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Former governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, has called on the Supreme Court to revisit its judgment on local government financial autonomy, saying it undermines the1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ngige, who was minister for Labour and Employment from November 2015 to May 2023, argued that the judgment attempted to completely knock down Section 7 of the Constitution, which firmly puts the local government areas under the control of the states. Beside the political consequences, he recalled that the same Supreme Court had earlier in 2006 made a pronouncement, warning the Federal Government against dictating to the states how to spend local government funds accruable to them. The previous ruling by the Supreme Court under Justice Mohammed Uwais, Ngige reminisced, was made in a case filed by three state governments, Lagos, Abia and Delta, through their attorneys-general, challenging then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Local Government Account Monitoring Committee Act 2005. He spoke over the weekend in Enugu, as the guest lecturer at the 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of the Association of Urological Surgeons, Nigeria (NAUS). Speaking on the topic: “Local Government Administration and Primary Healthcare,” Ngige who is a medical doctor and health system administration specialist, said he does not support the direct payment of federal allocation to the local governments without statutory first line deductions for payment of salaries and wages of local government workers, pensions and gratuities, traditional rulers entitlements and customary court allowances. Citing his experience as a Governor, he recalled that council chairmen between 1999 and 2002 owed several months of salaries and allowances, and pensions and gratuities, not only in Anambra State, but almost all the states of the Federation. He said most past council chairmen craved for acquisition of choice estates in Abuja, Lagos and even London, at the detriment of public health centres and schools in their area, where teachers were owed several months arrears of salaries and allowances, stressing that some chairmen even proved to be more corrupt than the Governors. He opined that the judgment of the Supreme Court not only runs ultra vires of the Constitution but also amounts to throwing away the baby with the dirty bath water. According to him, Chapter 1 under the General Provisions (Part 1) of the Constitution, makes it very clear that “This Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, neither shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. “If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, the constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of its inconsistency be void.” The two-time minister said the constitution, which the courts are meant to interpret, clearly defines the boundaries of the powers of every institution. Ngige said as far as the Constitution is concerned, only two federating bodies exist in Nigeria, namely the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, with the Federal Government at the top. “Each state of the federation was named in Part I of the First Schedule of the Constitution and the FCT in party II. The Constitution goes on to show the 768 local government areas in Nigeria in the second column of Part I of the First Schedule and six area councils in Part II of the same schedule. “The constitution makes special arrangements for the local governments and puts them in the Fourth Schedule, and in addition to their functions in this schedule, asks the House of Assembly to make laws for them in Section 7. So, the Constitution puts the local governments in the bowels of the states. “Section 162 (6) says that each state shall maintain a special account to be called ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ into which shall be paid allocations to the councils in the state from the Federation Account and from the government of the state. “Hence, the Constitution makes the local government areas appendages of the states. Section 7 gives the House of Assembly the powers to make laws for the establishment, structure, composition, finances and functions of the local government councils. The only power given to the National Assembly is to make provision for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils in the Federation and it has so been done. The power of distribution lies squarely with the House of Assembly, working in tandem with the State Economic Board.” Speaking further, Ngige dismissed the widely held notion of the existence of three tiers of government in Nigeria, stressing that more tiers of government exist in the country, including the town and village governments in the South and in the Northern part, the theocratic establishment, ruling through the emirate councils and subordinate councils, and others down the ladder. He blamed the failure of the local government system in Nigeria on the docility of the Houses of Assembly and the flagrant inability of the governors to adhere strictly to all the provisions of the constitution, regarding local government, especially not establishing democratically elected councils and economic planning board, as stipulated in Section 7 (1) and (3) of the Constitution, respectively. He equally attributed the failure of the local government system to the unwholesome activities of governors with itchy fingers, seizing and diverting council funds to other uses, other than public interest. Ngige regretted that when governors overstep their bounds, doing what the constitution did not permit, the Houses of Assembly keep silent, instead of calling them to order. He insisted that the