons. If someone comes to tell me, you are a woman, and you're a girl, and I know I'm not. You would want to prove to go and try. You should try. I'll just tell you, I am not. And then you use all the mechanisms that you want to probe to see whether I am a girl or I am rooming. But if I come to tell you, okay, stop him, don't make him come and check and all that means something there. And a lot of people, especially the politicians, do this. They get injunctions against prosecution. They go here. You don't have, you're not competent to try me. Your, the time is not. What do they even mean? What do they even mean? The court, what did the court even mean by saying the case was not ripe enough. A case that should have started 2003. It's not ripe enough. That means EFCC has still not done enough investigation or what. I don't understand what that is. So let me just leave it there. But whoever is guilty or whoever is innocent or feels innocent should just be open to the people to do the probing. Let's see what comes out. And everybody will clap for you if we find out later that you were just being witch hunted or you were innocent and people were just trying to drag your name in the mud. We'll applaud you. So I don't know why this thing. I think it's important that we look into trust. We look into some, some character development that we should have because integrity is super important. You don't want people to drag your name in the mud. The holy book, I am a Christian and the holy book will say, you know, a good name is better than riches. So that good name is important for you. You don't want a situation whereby people would say, oh, look at that man. He's a fraud star or he went and you know, he siphoned all public funds. You want a situation that even if a whiff comes, they will say, no, we trust this person because he has been tried. We've seen him. He's been investigated. The court says this, but when you start to hide things or tell me that, no, I shouldn't be tried then, it just makes me question who you are and your character really. But also we'll have to question also who the courts are because sometimes you're just afraid that no matter how innocent you are, you just might be framed because of some political interests or some other interests that may be beyond you. That's how we need credibility on all fronts. So all the trust is on all fronts. Yeah. So our next one is on organized labor. The organized private sector, Akiti, Sokoto and other states have faltered the demand by the Nigeria Labor Congress for one million Naira minimum wage, stating that it is not realistic. The NLC president, Joe Ajayro in an interview on Monday said the organized labor might ask for one million Naira during the minimum wage negotiations with the federal government if the value of the Naira continued to plummet. Reaction or reacting to the proposal, the minister of information and national orientation, Idris Muhammad said the federal government would make every reasonable decision in line with national interest and after due consideration of available resources and other factors. In the past months, the cost of goods and services has skyrocketed following the removal of the fuel subsidy while the value of the Naira had continued to fall due to the forex crisis. The NLC and trade union congress had earlier pegged the minimum wage demand at 200,000 Naira but the NLC president in his Monday interview argued that the flood inflation and high cost of living had made their previous demand unrealistic. When actually the union's demand for a living wage could be as high as one million Naira, Ajaira said this one million Naira may be relevant if the value of the Naira continues to depreciate if the inflation continues. Elaminated prices of foodstuff were getting out of reach, adding that the organized labor would not accept to get a minimum wage that would not be enough for transportation even for one week. Speaking further, the labor leader complained about the failure of the federal government to fulfill the agreement signed with organized labor last October, noting that it had not fully implemented the 35,000 Naira wage award which was to be paid to federal workers for six months. He claimed that only one month of the 35,000 Naira was paid to civil servants. He also claimed that there was no evidence of payment of any 25,000 Naira paid as palliatives to workers. That's what led to what's happening in the humanitarian ministry. Speaking on the delay in consulting or constituting the minimum wage committee, Ajero recalled that the old minimum wage will expire by April, noting that the government ought to have set up the negotiation committee six months earlier. He expressed this appointment that the committee had not commenced seating. Well, that should be enough from that. I don't know, one million Naira. So, I think maybe they want to start from there because they should be willing for negotiation. Like haggling. Yes, because I'm sure by the time they go sit down with the government and they say we want, you know, 200,000 or 250,000, the government might say, oh, no, we cannot afford that. Let's bring it down. So it's better for you to start to, you know, hire a figure and then you start to beat it down and everyone just kind of meets in the middle. But if we're being honest, what is the what is the value of the money? Because that's what they should be talking about. You can't be saying, okay, we're just putting a figure. I know someone has said, see, even if our money, even if the minimum wage, right, is, let's say for instance, is 5,000 Naira. As long as all of your meat, all of your needs can be met. I say that all the time. With that 5,000 Naira, then that's fine. You're not thinking of the numbers. Come on, in America, what like, you see, you buy things for like 50 dollars, you buy things for like 20 dollars, nobody's saying, oh, one million Naira, you understand or tens of millions of Naira. As long as it can meet your needs, that's just what you need. So I think the NLC obviously should be looking at the value of the money that, you know, they're asking for these people. Because if transportation is going to take a whole lot of that money, then what's the point? Because before you go to and throw, you know, to your place of work, the money is gone. Then you have to still think of how to feed. You have to still think of, you know, paying your rent, clothes on your back. If you have kids, you probably have to pay their school fees, then you still have to save. Because come on, I mean, at some point you want to maybe build your own house, you want to travel, you want to, you know, have a nice car. So all of these things, that's why it is important that they have to look at the value. So if 200,000 Naira can do a lot, why not? May I'm open