TVCNEWS — broadcast 20260920 230000 UTC 502 transcript segments Google Speech-to-Text API Automatic Transcription (Chirp) Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive. Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record. [00:00:34] of of [00:00:53] on the program, nlc labor congress [00:00:56] of demands of wage awards pallatives over rising few oil [00:01:00] of prices once crude oil sold in naira to [00:01:04] refineries. President Tinubu Hills Nigeria's [00:01:08] victory over Sunrise Power and Transmission Company [00:01:11] of Limited at International Chamber of Commerce, ICC [00:01:15] Arbitration Tribunal. He says ruling [00:01:19] clears single biggest legal hurdle to Mambilla hydroelectric [00:01:23] power project. And later on, we'll share this with [00:01:27] you. Andambra [00:01:27] of state governments releases. loan [00:01:30] records, video evidence [00:02:00] of [00:02:02] of [00:02:02] of [00:02:26] of a international music [00:02:28] of stars will... always glad in the the [00:02:32] of mind, in you know, so we have [00:02:36] three [00:02:37] of them, three [00:02:38] of the trio of davido, fino and [00:02:43] of terms have - gladden our minds, [00:02:46] now let's go there, the ascendancy of our performing arts, [00:02:50] artists gladens the mind, even as they remain [00:02:54] our [00:02:54] of great ambassadors, the trio of debilo, tems [00:02:58] and fino a upd the ante as a won [00:03:02] major [00:03:03] of awards at the 2026 African music magazine [00:03:06] awards afrima. Divido picked album [00:03:10] of the year, Teams got Best Female West Africa [00:03:14] award and Fino picked the best male [00:03:18] rap. An award, we must remind [00:03:21] you, is not just a [00:03:24] of trophy, it is the time, effort and excellence made [00:03:27] visible. Becail. Yes, um, [00:03:31] this, I don't think um, this [00:03:35] came as a surprise to anyone, yeah, because [00:03:38] uh, [00:03:39] these artists have shown [00:03:41] consistency on the international [00:03:45] scene terms, is [00:03:48] the Nigerian um, female music [00:03:52] star, all right, who has been the most consistent in terms [00:03:57] a of [00:03:57] in international awards that she. one is been [00:04:01] nominated for gramming, [00:04:03] she's - she's [00:04:06] also um done very well in [00:04:10] other uh music categories so [00:04:12] um at this um [00:04:16] award ceremony david won album [00:04:18] of the year yeah for five while tems and ruga [00:04:22] took best female and best uh male [00:04:26] west africa [00:04:28] in respectively fino won the best male [00:04:30] in rap and mchinwo was named the best [00:04:34] gospel out, however the artist [00:04:36] of the year prize went to kongolista fi [00:04:40] lumpa, another major nig victory [00:04:43] came from [00:04:45] bnxn and [00:04:48] producer sarah whose [00:04:50] collaboration uh back [00:04:54] outside one song [00:04:55] of the year yeah for the rising star of nigerian [00:04:59] um uh music right now, the [00:05:03] newest kid on the block who is doing very well was named [00:05:06] best newcommer while other nigerian [00:05:10] winners are uh pastor ranking who won best [00:05:14] male regel and dancehall okay and uh [00:05:17] victoni who received the fans choice award [00:05:20] remember victory song soweto - [00:05:24] very very popular song both in [00:05:32] um these guys they've done very well they've done [00:05:35] very well and we can only hope that they [00:05:39] will continue to keep. are flag flying [00:05:43] flying yeah a full stuff as they say uh [00:05:47] while you are not surprised only last week we talked [00:05:50] about uh b and ko you know but [00:05:54] here if devido is - in the limelight [00:05:58] nobody surprised yeah um i'm really glad [00:06:01] about what is happening to nigeria in the [00:06:05] realm of creative art music [00:06:08] entertainment performing yeah yes it's another [00:06:12] confirmation the fact that in spite of [00:06:16] environmental limitations, Nigerians are [00:06:19] breaking barriers, using their own creative [00:06:22] skill, rediscovery themselves, [00:06:26] you know, and crossing borders with their [00:06:30] potentials, with their talents and attracting global [00:06:33] audience, and if you look at that African [00:06:37] music award, is the one the few international [00:06:41] voices in the US. that