local government system would start working in Nigeria when Governors begin to obey the law and the Houses of Assembly become alive to their responsibilities, including calling erring governors to order. “Section 7 further says it shall be the duty of the local government council within the state to participate in economic planning and development of the area referred to in the sub-section and to this end, an economic planning board shall be established by law enacted by the House of Assembly. The board will determine the utilisation of council funds. “When I was Governor in Anambra, I operated with an economic planning board created first by an executive order and later, an executive bill that I sent to the House of Assembly. It was like the National Planning Commission of the Federal Government. The economic board will formulate the template and send it to the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA). Salaries, emoluments and allowances of local government staff, education, healthcare and security, among others, were in the first line charge. Everything worked well, particularly in the primary health care centres, where we employed many young doctors and other health workers for local government hospitals and primary health medical centres in the wards “The SJLGA was strong and efficient under my administration, and we had the State Economic Planning Board with all the chairmen of all the LGA in the state as members. This ensured full participation of the LG council bureaucracy in the projections, both at that level and at the councils. The fund for LG administration and capital projects were thereafter remitted to the LG council account. In this way the people’s money was deployed for work for them. We can’t be moving from the frying pan into the fire. “Under my administration, we used the SJLGA to offset the arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuities owed workers by my predecessor. “It is good to note that this was made possible within the first 18 months of my stay in office. Remember that at the inception of this democracy in 1999, the local government chairmen took over from the Head of Personnel who the military used to govern the councils. When I took over in Anambra, local governments were in arrears of salaries, emoluments and allowances of staff, ranging between 15 to 22 months. I am not talking about pensions and gratuity. My predecessor, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju (now late) could not do anything. The local government chairmen left one year before the end of his tenure. Regarding primary healthcare, he frowned at the abandonment of more than 15,000 primary healthcare centres built across the country as constituency projects, and called on the State Economic Planning Boards to ensure that the abandoned health centres were revamped as quickly as possible. He maintained that the local government system has a pivotal role in the basic healthcare system, which former minister of health, Olukoye Ransom Kuti, transformed into a primary healthcare system. According to him, the primary healthcare system could be used to catch those cases that would be treated at that level, while those that cannot be treated there, would be referred to the secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions. He, however, blamed the Commissioners for Health in states for the failure of primary healthcare system, notwithstanding that the National Health Act 2014, championed by himself and other medical doctors at the 7th Senate, namely Ifeanyi Okowa and Bukola Saraki, brought in the Federal Government to devote resources from its Consolidated Revenue, while the state would provide counterpart funding in vaccine for prevention and other aspects of primary healthcare. He noted regrettably, that the states and local governments have been defaulting, refusing to honour their own obligations. He appealed to medical doctors to stop cocooning themselves with fat medical books of Anatomy, Medicine and Surgery, but also to take interest in the government around them, to participate in politics, especially at the local government level, where they would affect lives most.Massive early Boxing Day sale at Currys: see the 12 best deals picked by expertsJustin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Over Breach of Contract By Amidst an ongoing complaint levied , has been sued by his former publicist, who alleges he breached his contract earlier this year. What is Justin Baldoni being sued for? Steph Jones, who owns the public relations firm Jonesworks, accused Baldoni of breaching their contract earlier this year. The contract, which says Baldoni must pay her $25,000 a month, was allegedly breached after Baldoni dropped the firm in August, and joined a firm started by Jennifer Abel, who also worked at Jonesworks and left to start her own firm. Alongside the lawsuit against Baldoni, Jones is also suing Abel and Baldoni’s publicist Melissa Nathan, joining Blake Lively in accusing the pair of coordinating a . Jones’ lawsuit alleges that the pair are attempting to blame her for the campaign. “To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states (via ). In the case of Lively and Baldoni, this past week, Lively alleging him of sexual harassment and of coordinating an effort to destroy her reputation. In Lively’s claims, she states that things got so bad during filming that an all-hands-on-deck meeting was called due to her claims of a hostile work environment. During the meeting, Lively asked that Baldoni stop showing her nude videos or images of women, that he stop mentioning his pornography addiction to her, that Baldoni stop discussing sexual experiences in front of her, and that he also stop mentioning Lively’s weight. The