Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has signed the state’s N1.84tn 2026 Appropriation Bill into law, hours after the Rivers State House of Assembly approved the it.

Fubara assented to the bill on Thursday at the State Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, describing the appropriation as a “breath of fresh air”.

The budget, titled “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” was passed by the Martin Amaewhule-led House earlier on Thursday after lawmakers reviewed some of the provisions in the governor’s original proposal.

Fubara had presented a N1.854tn budget proposal to the Assembly on July 10, representing a 24.5 per cent increase over the revised 2025 budget.

Speaking after signing the bill, the governor expressed optimism that the appropriation would usher in a new phase of development and cooperation between the executive and legislative arms of government.

According to Daily Post, he also assured the Assembly of his administration’s willingness to maintain a cordial relationship with the lawmakers.

Source: punchng.com

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The United Kingdom Government has changed its immigration rules to allow recognised victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas to leave exploitative employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status.

The UK Home Office announced the change on Thursday, saying the measure would prevent victims from being trapped with abusive employers because of their immigration status.

“No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status,” the Home Office said in a post shared on X.

It added, “From today, recognised victims on Skilled Worker visas can leave abusive employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status.”

The change is contained in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules: HC 584, 3 September 2026, published by the UK Government on its website on Thursday.

According to the memorandum, the Skilled Worker route “exists to allow people to work in a specific, sponsored job,” while visa holders “cannot normally take up other work if they are not working in the job they were originally sponsored to do.”

The document said the new changes to Appendix Skilled Worker lift that restriction for Skilled Workers “who are identified by the Home Office Competent Authorities as victims of modern slavery.”

It added that those recognised victims would be allowed to “work for any employer for the remaining duration of their existing permission.”

The exemption therefore applies specifically to Skilled Worker visa holders who have been identified by the Home Office Competent Authorities as victims of modern slavery, according to the memorandum.

The government said the change was designed to encourage victims to report exploitation sooner, stating that it would “incentivise victims to come forward early.”

It also said the measure would “guard against those who seek to weaponise the sponsorship system in order to exploit vulnerable workers.”

The new provision took effect on September 3, 2026, and allows qualifying victims to work for another employer for the remainder of their existing immigration permission, according to the Home Office.

Source: punchng.com

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The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the agency not to arrest anyone over civil matters.

According to The Sun, Ajayi stated this in a media interview on Thursday, explaining that the directive was part of measures to strengthen adherence to the rule of law and improve the agency’s human rights record.

The DSS boss said that since assuming office, he had introduced reforms across five broad areas: law enforcement, inter-agency synergy, accountability, respect for human rights and infrastructural and administrative reforms aimed at improving operational efficiency.

According to him, the reforms had also brought about a clearer distinction between civil and criminal matters within the agency.

Ajayi said his career experience had shown that the DSS previously conflated the two areas, stressing that the use of force was inappropriate in civil disputes.

“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” he said.

He cited the case involving political economist, Prof Pat Utomi, over allegations relating to an attempt to establish a “shadow government”, saying the DSS opted to seek judicial interpretation rather than arrest him.

“Rather than arrest him, we sought judicial interpretation. And the Court ruled that his adventure was unconstitutional, illegal, and a threat to national security,” he added.

He also referred to a case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, saying the organisation approached the court over allegations that two DSS operatives invaded its premises.

Ajayi said the matter was pursued in court without any arrest, adding that the court eventually awarded more than N100m in favour of SERAP.

Asked whether the DSS now resorts to the courts in civil matters, Ajayi replied, “Yes. I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case. And I’m sure you have found out that, even in cases involving journalists, we would rather approach the court because we do the same job.

“I call you guys our professional colleagues. The only difference is that, while you inform the public, we inform the Government. And because we inform the Government, our information is classified until we declassify it.”

Source: punchng.com

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