 to you and thanks for joining us on the breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. We're very sorry that we're starting a little bit late. It was due to unforeseen circumstances. My name is Nyam Gul Aghaji. Today on the show we'll be looking at two hot topics. Hopefully we can treat them in time to get the message across. First of all, we're going to be looking at the fact that the federal government has suspended accreditation of degree certificates from Benet Republic and Togo as well. And then we have also a coalition, Lotz-Tinibus Renewed Clumpdown on corruption. We'll have some guests that will X-rays and agree or disagree with these stands. Okay, so we'll move a straight to top trending issues. Top trending issues will begin with Platter-State declass one week of morning over attacks. The Platter-State governor Keleb Muftuang has declared a one-week morning over the two separate attacks in the state in the last two weeks in the north-central state in which roughly 200 people were killed and scores wounded while declaring the one-week morning period. Governor Muftuang told residents of the state that flags will be flying at half-mast during the time. He urged all citizens to use the days of four intense prayers to seek the intervention of God in defending the territory against what he called wicked men that have risen against the state. The governor also called on religious leaders to offer special prayers for peace in the troubled state. He also pleaded with Muslim clerics to dedicate Friday, January 5th, 2024 and the Christian clergy to use Sunday, January 7th, 2024 as special prayer days for lasting peace to return to the plateau. The latest attacks in the north-central state have triggered an uppour of condemnations and calls for a probe into their souls. President Bola Tinibu has called for an investigation into the incidents while Vice President Kashim Shetema also visited the affected communities. North-west and central Nigeria have been long terrorized by bandits, militias operating from bases deep in the forest and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom. Competition for natural resources between nomadic headers and farmers intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence. And a lot of people have said that it is possible that it's because of the natural resources that are in the ground in those states in the north that's making people do what they're doing that this is being sponsored. The Chief of Defence staff also came out the other day and said it was a political thing. A lot of people have said this is beyond headers and farmers clashes. This is something really, really bad and more than just the headers and farmers clashes and everybody is involved. So we hope that the government and all the relevant authorities will look into this and make sure this kind of insecurity does not escalate to other states and it does not even continue in these states that are experiencing these things. We just pray that the people who lost their lives will find favour in God's eyes and the people who were left behind to mourn will have the strength to carry on. Okay, the second top trending issue is North Central Governors visit Platt to donate 100 million naira. That's just like a follow-up of the first story. Days after the deadly attacks that claimed over 200 lives in Platt to state governors of the North Central region on Tuesday visited Governor Caleb Mutwang. The governors that were physically present included High Centralia of Benwe, Abdullah Hissuli, Nassarawa, and Umaru Bagu of Naija. Governors Yahya Belu of Kogi and Abdul Rahman Abdul Razak of Quara were however absent with no reason given. During the visit to the Platt to state government house they donated 100 million naira on behalf of the region's governors. Platt to has been experiencing a series of attacks by non-state actors locally called bandits who kill people at will without being challenged by security agencies. While the state is yet to recover from the death of several people in the Christmas Eve attacks on Bokoz and Barkanladi local government areas of the state, Nassarawa struck again on December 31 killing two persons, the father and his son. The attacks prompted the visit of the service chiefs as well as the minister of state for defense Belu Matawale and his humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation counterpart Betayidu. Amnesty International criticized the government in their the week of attacks saying the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Platt to state. That was on their post on X. Now North West and Central Nigeria have been terrorized by bandits as we said earlier. They operate from bases deep in the forest and raid villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom. Eji Hadis conflict has raged in North eastern Nigeria since 2009 killing tens of thousands of people and displaying around two million as Boko Haram battles for supremacy with rivals linked to the Islamic State group. While the chief of defense staff has said that no village will be occupied by bandits this year, no village or territory of Nigeria will be occupied by whether the Jihadis or the bandits or whoever is a non-state actor that is causing mayhem in the north, generally in the north, not only north central, not east is there, not west is there, not central is there and in pockets of the south also there are this kind of bandits and terrorists operating. We do hope that we can take the word for it, the chief of defense staff word for it and make sure that Nigeria is safe enough in 2024. Also Al-Hajji Muslu Akinsoya who is also known as MC Oluomo has stepped down as the chairman of the legacy chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW. MC Oluomo who is widely considered one of President Tino Buu's allies and loyalists whose association with the commander in chief of the armed forces has been questioned by members of the public was reportedly forced by the president to leave the position. While the legacy chapter of NURTW is said to be more financially attractive than its national leadership, it has been reported that President Tino Buu prevailed on MC Oluomo to step down and vie to become the national president of NURTW. In the meantime Mustafa Adekunli that is Seigo, the current treasurer of the union and the state will take over the reins at the legacy state secretariat of the Transport Workers Union. The reported ailment of the functional president of the NURTW, Tajuddin Agbede, opens the door for MC Oluomo to move to the national secretariat in Abuja. In October 2023 a functional NURTW president Al-Hajji Tajuddin Barua accused the minister of labor and employment Solomon Lalong of bias by taking sides with Agbede's faction backed by MC Oluomo in the ongoing reconciliation process. Now Barua accused the minister of working in cohorts with a former president of the union Al-Hajji Najim Usman Yasin to force on the union someone who forcefully took over the national secretariat of the union with thugs and hoodlums from leaguers. Barua disclosed this in a statement issued by the general secretary of the union Comrade Anthony Asogwa Chukudi in Abuja. He alleged that the minister held a meeting with the Agbede led group of the union on Wednesday October 18 2023 in this office where the minister allegedly asked the group to organize a fresh national quadrennial delegates conference in contravention of the provisions of the union's constitution particularly article 8 section 2 subsection 1. Now in September 2023 the legacy state government dissolved its park and garages committee to allow NURTW to manage activities and motor parks and garages in the state. The dissolution was made after the state government lifted the indefinite suspension placed on NURTW barely one year and a half earlier over internal leadership wranglings among members. It also came barely 24 hours after MC Oluomo publicly returned to the NURTW with thousands of his members in the state. Days earlier he led his parks management committee to Abuja where he also mobilized some thugs to be on standby in case the ruling of the presidential election tribunal did not favor president Chinabu. There has also been a crisis in the legacy chapter of the NURTW following MC Oluomo's recent re-election for a second term. It shows that the days ahead are going to be very interesting. Let's watch out and see but we do hope that there will not be chaos in any part of the country because of this. We do hope that the transition if there need to be a transition will be seamless and we will find days of peace in our country. He's moving to he's supposedly moving to the national scene. Legos is lucrative, Legos is very juicy but we hope that there will be no problem and NURTW will continue to exist as one united body giving services to Nigerians. We know the critical role to play in our the life of our country especially when it comes to elections. They are the ones that are contracted to carry the election materials to places that we need to take them to and all that. So they play a critical role in their own aspects and they help people travel. That's the word. Travel from place to place. So kudos to them but there should be peace while this transition is going on. So we'll just go ahead and take a few of the headlines if it's possible and then take a break after that and be joined by our our guests. Let's just take a break right now and when we return we'll be looking at the headlines and we'll be joined by someone else who will be helping us to x-ray what the headlines are. Just don't go away.