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There are about 800,000 companies in Nigeria registered between June 2004 and 2010, the Corporate Affairs Commission says.
Garba Abubakar, the Special Adviser to the Registrar General of the commission, disclosed this at the weekend.
Mr. Abubakar attributed the growth in the registration of companies to the deployment of information and communications technologies registration.
“The total number of registered companies we have today is in the range of 800,000. There are 2.8million business names and about 38 000 cooperative groups,” he said. “Every month we register about 2000 companies, in a year we register between 25,000 to 30,000 companies. We have been doing that consistently since 2004.”
Mr. Abubakar further stated that the agency received an average of three thousand requests for name reservation per day, but some reserved names are often not registered.
“Before 2004 company registration was done manually,” he said. “Apart from checking for names, registration and generation of certificate was being done manually. Incorporation process was often duplicated, because of this and given the increasing number of companies being registered in the country from less a record of less than 200,000 when the company was created in 2001 to about 6 to 700,000 in 2004 when the online registration started, the Commission decided to deploy eRegistration.
“Management now adopted to design software for that purpose. From 2004 till date, registration of companies is done electronically through a workflow ranging from reservation of name up to generation of certificates.”
Moving into fibre optics
Mr Abubakar also noted that the commission had used Very Small Aperture Terminal, VSAT for its internet connection but that with the increased growth in business, the service is no longer adequate and that arrangements are in top gear to migrate to fibre optics platform.
“When we started, we were relying solely on VSAT to link all offices in the 36 states of the federation but it has its own challenges. Connectivity is a problem because unlike in advanced countries where ICT infrastructure is available, they have connected not to VSAT but fibre optics connection all over,” he said.
“So, because of the frequent occurrence of cyber downtime and the issues of connectivity, the commission decided that we should migrate from the VSAT platform to fibre optics. We have decided that five offices at the moment will be linked to the new service platform.” He said the contract has been awarded to Globacom to provide cyber optics to the company so that their offices in Lagos, Kaduna Port Harcourt, Enugu and Benin will soon be using fibre optics. It is expected the offices will be connected by December.
“We will discard VSAT because of inherent problems. That is the first stage and by next year all the other offices will be on fibre optics instead of VSAT,” he said.

The Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria (PSN), Ondo State Chapter, at the weekend protested
what they called ‘unmitigated discrimination’ between pharmacists and
other medical personnel by the state government.

The union noted
that the inequitable policy of the government, which places pharmacists
in Category B in the employment of medical personnel, as against their
medical doctor colleagues, who are placed in Category A, is unnecessary.

The State Chairman
of the PSN, Samuel Oluwaoromipin Adekola, who spoke in Akure, Ondo
State, at the celebration of this year’s World Pharmacy Day, said the
categorization was unacceptable to pharmacists in the state.

He added that the action of the state government was capable of causing disaffection between the two professionals.

“The association
has sent a memo to Governor Olusegun Mimiko on the need to address the
anomaly that is capable of causing crisis in the medical sector in the
state,” he said. “We want to state that the training of pharmacists was
never inferior to that of doctors.

“The Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria will like to inform Mr Mimiko that the latest
Pharmacy academic qualification in Nigeria is the Doctor of Pharmacy
Degree (Pharm D), a six-year university academic programme like the
Doctor of Medicine (MBBS degree).

Correct anomaly

“We, therefore,
wish to call on the governor to correct this anomaly, bearing in mind
the negative impact this grievous mistake may have on the various good
programmes of his administration in the health sector of the state,
particularly at a time when the federal government is sparing no effort
at achieving harmony in the health sector of our nation to the benefit
of our patients.”

Mr Adekola advised
Mr Mimiko to follow the footstep of Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said
recently set up a multidisciplinary committee to address various
anomalies among practitioners in the medical sector.

“Here in Ondo
State, the latest categorization has not been fair to pharmacists and
pharmaceutical practices. There is no basis for the discrimination. It
is appalling and we have reported the matter to the government,” he
said.

The chairman said that though members of the society do not believe
in going on strike to resolve the matter, they may declare
pharmaceutical services closed if the government refuses to address the
issue.

The Anambra State Election Tribunal,
sitting in Awka, the state capital, has once again upheld the
re-election of the state governor, Peter Obi, as declared by the
Independent National Electoral Commission on February 7 this year.