complaint also claims that an agreement was made between production company Wayfarer Studios and the cast, in which the promotion of the movie would focus “more on [Lively’s character’s] strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence.” However, Lively claims that Baldoni would renege on that and instead spoke in interviews about the film’s serious story. Lively also claimed that Baldoni and his PR manager, Melissa Nathan, discussed ways in which to start a social media campaign to harm her reputation. The filing by Lively includes 22 pages of texts between Baldoni’s publicist and Nathan, in which they discuss wanting to have Lively “buried.” Anthony Nash has been writing about games and the gaming industry for nearly a decade. When he’s not writing about games, he’s usually playing them. You can find him on Twitter talking about games or sports at @_anthonynash. Share article55bmw slot vip 。

NEW YORK (AP) — Remember what you searched for in 2024? does. Google released its annual “Year in Search” on Tuesday, rounding up the top trending queries entered into its namesake search engine in 2024. The results show terms that saw the highest spike in traffic compared to last year — ranging from key news events, notably , to the most popular songs, athletes and unforgettable pop-culture moments that people looked up worldwide. Sports — particularly soccer and cricket — dominated Google’s overall trending searches in 2024. topped those search trends globally, followed by the and . Meanwhile, the led news-specific searches worldwide. Queries about and this year’s followed. U.S. President-elect topped searches in Google’s people category this year — followed by , U.S. Vice President and Algerian boxer , who also led athlete-specific searches. Meanwhile, the late , and led search trends among notable individuals who died in 2024. In the world of entertainment, Disney and Pixar’s was the top trending movie of the year, while Netflix’s led TV show trends. And Kendrick Lamar’s dominated song trends. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Queries for the , made famous by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen over the summer games, led Google’s global recipe trends this year. The New York Times’ “Connections” puzzle topped game searches. And in the U.S., country-specific data shows, many people asked Google about like the word and “ .” You can find more country-specific lists, and trends , through Google’s . The California company said it collected 2024 search results from Jan. 1 through Nov. 23 of this year. Google isn’t the only one to publish an annual recap or top trends as 2024 draws to a close. , for example, as well as and words of the year, have offered additional reflections for 2024. The Associated PressMassive early Boxing Day sale at Currys: see the 12 best deals picked by expertsMilitia detains 300 migrants in the desert in Libya's effort to contain sea crossings

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New York is set to shutter 12 migrant shelters before the end of the year , marking a significant shift in its response to the city’s ongoing migrant crisis. The closures , announced just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office for a second term, highlight the strain on resources and the political tensions surrounding immigration policies. As Mike Shedlock of MishTalk.com noted in June , 20% of NYC hotels have become migrant shelters, driving up the cost of hotel rooms elsewhere for paying customers. Two hotel-based shelters, the Hotel Merit in Manhattan and the Quality Inn JFK in Queens, have already been closed . An additional 10 facilities across the state - including in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange, and Westchester counties - will cease operations by December 31, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office. The sprawling Randall’s Island shelter, which was designed to accommodate up to 3,000 migrants, is slated to close by February 2025, shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Since the spring of 2022, more than 223,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in New York City - roughly half the population of Albany. The city has struggled to house and support this influx, operating 210 city-run shelter sites across the five boroughs. Currently, 58,000 migrants remain in taxpayer-funded shelters, costing the city an estimated $352 per migrant per night. Only $130 of that amount goes directly to housing costs, with the rest allocated to social services, food, and cleaning. The NYPD has spent $21 million on public safety and security related to the migrants. The eye-popping figures, listed on the city’s online asylum-seeker funding tracker , shows the city overall spent $4.88 billion combined through fiscal years 2023 and ‘24. Based on the rate of spending, the city likely exceeded more than $112 million since the start of the new fiscal year beginning July 1, or will soon, cracking $5 billion. