Headlines
It’s not Mandatory for Buhari to Attach Portfolios to Ministerial Nominees’ List – Senate
The Senate has described as unnecessary the resolution passed by the 8th Senate which mandated the President to attach portfolios to the ministerial nominees’ list.
The Eight Senate under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki had passed a resolution asking the President to indicate the portfolios that would be assigned to the ministerial nominees.
Members of the 8th Senate had argued that such an arrangement would enable the lawmakers to know the specific questions to ask the nominees.
The member representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, Bassey Akpan, had received satisfactory nods from his colleagues when he reminded the leadership of the 9th Senate about the resolution passed by their immediate predecessors on the issue.
Akpan had argued that the best way to help the President put the right person in the right position was to know the specific ministry each nominee would handle when they appear for screening.
He maintained that such arrangement would enable the lawmakers to assess the competence of the nominees.
But speaking on behalf of the 9th Senate in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, the spokesperson, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, said it was not mandatory for the President to attach portfolios to the ministerial nominees’ list.
He argued that Presidents of advanced countries like the USA which subscribed to such practice still reserved the right to swap portfolios of their nominees before and after their inauguration.
Adeyeye argued that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a lawyer, performed well as minister of finance while the late Aminu Kano, a teacher, also did well as the minister of health.
He said, “It is not a constitutional prerequisite neither is it mandatory for the President to assign portfolios to the ministerial nominees.
“Also, Senate up till now has not made any law or any regulation that would insist on that.
“There is nothing, either in the Senate rules or in the Constitution that will compel the President to do that.”
Adeyeye admitted that attaching portfolios to ministerial nominees list would have assisted senators to ask specific questions but insisted that it was not necessary for the parliament to emphasise it.
He said, “Our major concern is to identify the leadership qualities in the nominees being presented to us for screening.’’
The Punch
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.”