promotes African music, [00:06:44] African art, and uh, we started as far back as [00:06:48] 2013, and I'm glad that [00:06:52] Nigerians, more than more than 17 Nigerians, [00:06:55] you know, won awards in this international uh, competition, [00:06:59] so I'm really very glad, not only that to promote Nigerian [00:07:03] music in the US, which is the global center [00:07:07] of entertainment, it also build new [00:07:11] audience in the US. people begin to love nigerian music [00:07:14] because the entertainment was a big international event and [00:07:18] thanks to the mask behind the [00:07:21] cutting [00:07:23] you and [00:07:24] bago who started this uh was he grew up in Nigeria [00:07:27] here and traveled to the US at the age of 25 or [00:07:30] so this from IMO state was raced [00:07:33] in abia [00:07:35] so I'm I'm glad when you [00:07:37] go to the US he did not goingto um [00:07:40] legal things he was able to... discover himself and discover that he could [00:07:44] showcase African music to the world and since he started [00:07:48] this projects in 2013, it has been a global [00:07:51] success, so I'm really very happy about [00:07:54] the the um outcome of [00:07:58] this uh, you know uh about the the performance [00:08:02] of nigerians in the international uh space, and it's [00:08:06] a challenge to all [00:08:07] of us, especially people in the entertainment world that we can also do similar things in [00:08:11] Nigeria, "we can make Nigeria to be the center [00:08:15] of uh entertainment to have international [00:08:18] awards that are domiciled in Nigeria so that great starts in [00:08:22] the US, in Asia can also come to Nigeria to receive [00:08:26] award, I think we have built that reputation, and I believe we can do [00:08:29] it, rap music uh was like [00:08:37] I I'm I'm I'm glad to say is flying a flag, [00:08:40] yeah absolutely, and also in the area of comedy, nigerians also [00:08:44] won award, gospel music, you also came [00:08:48] top, so we are almost all rounder every area, we are [00:08:52] just [00:08:53] and thanks to the founding fathers of music in Nigeria who started [00:08:57] this before the advent of digital technology, all [00:09:00] right, and they laid that foundation, I'm happy that they were able to inspire a lot of [00:09:04] younger generation that are now making us proud the international [00:09:17] uh, Nigeria is, also amongst the prophets, [00:09:21] as they say, we have the, we have the [00:09:25] raw talent, we have the sense of [00:09:28] invention, oh yeah, and we have [00:09:31] the tradition and culture [00:09:35] to continue to stay at the top of afro beat, [00:09:39] especially, and even when it comes to..." movie [00:09:43] making, okay, we are also [00:09:45] exceptional, our movies are [00:09:49] watch all over the continent and beyond, in fact [00:09:53] if we try to stop [00:09:57] people in some countries of africa from watching [00:10:01] nigerian movies, there will be [00:10:05] riot, because when we talk about the woods, Nigeria is [00:10:09] number three, Hollywood, Bollywood, the next one is... [00:10:13] Yes, yes, and uh, in terms of home [00:10:16] movies, we are just behind the [00:10:20] India, all right, [00:10:22] you know the Americans are not crazy about home. movies, but [00:10:26] we have really done well with, so we are a good place, in [00:10:30] short, we are a good place, and uh, this stars continue to [00:10:34] make us proud and they are going to be at the top [00:10:38] for many years, devido, bona [00:10:41] boy, terms, um, [00:10:44] even the ira star, yeah, whiskid [00:10:48] who literally open the door for lot them, [00:10:52] you know, they will be at the top for a long time. [00:11:07] is here, you the untamable fuel price hike [00:11:11] in our country continues to trigger a [00:11:14] bubble, bubble of protest by the day, [00:11:18] the Nigeria Labor Congress, NLC has reacted [00:11:21] characteristic characteristic. common [00:11:25] characteristically by demanding immediate wage [00:11:29] awards and the sale of crude oil to local refineries [00:11:33] in Naira. Contextually though, labor [00:11:37] demands at Germain, we want to say, only that fuel pricing [00:11:40] has lot to do with tensions in the Middle East. Yes, [00:11:44] labor admits that the federal government is racing in money [00:11:48] from crude earnings. It's in fact a