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Discharge Your Duties Without Fear, Wike Tasks Judiciary
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has challenged the Judiciary to ensure that budget control is not only the motivational factor in their craving for independence, but also the discharge of their functions without fear of intimidation or favour.
He noted that this was imperative because no government and country can make meaningful progress, if the Judiciary was not allowed to carry out their functions independently.
Wike stated this at the official presentation of 29 brand new Renault Koleos 2020 SUVs to chairmen of the Customary Courts of the Rivers State Judiciary at the State Judiciary Complex in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
He maintained that no one can talk about democracy without the rule of law.
Wike, however, described as unfortunate the unwillingness of the Judiciary in Nigeria to seek true independence to discharge their functions without harassment and intimidation.
“If Nigeria wants to move forward, if this country wants development, then, we must allow the Judiciary to operate independently and do their work,” the governor said.
He explained that the independence those in Judiciary were desirous of seems limited to how they can control their budget and finances.
“They’ve always said they want to be independent, but truly speaking, you don’t want to be independent. I have never seen an arm of government that is so afraid, intimidated by other arms of government like the Judiciary. I have never seen that in my life”, he said.
“The independence of the Judiciary you are looking for is only for budget. But you are not talking about independence of how you can carry out your job without any influence or intimidation. Independence is more when you are able to carry out your job without anybody influencing you”, Wike reminded the judicial officers.
Wike stated that the vehicles were given to the Customary Court chairmen to enable them discharge their functions unhindered.
In his remarks, the Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof Zaccheus Adangor (SAN), commended the governor for his unwavering support for the Judiciary.
The President, Customary Court of Appeal, Rivers State, Justice Christy I. Gabriel-Nwankwo, said the provision of the official vehicles would inspire and motivate the beneficiaries to perform their work.
On her part, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Inyie Iyayi-Lamikanra, said Governor Wike’s commitment to enhance the welfare of judicial officers in the country remains unparalleled.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt branch, Prince Nyekwere, said the governor has put the state Judiciary in an enviable position since he assumed office in 2015.
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
