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NBA Conference: Former Deputy President, Ekweremadu Warns Against Executive Orders

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Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said unless Nigeria does away with executive legislation through Executive Order, the country may be heading towards authoritarianism and possible dictatorship,

Ekweremadu stated this while delivering a paper on “Executive Order and Democratic Governance” at the ongoing 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Abuja on Wednesday.

“Democracy envisages the division of governmental powers into three different arms, each with distinct powers and responsibilities clearly provided for in a country’s grundnorm. The philosophy behind this compartmentalisation of powers is the need to preserve the liberty of citizens and prevent abuse and tyranny by one arm of government over the other.

“Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution provides that the legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in the National Assembly. The National Assembly is empowered to exclusively legislate for the peace, order, and good government of the federation or any part of it with respect to any matter on the exclusive legislative list in the second schedule to the constitution.

“The only section in the Constitution that confers the executive with some form of quasi-lawmaking powers is section 315 of the Constitution, which provides that the President or the Governor, as the case may be, may modify the text of an existing legislation, as he considers necessary or expedient, to bring such law into conformity with the provisions of the constitution”.

“It must, however, be understood that Section 315 is not a blanket provision enabling a vicious incursion into the legislative domain of lawmaking.

“It is first, a transitional provision inserted into the Constitution upon the return to democratic rule in 1999 to enable the government to fill in legislative gaps typically expected of a country transitioning from a military system to democracy. Even more, the authority to modify legislations must be limited to existing laws and not to enact or make new laws.

“A proper understanding of the context of Section 315 and the reason why it was inserted in the first place will reveal that the provision has duly outlived its usefulness and ought not to remain a part of our body of laws” Ekweremadu explained.

He regretted that the constitution amendment bill to delete the provision from the constitution in the 8th National Assembly was not signed by the President.

He cited Executive Orders 6 and 10 of the President Buhari administration as examples of overreaching executive orders.

He reminded that much as the President had good intentions to get the governors to implement the constitution amendment granting financial autonomy to States House of Assembly and States Judiciary, Harvard professors, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, warned in their book, “How Democracies Die”, the road to dictatorship is always paved with good intensions.

“Part of that Executive Order, provides for the impoundment of parts of monthly allocations of any state that fails to remit these monies to State Judiciary and State Legislature.

“This does not in any way represent what we amended in the Constitution. The Order is evidently contrary to the provisions of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and the position of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Attorney-General of Abia State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation”, he said.

Ekweremadu called on the NBA and other public interest groups to act as gatekeepers by seeking the intervention of the courts at the earliest opportunity against any Executive Orders, which seem to be in violation of constitutional provisions for the principles of separation of powers in order to stop the executive from usurping the legislative powers of the federation.

“The judiciary must be active in the protection of the well acceptable principle of separation of powers and Nigeria’s choice of federalism as a most suitable governance model for a plural society such as Nigeria.

“In fact, the executive should mind their business as is stated in Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution.

“I also propose that the executive seeks a resolution of two-thirds of both Houses of the National Assembly if there is a need for an Executive Order”, he concluded.

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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