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I Will Not Sign Any Law That Dictates, Wike Warns FG on Buhari’s Executive Order 10
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has challenged the Federal Government on the legality of Executive Order 10.
The governor said the action of the Federal Government to recommend uniform terms and conditions for the administration of the judicial arm of government in a Federal System of Government prejudices the powers of the federating states to manage its affairs.
Wike said this on Monday at a dinner organised in Government House for members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) who are holding their 61st Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
“I will not sign any law that dictates… I was not appointed, I was elected by the people of the state, and by law, I am the only one that can present the budget to legislators.
“Nobody can force me on how my state would operate,” he said.
He argued that the constitution of the country guarantees the legal and financial independence of the judiciary, which his administration is religiously implementing.
He said the funds he releases for the concurrent expenditure of the judiciary in Rivers State and his intervention in capital projects are far beyond the allocation which is recommended in the Federal Government’s Executive Order 10 which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2020 to grant financial autonomy to the judiciary across the 36 states of the federation.
Governor Wike also warned against the deduction of Rivers State funds from source, for the judiciary, as recommended in Executive Order 10, stating that he will not sign the recommendations despite the pressure from the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