two edged [00:11:52] sword, while Nigeria struggles to meet its. production targets [00:11:55] even as we are dealing with pipeline vandalism and [00:11:59] under investment, we expect labor to be on the same page with government, [00:12:03] don't you? well, i think [00:12:06] the reality is that in many [00:12:10] areas uh, with labor we are on the same page, [00:12:14] we cannot deny the fact that the cost of living has gone [00:12:18] up, yeah, because of essentials of [00:12:21] life, even water that we call uh poor [00:12:25] water that we call pure water that we call - we call it poor [00:12:29] water we call pure water, it's gone up [00:12:32] everything, gas, gasoline, [00:12:35] foil, basic things, no [00:12:38] gary, so there is no how [00:12:42] that we can see how we can be thinking of [00:12:46] living with 70, you so i agree [00:12:50] with them you know at that level, we should also be mindful the [00:12:53] fact that there are uh global um [00:12:57] the mean we are working within the rem of global contest yeah that [00:13:01] the f price is not something that came out of [00:13:04] local challenges yeah but because [00:13:08] the crisis the middle east you know in Saudi Arabia [00:13:11] between Iran and the US the time is between Ukraine [00:13:15] and and Russia so we are also part of that international [00:13:19] community so whatever happens in those areas will [00:13:23] affect us the issue now is what should be [00:13:26] done, what should be our objective [00:13:30] response, because every country is coming out with solutions to [00:13:34] deal yeah [00:13:35] with the challenges [00:13:36] you know um based on the what is happening in the middle east so I [00:13:39] think um I agree with them in the area of [00:13:43] government coming out with certain uh palliatives in terms of [00:13:47] maybe we can the access we are making from good oil we [00:13:51] can go into supporting transportation. [00:13:55] transportation, we have done it to this country before, and also [00:13:58] to ensure that our local government, because every time we talk [00:14:02] here and when people talk on the straight, it's as if the only institution we have is [00:14:06] the federal government, there are seven four local governments in this [00:14:09] country, yeah, there are 36 states, [00:14:12] you know, so each local government should find a way to invest in the [00:14:16] agriculture where possible, if you are talking about local governments in bayesa, [00:14:20] in lagos that [00:14:22] you know are aquatic area, they can go into fishing. so [00:14:26] we should not always be focusing on what i going to get from [00:14:30] abuja you know weekly mean monthly allocation another so our [00:14:33] local government uh leaders, the state governors should [00:14:37] be more creative in investing in the agriculture yeah so i [00:14:41] think if you can do this and i also think one major problem is the lack [00:14:45] of social safety net we don't [00:14:49] have social security system so if anybody is [00:14:52] ill if [00:14:53] you want to deliver a public hospital now a place like Lagos, [00:14:57] if you don't have at least 30,000, if you sear operation, you [00:15:01] are talking about 200,000, so how do you expect people [00:15:05] to get that kind of money? so if you [00:15:08] have health insurance, then [00:15:12] you can go to you know to the, mean to you can walk into any hospital [00:15:15] even when you are see you don't have the money you will be attended to, we don't have [00:15:19] mortgage system whereby you i can build a house without [00:15:23] necessary having the money over? time about 30 years, you can begin [00:15:27] to pay back gradually, because if [00:15:29] you want to build a house in legos life, you don't have 10 million for a start, how do you want [00:15:33] to build it, and how long will you take it to accumulate up to 10 million unless you [00:15:37] still? so these are some the challenges that I think the government can look [00:15:41] at so that we can be able to cousion the impact of this uh [00:15:44] there's no that that we have made some [00:15:46] you know we have advanced for instance um some five some [00:15:50] six you know five six years ago one meeting up our target [00:15:54] but today Nigeria is producing about 1.5 to 1.6 [00:15:58] million barrels per day that's significant achievement [00:16:02] and