for it? If it's one million Naira, because my next question is, how much was dollar, as of the time they put that minimum wage, and how much is dollar right now? So is it the same value? Dollar at the moment is one thousand, almost one thousand five hundred, at some point you want to... So all of this... One thousand four... The official market is more than one thousand five hundred already. Yes, but I mean on the... So, our official market is heading towards two thousand Naira, and what are you saying? So, my question is, the value... Now NLC is talking about the fact that even the 35,000 Naira that they were promised for six months, they only paid one, and there's no evidence that they paid 25,000 to workers and all that. So, when government continually is on trustworthy, then a lot of things can happen. And I think, permit me to say, but I think it's laziness on the part of government to be thinking about setting up committees about minimum wage and not looking at the reason why the minimum wage is being demanded in the first place, like you said, and I always say it all the time, if I know that I can get to work without problems, I can't feed without problems, I can... My children can't go to school without problem, and you are paying me 50,000, I have no problem. Yes. Because at the end of the day, 50,000 that you're paying me might just be the money I'm trying to invest, or I'm trying to save, because I have everything that I need. But in the situation where cool fees in the university that was like 50,000 Naira, and now every university has raised it up to 200,000, and then you're talking about buying other small things, you know, handouts here, handouts there, textbooks here and all that. At the end of the day, something that was supposed to cost you, let's say 500,000 for your child to go through school will now cost you like 10,000,000 Naira, and you're expecting me to accept 200,000. What is it going to do for me? Do for me. Even if I own a car, the shortest distance, how many liters of fuel will it take? Sure, do it, yeah. Before now, before last year, May, you could buy, let's say, five liters of fuel for a thousand Naira. How many liters do you buy for a thousand now? From five to one liter. So you see how things are going up and up. So if they can address the food problems, they can address this dollar problem, they can address the fuel problem, I think a lot of people will not be complaining when we're complaining right now. I agree. I agree. All right, let's move over to our final story. So this says, Nigerian Judicial Commission receives petition to probe Bainway Chief Judge. The Social Political Organization, the Bainway Diaspora Vanguard has petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, to open an investigation on the Bainway Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpangwese Itchol over alleged non-declaration of assets amid other infractions. And the petition addressed to the chairman of the NJC and signed by the convener of Bainway Diaspora Vanguard, U.S. Chapter Comrade Itodo Isaac, a copy of which was sent to the reporter the group decried happenings in the Bainway State Judiciary urging the NJC to investigate. The group also accused the Justice Ikpangwese Itchol of nephrotism, saying the Chief Judge has been secretly assigning his King's men and closed allies who were lawyers to high-stakes political cases with strict instructions to plead to the gallery. Any lawyer or judicial staff opposed to his scheme is severely punished. And a recent transfer of the registrar of the earlier day High Court Division after withdrawing the case file of controversial political case is cited as one of such examples. The group says the open miscarriage of justice has become a norm in Bainway State and must be investigated by the NJC. The group equally called on the NJC to investigate the case of Bainway State Board of Internal Revenue BIRS versus Mobile Telecommunications Limited MTN where records have shown that the current Chief Judge abuses office by awarding damages that were in excess of the entire judgment sum sought in the suit. While giving the NJC a two-week ultimatum to act on the petition or face a protest by all Bainway sons and daughters at the National Headquarters of the National Judicial Council, the group urged the NJC to review the last 15 judgments issued by the current Chief Judge of Bainway State and confirm the authenticity of their allegations and claims. What are your thoughts? I have no thoughts. They're the same judiciary that we've been talking about when people will now come out to say that they suspect that there's something fishy. These are people that are supposed to be above but people that we have to trust and now people are calling for their head and saying that they've been doing what they are not supposed to do. It beats me. I don't even know what to say. So I think there should be checks and balances in everything. And if there are organizations that are supposed to be checking the politicians or even the judiciary, I would welcome that. But what I don't want is which hunting or then when you start to you know plant things genus down just to bring someone down. So for a case like this if the man is clean, I mean, you know, yes, pardon me. Let's find out. Like architect Nyaito has always said if the citizens fail to rise, then we will keep being what we are. We'll sit having the country that we have. The office of the citizen has to rise up. And if the because the citizens are the ones that will check everybody. They will check the politicians and recall them if they don't perform. They will check the judiciary and do what they are doing here right now. They will check the the legislative leaders, everybody. So whoever is not doing well, the mechanism for checks and balances is the office of the citizen which we have not taken seriously. And I think we should start to call out people that are not working or people. But like you said, it shouldn't be a witch hunt. It shouldn't be because you are in the opposition. It shouldn't be for instance now people are talking about hunger and starvation in the land and the politicians are busy saying they are the opposition. So you're telling me that if I don't eat in my house because I'm opposition or what? A lot of people have come out to say that we were clamoring for these elections to go a certain way. But now we are all suffering. We are grouped into the same. So it is nothing like opposition. Whether it is true, it is true. Whether it is wrong, it is wrong. So the office of the citizen has to sit up so that we can check all these people that are doing these things excessively. Right. All right. Let's go on a quick break. We'll look at the weather. When we come back, we'll be discussing the paper review. Stay with us.