NHS England, the body overseeing the activities of the British National Health Service, is to be scrapped. British Prime Minister Keith Starmer said the move aims to cut unnecessary bureaucracy

British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced that NHS England would be scrapped in order to cut back on bureaucracy.

Ekwutosblog reports that the announcement comes as the country’s National Health Service (NHS), which provides free health care to almost the whole population, increasingly comes under fire for long waiting lists and a number of medical scandals.

What did Starmer say?

“Overstretched, unfocused, trying to do too much, doing it badly,” Starmer said while on a visit to the eastern English city of Hull.

“I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy. That money could and should be spent on nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments,” he said.

“So today, I can announce we’re going to cut bureaucracy … focus government on the priorities of working people, shift money to the front line.”

“So I’m bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms-length body, NHS England.”

Edited by: Kieran Burke

Author: Timothy Jones (Ekwutosblog)

The Niger State House of Assembly has confirmed the appointment of a new chairman and commissioners for the Niger State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

This confirmation follows an executive correspondence from Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, which was read by the Speaker, Muhammad Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji, during a plenary.

The confirmed appointees include Dr Mohammed Sharu (Bida), as chairman; Dr Maiwada S. Bello (Paikoro), as Commissioner for Enforcement and Consumer Affairs; Dr Muhammad Ameen Shakur (Bida), as Commissioner for Licensing and Regulations; Jiro Ahmed Mohammed, (Kontagora), as Commissioner for Rural Electricity Access Management; and Adamu Nagogo (Chanchaga), as Commissioner for Finance and Administration.

The Speaker congratulated the appointees and urged them to utilise their wealth of experience to drive the development of Niger State’s electricity sector.

The House of Representatives today has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to direct internet service providers in the country to block all websites hosting obscene and pornographic contents with immediate effect.

The lawmakers passed the resolution following a motion sponsored by Dalhatu Tafoki, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker from Katsina state.
Moving the motion, Tafoki argued that cyber pornography was becoming a global problem and that Nigeria, which according to him is a ‘religious country’ that prohibits against nudity and pornography, had not taken adequate steps to address it.

The legislator said several countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East had enacted laws banning pornography.

He also cited warnings from psychologists and sociologists about the negative impact of pornography, including its potential to encourage adultery, prostitution, and addiction.

“Renowned psychologists and sociologists around the world have issued stern warnings on the psychological, sociological and mental consequences of viewing pornographic content,” he said.

Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives subjected the motion to a voice vote where the lawmakers voted in support of it. The House directed the NCC to impose penalties on service providers that fail to comply with the directive