that means that we have been able to deal with the problem of uh [00:16:05] vandalization uh activities bunkering so [00:16:09] it's a major achievement for this country and we are also making [00:16:13] advance in the area of economic growth, you look at the foreign reserve, [00:16:17] you look at the volume of funds that is going to state local state and local [00:16:21] government, however there's a difference between growth and [00:16:24] development, if the funds are increasing there must [00:16:27] be you know it must relate to the you know to the [00:16:31] needs the people, so I think these are some the area that we need to look at, but [00:16:35] if you just increase salary. now maybe to about 15000, [00:16:39] i can tell you of 30000, which is even still small, but if you don't [00:16:43] weigh the options very well, it may come out to be counterproductive, you all [00:16:47] discover that trans to jump to another 500%, i would not be [00:16:51] able to meet up, yeah b, let [00:16:53] me start from the first part of [00:16:57] walley's intervention, you know over time [00:17:01] somebody had said we still are suffering [00:17:03] from a prolonged military. [00:17:09] interference, [00:17:10] you know, that the unitary system, [00:17:13] everything must come from the top, [00:17:15] you know, and so on, [00:17:18] yeah, um, and in terms [00:17:22] of um, even a potioning [00:17:25] blame, everyone thinks that [00:17:29] it is the president that should be blamed for everything, they [00:17:33] are not prepared to ask questions, pertinent [00:17:36] questions. the governors, the local [00:17:40] government chairman, they watch governors, they watch local government [00:17:44] chairman, no, collect [00:17:48] allocation every month, questions are not asked [00:17:52] about what is done with the money, all [00:17:55] questions that people want to ask relate to [00:17:59] the federal government, when you talk about [00:18:01] Nigeria being multi, Nigerians being [00:18:05] multidimensionally poor about 70. percent of [00:18:08] us, lot [00:18:10] the factors that [00:18:13] make our people poor [00:18:16] are issues that can be addressed [00:18:19] frontally by the states. okay, for [00:18:23] example, the matter [00:18:25] of um, transport [00:18:29] subsidy, there's no state in Nigeria that [00:18:32] cannot take care of transport [00:18:35] subsidy, right? because what [00:18:39] they just need to do is some the monens that they are [00:18:42] dedicating to building bridges, you know, [00:18:46] provide bridges and all that, they can buy high capacity [00:18:50] vehicles for people to use and [00:18:53] subsidize. i have talked about [00:18:57] what governor zulum has done in bno state, oh yeah, [00:19:00] whereby he bought these buses, buses [00:19:04] that run on electricity, [00:19:08] electricity um buses that [00:19:11] run on CNG and it is 50 n [00:19:15] per drop oh yeah yeah this is not [00:19:18] fiction this is what we [00:19:21] saw now how many states are trying to do [00:19:24] that or have even attempted to do [00:19:27] that because that's subsidy and what the man [00:19:31] said is look we experience [00:19:35] a minimum of 15 hours of sunshine, if we [00:19:39] cannot exploit that [00:19:42] to give our people electric [00:19:46] cars, charged [00:19:50] by solar, then we've not done well for our [00:19:53] people, the same man [00:19:57] puts buses on the road to not just take [00:20:00] students to school, but to take [00:20:04] farmers to their farms located. [00:20:10] in fact secondary [00:20:14] school students, male and female are [00:20:17] supplied bicycles to take them from their [00:20:21] homes to their to their schools, they right to [00:20:24] school, especially in environments that are not too far far [00:20:28] apart, no the the way those the schools are not usually not [00:20:32] even far from yeah uh their [00:20:34] localities there are... a big mega [00:20:38] schools all over the place, so that that's a bus, yes, [00:20:42] this is [00:20:42] b, yes, this one runs on CNG, [00:20:46] so 59, so that's subsidy Lagos. can do it, [00:20:50] every state can do it, yeah, but if we are waiting for [00:20:54] the federal government to do everything, that [00:20:58] is when the other day when i was talking about insecurity in the [00:21:02] north and i expected northern leaders to do much