 On the breakfast, ahead of the 2023 General Election, security agencies urge to remain apolitical, maintain high sense of professionalism and providing support services. Also on the breakfast, telecommunication companies threaten to disconnect banks, subscribers as debt rise to 80 billion naira. What is the implication for a cashless economy? Don't forget we'll also be looking through today's newspapers and analyzing the biggest stories of the day. Welcome to the Breakfast and Plus TV Africa. It's a very beautiful Thursday morning right here and it feels really great to be back on your screen. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday. That's if you're holidaying and if not, then it's fine. As always, we start our conversation with a top trending. My name is Messi Ebopo. Now for us, top trending is usually what you have, lots of engagement. I mean, what are Nigerians talking about? What are people talking about? Be it on the various social media spaces or offline? What's the conversation about? One of such is that the presidential panel is reviewing Walker's salary according to, you know, the minister for labor, Chris Ngige. Well, that's one thing Nigerians are talking about, especially at a time where the economy is facing so much. Well, due to the persistent increase in rise and consumer good prices, the federal government has started, you know, really wise and said that it would shortly announce wage increase for civil servants. I mean, workers and those in public spaces. As he stated previously, the presidential committee said, pay is now analyzing the salaries of the conclusion expected in LA 2023. Now, this statement was made shortly after, you know, a close deal meeting with President Mohammad Buhari at Aso Rock, where the Labor Minister and Employment Chris Ngige revealed to the State House correspondent. That's the case. But just to keep it very short, I remember vividly having this conversation yesterday on the show on Off the Press, where we spoke with our guest, Tunde Kola Wale, and he actually shared his thought about, is it the right thing to do? I mean, increasing salary or having more money in circulation, because that's what it is. And according to Tunde Kola Wale, it was not the best way, you know, to cushion the effect of inflation. That's not the way out. What's the major concern of the Nigerian economy? What are we going through? We have issue of revenue. We have a lot. And that's because we're highly dependent on imports, you know, to survive. So we import almost everything that we consume, and that's not very good. So on the long run, the big question is, increasing salary for workers at this point, does it change anything? Does it solve the problem? No, some people will say, no, that's not it. There are some basic things that should be done. So you have to look at, you know, the problem of production, which is number one. Because if we get to a point as a country where we're producing what we're consuming, then it would go a long way, you know, in reducing all of the inflation. And what about this that we're grappling with right now as an economy? So that's what it is, reduce waste. You look at waste in all aspect, especially in governance. I mean, it's really saddening that there's still a proposal to have over 300 plus, or you want to call it 400 agencies by government. And you know what that means? It means more funding, more people would have to work because if you have these agencies created, let's talk about, let's put a round figure, 400 of them, these agencies would actually be run by human beings. And it would therefore mean that there will be plan for those who will be working salary and what have you. And if you look at the Nigerian budget over time, it seemed like it doesn't really seem like it's what it is. We spend so much of our resources in, you know, running the government, what's left for infrastructure and capital project. And that's what's left. So an economy that wants to make a headway, the argument has always been that attention would be paid on capital project. But our budget is actually an expression of where our heart is, because we spend so much in, you know, running the governance or running government. And we pay little attention to infrastructure because there's money. So wherever your heart is, is where your money will go. So you begin to look at where, you know, our resources over time, where we spend money on, where's it going to, it just tells, you know, the kind of country that we are, what we're expected. So yes, it might probably sound like a very fantastic idea. Increasing the salary would be, you know, just the best thing to do. But there are other factors. I mean, let's even say we have a favorable economy. We have an economy where government is taking care of the necessary issues. Security is taking care of the private sector can thrive. Government should also look beyond increasing salary. What about other aspect, you know, of the workers life? Let's talk about health, you know, health care insurance or health care. How about the housing scheme? These are some of the issues that the government should pay attention to all of that. So usually it's not necessarily about that because if you look at health, if you look at housing scheme, if you also look at transportation and what have you, it would just go a long way. We hope we get it right. We definitely hope we get it right as a people and that's a prayer for a lot of persons. So something was okay. Well, increasing salary might just be a way out, but it's really the way out of this quagmire that we're faced with at the time, inflation. So more money is in the hands of the people. Does this solve the problem? Another on the top trending is that the G5 governors may end us, Petal B on January the 5th. I mean, it's on the probability and you know probability one is to zero or one is to two, one is to five. You begin to look at the ratio. It's a lot of grapple with the snow. It's not definite. It's not, you know, authentic. One can actually say, now, the reports are saying that this five agree governors, if you already know, they are governors that have of the People's Democratic Party that have been very concerned about what the party has been about. Let's say we are not happy that you have, you know, the chairman from the North, you have the presidential candidate from the North, you