Victor Anigbata, the candidate of the
National Solidarity Democratic Party (NSDP) in the February 6, 2010,
gubernatorial election in the state, had filed a suit at the tribunal
against the election of Obi and urged it to nullify the outcome of that
election on the grounds that it was not in compliance with the
electoral Act and the constitution.

But the five-man tribunal panel headed
by Pius Damulak, last weekend, in a unanimous judgment read by one of
them, Michael Akoja, which lasted for about eight hours, held that the
petitioner woefully failed to prove his case and thus dismissed the
petition for lack of merit.

The tribunal also held that Mr Obi’s
election fully complied with the Electoral Law 2006, as well as with
the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.

According to the judges, Mr Obi’s
declaration and return by INEC as winner of the gubernatorial poll,
contrary to the petitioners’ claims, was in compliance with the
provisions of section 179 of the constitution, especially sub-sections
2 and 3.

The judges also held that the
petitioners failed to prove that the election was substantially marred
by irregularities as they claimed, as according to them, the
petitioners brought only two witnesses who testified in the court and
there was no eligible voter who came to court to say he went to vote on
the election day but was prevented from voting, nor did the petitioners
tender in the court any voters’ register to prove their claim that the
register used in the conduct of the election did not contain names of
the registered voters in the state.

Abuse of process

The judges declared
that they were bound by their earlier decision in a similar petition
brought by the Hope Democratic Party’s (HDP) deputy governorship
candidate, Mike Okoye, wherein the latter challenged the outcome of the
election.

Contrary to the
petitioners’ claims, the judges held that Mr Obi, who contested the
election under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) platform,
secured a quarter of the total valid votes cast in 15 out of the 21
local government areas of the state, meaning that he met the spread as
required under the constitution.

Shortly before
announcing that the judgement would be read by Mr Akoja, chairman of
the tribunal, Pius Damulak, had dismissed a motion on notice brought by
the petitioner urging the tribunal to abandon the petition.

The tribunal held
that it was an abuse of court process for a party to apply that a judge
should discontinue in a matter which date had been fixed for judgment
as, according to them, the action amounted to an attempt to arrest the
judgment.

Counsel to the petitioner, Ejike Ekwunze, said he was satisfied with the judgement.

A presidential
aspirant on the platform of Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP), Pat
Utomi has expressed strong commitment to the initiative of a group of
24 political leaders of thought who plan to present common candidates
at the next general elections.

He also said that
though he is currently the party’s chairman, his presidential
aspiration and the platform for its actualization is purely dependent
on the success of the new alliance of progressive politicians in the
country.

Addressing Mega
Summit Strategy Team in Lagos at the weekend, Mr Utomi said he will be
making a formal declaration of his intent to run for office of the
president immediately after the meeting of progressive leaders of
thought to be hosted by Anthony Enahoro in Benin, Edo State capital on
October 7th.

He added that his
desire to run for the presidency would be predicated on the plan by
some political groups to present a formidable front in the presidential
elections.

“My desire to run
for the office of the president is predicated on the momentum that will
be generated by leaders of conscience towards producing formidable
front,” Mr Utomi said. “I have a duty to my conscience and posterity
and shall seek to prosecute that obligation in the present circumstance
on the granite coalition of genuine patriots and parties committed to
redeeming Nigeria.” Too weak to matter The presidential aspirant said
though he has been under pressure from many quarters to contest the
elections, no single force can dislodge the PDP from power.

“Though I appear to be under serious pressure from many quarters to
run, as things stand today, no single patriotic force can by itself
neutralize the antics of the ruling cabal in the country. So, we are
committed to the Kenya model of patriotic alliance that can provide a
granite coalition and formidable front capable of ousting the power
mongers in Nigeria.” Mr Utomi also announced the recent reconciliation
between the leadership of his party, Social Democratic Mega Party and
Rasheed Shitta Bey led Mega Party Progressive Platform, adding that the
two groups are already “perfecting strategies with other progressive
platforms to face the 2011 elections as a block.” He, however, promised
a coalition government of national unity if the patriotic alliance wins
the forthcoming presidential election.

Former governor of Oyo State, Rasidi
Ladoja, has described the current leadership of the state as
illiterates, saying his desire to dislodge the illiterates from the
state’s Government House informs his decision to contest in the next
governorship election.