more, [00:21:06] much more, some people are saying oh, did the president, [00:21:08] you see, you see the kind of foolish statements that nigerians make, so [00:21:12] it's only a president that can solve all the problem, can [00:21:15] trump, the president of america, a [00:21:19] country that is bigger than West Africa, can [00:21:22] he solve the problem the 50 states of [00:21:26] America? That's why you have [00:21:28] governance. Governors must do lot [00:21:32] more to take care the welfare of our people, because [00:21:35] they [00:21:36] lot federating unit, because the resources are there, not just because the the [00:21:40] resources to do that. Okay, even ube, [00:21:44] somebody built the biggest mother and child hospital in [00:21:48] Yube, and the same. person he [00:21:51] has made dialysis free [00:21:55] mm for everyone, did he take permission from the federal [00:21:58] government? no, so he [00:22:00] is doing and that's one the poorest states in Nigeria, yeah, but over there [00:22:04] dialysis is free, so since [00:22:08] he can do it, oters to can do [00:22:11] it, can't, I will never be convinced that they can't do [00:22:15] it, so some of what the the [00:22:18] NLC is right in now. taking these demands, [00:22:22] but this demands, some of it can be [00:22:25] addressed by defederating units, this is the point, [00:22:29] transport subsidy for example, you look a country like Great [00:22:32] Britain, they subsidize transportation, oh yeah, they [00:22:36] will not subsidize energy costs, but they will subsidize [00:22:40] transportation so that people can go to work, [00:22:43] spend less money going to work, lot of our people, [00:22:47] including our staff here, the... b their salary goes [00:22:51] to transport costs, the b [00:22:55] of people salaries go uh goes to [00:22:58] uh um housing uh paying [00:23:02] rent, so there's a lot more that [00:23:06] our leaders can do, that's a lot more, so [00:23:10] I agree that look something must give, [00:23:13] because if these [00:23:17] - iranians and the Americans who are fighting [00:23:20] order yeah a senseless war if they continue it will [00:23:24] continue to drive up prices of uh [00:23:27] energy cost diesel [00:23:30] across the world diesel no everybody is affected oh yeah that was [00:23:34] the point made here last week when people think oh is by having [00:23:38] refineries buil no even if you have [00:23:42] 1 million refineries as long [00:23:44] as crude oil prices are [00:23:47] denominated in [00:23:49] the in in dollars. what can help us is for our own currency [00:23:53] to become stronger, nothing else, of course you you draw attention to [00:23:56] Texas, the largest state in the US and they have more than 20 [00:24:00] refineries, [00:24:02] that state alone, energy, [00:24:06] energy costs [00:24:07] are high, it's [00:24:08] is everywhere, but they need to help like [00:24:11] um even wage [00:24:14] awards, they can do wage awards, states can do wage awards, oh yeah, they [00:24:18] don't [00:24:18] have to wait for the federal authority. states can do wage awards and think [00:24:22] even um has has [00:24:25] done something like that no matter how small we have to give him credit for that they can [00:24:29] do uh wage awards i don't think neither [00:24:33] based crude oil sale to is a bad [00:24:37] idea i know that we have joint venture and all all of [00:24:40] this that also affect policy in [00:24:44] this regard but when we are faced with [00:24:47] critical problem like this then we [00:24:51] have to find a solution, because we cannot [00:24:54] wait for f prices to go to [00:24:56] 2, 2, [00:25:00] nira per liter, that would be crazy, we can't wait, we [00:25:04] must do something, the president has said that by October [00:25:08] that the transport cost will come down, we are going we are trying to [00:25:12] see what he and the governors are planning, so [00:25:15] we are eager to see that come down, at least that will really [00:25:19] help. it will go a long way, it will go a long way, if [00:25:23] if they drive down transport cost, it will go a long [00:25:27] way. all right, uh, [00:25:30] again, what we do is give context to the issues as they [00:25:34] come, so you must bear with us. our [00:25:38] next story is here, you know, Nigeria's part [00:25:41] situation is curious mix of fragile national grid [00:25:45] capacity, low