have all from the North. There should be some kind of rotation in all of this. And so these are great governors have been asking that the chairman be removed. So we're getting back to the crux of the conversation. But fast forward to you right now and is that these are great governors have been, you know, moving very fast and they've been engaging several activities that some persons have classified as anti-party. Now the latest report is that there's a possibility that it might endorse, you know, the presidential candidate of the Labor Party, which is Petal B in compliance with the Council of former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was saying, a lot of question begging for answers. And is this governors are from the People's Democratic Party. That's what it is. Okay. And even though we've had several claims and denials, you know, from the party saying, Oh, that's not what it is. Everyone has been asking the question that if this governors have been acting in this light, and some of the activities have been described as anti-party, there's no loyalty with all of this to the party, especially when you became a governor on a certain platform, we have always stressed the issue of democracy in political parties. And people say what you have at the small system would trickle down to a larger system. So if you don't have democracy in our political parties, party level, you know, that unit, then what's a guarantee that, you know, democracy, people would have a free fair playing ground. I mean, things will go in accordance with the law and the constitution. That's a lot of question. And some people have queried why this governors are still with this party. How come they have not been sanctioned? Why actions have not been taken against them? Because they are action over time. I mean, you don't need a sootsayer to tell you, if you are a member of a certain party, it's like saying, I work for plus TV African, my loyalty belongs to a certain, you know, media house, it's on the head of, right? But it's what it is. And all this have actually seen this as a very pleasant, you know, action saying, oh, it would be fantastic. But it's such an irony because before Peter Albee became a presidential candidate of, you know, the Labor Party, once upon a time, he was of the PDP. And I remember that he had intentions of, you know, contesting the election under that platform. But maybe he was, you know, fast. He was smart enough to understand that he doesn't really stand a chance to winning the ticket at the end of the end. So he did come. He didn't really get through the entire process. So why did this governor's not support him when he was in the PDP? This is some of the questions that are begging for answers. But we'll leave that for another time. It feels like we have forgotten about us on the strike and the salaries and all of that. Let's just say there's a period of festivities. So there's a lot of merriment. And if you follow the stories and the news, ASU, the strike, the salaries, the arrears, none of that has been, you know, making the rounds. But recently, the speaker, Baja Bia Miller, has denied pledging support to offset ASU's salary arrears. And I just think I don't know how this lecture is occurring. They're really having a Merry Christmas. What exactly is going on? What would January be like 2023, you know, for the Nigerian student and for parents? It's just so much to think about. So yes, there's several reports saying that the leadership of the House of Representatives disclosed that the federal government is not under any obligation to pay members of the academic staff union of universities. That's ASU for eight months since the industrial action took place. And the spokesperson of the House, Ben Kalu, made a statement and said, hey, the speaker never promised any lecture or payments, because Professor Sodoke had, during an interview, mentioned that Baja Bia Miller failed to keep to the agreement reached with the union. And so responding to all of that statement or allegation, if you want to say, there was no point, no point did the speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offsetting of the arrears of salaries owed to the union members for the time they were in strike. And we know what the government has to say, pro rata, what have you. It's been a lot of back and forth, but there's always a thing. Whether or not there was an agreement, but if you look at this current government, if you look at how we have thrived as a people, we have no regard. Government, we seem not to have a regard for agreement that we're getting to. So I wouldn't be surprised if there was an agreement and the agreement is not respected or there's some sort of denial. It's what's been going on. If all of the agreements that's been entered with ASU over time has been respected by the government, I'm not sure we will be talking about ASU strike in 2022. Now, the point is, if you get into an agreement, that's why it's called an agreement. You should keep to your part of the bargain, but integrity is not cheap. Some people will say talk is not cheap. It's okay to say all of that. Well, it's really saddening because I don't think it's rocket science. It's just two people coming together, looking at the interest at the end of the day. And whose interest is all of this for? If the government says we don't have the resources, ASU saying we can't. Let's even look at some of the consents that ASU are raising. What are really the issues? What are they asking for? Is it really impossible? What are they asking for? That they're saying that they want skyscrapers in their houses? What exactly is this? What are they demanding for? Is the government really sincere? Is the government really interested in the consents of ASU? Does it support the interest of those who are seeking education in Nigeria? That's a lot. That's a lot of questions that we will not definitely have answers until we have those who are willing to put their heart to it and solve the problem. It's really unfortunate. But we will continue to talk about this and fingers will be crossed and we hope that relevant quarters will do the right thing and we'll get the right result. That's the much we can take this morning on our top trending. We'll take a break. And when we return, we'll have Ezekon Yai to join us this morning for Off the Press. Please stay with us.