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has even projected the cost could double, hitting $10 billion over the three year period ending June 30, 2025. -NY Post Without policy changes, the crisis is projected to cost New York taxpayers $12 billion over the next three fiscal years, according to city estimates. Mayor Adams praised efforts to consolidate shelter operations and reduce costs, noting a 19-week decline in the migrant census. " Over the past two years, our teams have accomplished the Herculean task of providing compassionate care for a population twice the size of Albany and saving taxpayers billions of dollars ," Adams said. "The new policies we’re implementing today will build on our successes, save taxpayers millions, and help even more migrants take their next steps towards fulfilling their American Dream." Meanwhile, an audit released in August found that NYC overpaid upstate hotels by millions of dollars for sheltering illegal immigrants. Of the questionable payments, $2.5 million were for unauthorized security, medical, and social services, $1.7 million for vacant rooms, and $230,000 for inflated food bills, according to the audit. In another example, a Newburgh hotel billed a total of $57,000 for hundreds of unoccupied rooms in early May , for which DocGo got an additional $40,000 in commissions. Despite efforts to ease the burden on the system, the city’s shelter eviction policies have sparked controversy. Families issued a second 60-day eviction notice are now allowed to stay in their assigned shelters if they need more time, a move Adams touted as cost-saving and beneficial for children’s schooling continuity. However, adult migrants face stricter rules, with a policy permanently evicting them from city shelters after 30 days . The policy has drawn criticism from activist groups, including Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, which staged a protest at City Hall during a hearing on the issue. "Immigrants are welcome here - Trumpian policy is not!" protesters chanted, accusing the city of violating its decades-old right-to-shelter rule, originally established to address homelessness. Activists called the eviction policy "cruel and destabilizing" before being removed from the chamber. While the flow of migrants into New York has slowed, with fewer arrivals and a reported 101,790 encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in September—the lowest since February 2021—concerns persist about potential surges before Trump’s border policies take effect. A caravan of 1,500 migrants in southern Mexico, near the Guatemala border, is reportedly attempting to cross before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has pledged to implement strict immigration measures, including sealing the southern border, carrying out a large-scale deportation operation, and ending Biden administration parole programs and the CBP One app. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been appointed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, with former ICE Director Tom Homan named "border czar." As New York City consolidates its migrant operations, Adams has a tough road ahead. The closures signal a pivot in the city’s approach but also underscore the broader national debate on immigration policy .New shoplifting data explains why they’re locking up the toothpaste

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Joe Biden was in a jovial mood as he carried out his final Thanksgiving turkey pardoning, telling the two lucky birds, “Your prayers are going to be answered today.” The president , 82, addressed crowds from the South Lawn on Monday morning, giving out pardons to Peach and Blossom. The birds are from Minnesota and are roughly 17 weeks old, according to a National Turkey Federation (NTF) press conference Sunday. The two names are meant as an homage to Biden’s home state of Delaware and its state flower, the peach blossom. Biden kicked off the ceremony by cracking a joke about the size of the crowd gathered for the event. “They tell me there’s 2,500 people here today...looking for a pardon,” Biden said, prompting laughter. The president was joined by NTF president John Zimmerman and his 9-year-old son, Grant, who brought Peach out onto the stage. After the turkey let out a quiet gobble, Biden joked: “What did you say Peach? Peach is making a last-minute plea here.” President Harry Truman started the tradition of turkey pardons 77 years ago in 1947 when the National Turkey Federation presented him with a turkey that he spared from mealtime. “The last four years, I’ve had the honor to continue that tradition by pardoning Peanut Butter and Jelly, Chocolate and Chip, Liberty and Bell and today, Peach and Blossom,” Biden said. Peach weighs around 41 pounds, loves to eat hotdish topped with tater tots, and lives by the motto “keep calm and gobble on,” the president told the crowd. Blossom’s goal is to do a road trip to all 10,000 Minnesota lakes. The bird reportedly loves watching boxing and lives by the motto, “no ‘fowl’ play,’” he added. The two VIPs (very important poultry) spent the evening before their big day staying in a luxurious suite at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, with the NTF posting photos to social media the night before. The organization also posted a “Get Ready With Us” video of the two arriving at their turkey-proofed accommodation. While being transported from Minnesota to Washington DC they reportedly listened to a playlist including Livin’ On a Prayer by Bon Jovi, Biden said. “Well, fellas, your prayer is going to be answered today,” the president told the birds. “Based on your temperament and commitment to being productive members of society, I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom.” Following their pardons, the two turkeys will become agricultural ambassadors and enjoy retirement on a farm in southern Minnesota, according to the NTF. Biden concluded the ceremony on a more serious note. “This event marks the official start of the holiday season here in Washington,” he said. “It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude. So let me say to you, it’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful.” The president added that he and his wife Dr Jill Biden would be traveling to Staten Island in New York for a Friendsgiving with members of the Coast Guard and their families “to demonstrate our gratitude for their service and sacrifice.”WesBanco Inc. Names Jan Pattishall-Krupinski as Chief Administrative Officer