generation output and [00:25:48] liquidity. and debt crisis perhaps more sharing [00:25:52] is the recently secured favorable international chamber of [00:25:56] commerce ICC arbitration ruling [00:25:59] rejecting claims by sunrise par that clears a [00:26:03] major legal hurdle for the long-stalled [00:26:07] 1,500 megaw mambilla hydro [00:26:11] electric electric project. now president [00:26:14] bolatinu has welcomed the tribunal ruling stating [00:26:18] that we would never succum to predatory or opportunistic [00:26:22] claims. we are ever open to genuine partnerships and [00:26:25] legal obligations the president added. meanwhile, [00:26:29] some years back, [00:26:34] visited the site the mambela hydropower project, i [00:26:38] remember that scene to investigate why the project had not taken [00:26:42] off, he discovered some staggering issues stalling the [00:26:45] execution the project. one these is that there's [00:26:49] no root leading to the project site, which signified that [00:26:53] nothing much has been done about it. let's bring back this [00:26:57] story just to refresh the memory. let's go [00:27:00] there. [00:27:08] It has been more than 30 years of waiting for what could easily [00:27:12] become the biggest power project in Nigeria to kick off. The [00:27:16] Mambilla Hydropower project is estimated to cost the [00:27:20] nation 2.09 trillion naira (that is [00:27:24] about 5.8 billion US dollars) situated in the [00:27:27] heart of Mambilla, Nigeria's paragon of undefeated beauty [00:27:31] in Sadana. local government of taraba state, getting to the project [00:27:35] site is a big challenge that tax one's body and soul. [00:27:39] it begins with six hour trip from jalingo, the taraba state [00:27:42] capital to kakara, the famous home of highland tea, and a [00:27:46] 15 minute ride on multiterain vehicles to Amadu [00:27:50] village. even the best of multi-terrain vehicles cannot [00:27:54] go beyond this point. i'm getting [00:27:58] set to go to the site the mambilla [00:28:02] hydro. plant project, one the [00:28:05] three big [00:28:08] waterfalls from which [00:28:11] the water will be [00:28:14] collected is not [00:28:17] very far from this village, as you can see [00:28:20] it is not accessible [00:28:24] by car, our journey on motor [00:28:28] bikes lasted 1 hour 20 minutes a rocky treaturous ondulate. [00:28:32] landscape on food paths already covered by overgrown [00:28:36] weeds. As we move closer to the baru [00:28:39] waterfall, it was clear that we had to complete the journey on [00:28:43] foot. The villagers who were attracted to the [00:28:47] project side by an unusual motorcycle convoy aar the federal [00:28:51] government to quickly kick off the project. This is the [00:28:55] baru waterfall, one the three [00:28:58] main water collection points for [00:29:02] the... the mabila hydropower project that is capable [00:29:06] of delivering 4000 megw of [00:29:09] electricity. this [00:29:12] point is about [00:29:15] 50 meters [00:29:17] deep and villagers here told [00:29:20] me that this rock used to [00:29:24] be at that point, but the force the water push the [00:29:27] rock to where it is [00:29:29] currently. [00:29:37] the time has come for this project to be constructed, we are still [00:29:40] waiting, hopefully it will happen soon. should the federal government [00:29:44] move to site and eventually completely hydropower [00:29:48] plants? it has the potential of boosting power supply and [00:29:51] economic fortunes of taraba state in particular and Nigeria in [00:29:55] general. given the erratic nature of [00:29:59] electricity supply in the country, many Nigerian. expect the government [00:30:03] to treat the mandilla hydropower project with atmost [00:30:07] urgency. [00:30:14] b, the story is yours, yeah, [00:30:16] and um, i almost died [00:30:20] in, in fact after i [00:30:24] descended into that valley, i [00:30:27] could barely breathe, it was a police man's water [00:30:31] that i got. I quickly drunk it, [00:30:35] wow, you know, I, we had [00:30:38] treged, we got to point that the bikes could [00:30:41] no longer, because [00:30:43] it was quite steep, so we could no longer [00:30:47] um use our bikes, I fell down two times on the bike as [00:30:51] we going there, but the cameraman refused to record [00:30:55] it, he was inexperienced cameraman, [00:30:58] okay, um,