Mr Ladoja, who was speaking at a
special lecture organized to mark his 66th birthday in Ibadan at the
weekend, said he was going to run for the office of state governor even
if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his current party, refuses him
the ticket.

“As I said, I have no choice nowadays, because of my children, to fight and get the glory of Oyo State back.

“If it is the quest of the people, at
the appropriate time, we will tell you the direction we are going. I
will contest. I will not loot the treasury. I will not betray your
trust. I will work assiduously for you all. I have said it; I will
contest with or without PDP,” he said.

He expressed worries that thugs have
taken over the running of the state, having successfully eased out the
best brains, urging the people to rise up to the task of taking the
power back from them.

“How did we get to this stage today?
The ball is in the court of all of us today. We must get them out of
that place. I told people that I am not afraid of death. The average
life-span in Nigeria is between 54 and 66. I am a father, I am a
grandfather. So I have decided that whatever is left for me will be
used on this struggle because I don’t want my grandchildren to be led
by thugs.

“One thing that I am grateful for is
that I gave good governance to the people of Oyo State when I was in
government. I did not add one block to my house, I did not add one
extra car to my fleet of cars and I did not add a plot to my estate. I
swear, I did not. So our intention is to let people know today that it
is a fight that we must fight, if we must get the government back from
the illiterates for the enlightened. We must be ready.” Rescue team
Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who gave the
birthday lecture, however, scored all those who have governed of the
state in the last 12 years low in terms of quality governance,
suggesting that the state needs a rescue team to get it out of the
current doldrums.

In a lecture, titled “50 Years of
Independence in Nigeria, Oyo State as a Pace Setter”, Mr Akintola
traced the problem of Oyo State to leadership, stating that “no pace
has been set and none is being contemplated” for her.

Specifically speaking on the last 12
years of our nation’s democracy, the senior lawyer said Oyo has been
bedevilled by rudderless leadership, who have failed to give it any
meaningful development.

“Virtually all the development projects
the state can boast of presently are the legacies of the late Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, General David Jemibewon and Chief Bola Ige, all of
whom worked tirelessly to champion the cause of the sustainable growth
and development of the state during their respective eras,” he said.

“Frankly speaking, the present day Oyo
State only sets the pace in culpable atrocities and evil deeds,
unbridled official corruption, inept leadership, massive election
rigging, institutional decay and gross underdevelopment.” He noted
further that the state has received several billions of naira in
statutory allocations since 1999, without anything tangible to show for
it, saying “under the present dispensation, selfless service and
commitment to the cause of the state on the part of the leaders are now
a thing of the past, with an attendant leadership failure now
militating against the sustainable growth and development of the state”.

The only way out, he explained, was for the political elite in the
south-west of the country to wake up from their slumber and wrestle
power from the current crop of leaders who have failed to give the
state, the political headquarters of the region, the required direction.

Ahead of the start
of the 2010/2011 football season, which gets underway this weekend, the
Nigerian Premier League (NPL) has announced that clubs whose fans
assault match officials will henceforth pay a fine of five million
naira.

Previously,
defaulting clubs were sanctioned one million naira by the NPL but it
obviously didn’t serve as a deterrent as fans and clubs continued to
flout the rules.

Last season
witnessed an upsurge in stadium violence, and it ranked as one of the
worst ever in the history of the league in Nigeria since it acquired
professional status in 1990.

But the NPL is keen
to minimise incidences of violence at match venues and has stated that
they have decided to amend some rules so that discipline can return to
the league.

Articles 3.7

The most notable rule amended is Articles 3.7(1), which now states that:

“Intimidation and
harassment of match officials by clubs supporter(s)/fans or club
officials before, during, or after pre-match meetings is strictly
prohibited and attracts a fine of N5 million payable before the club’s
next home match.”

Articles 3.7(2)
also states that: “Where the match officials are harassed or
intimidated, Match Commissioners are empowered to call off or
discontinue with the meetings and or the matches,” while Articles
3.7(3) states that: “Upon receipt of the Match Commissioner’s report, 3
points and 3 goals shall be deducted from the already accrued points of
the offending team, and their opponent shall be credited with 3 points
and 3 goals.”

Acting Executive
Secretary, Tunji Babalola said in Abuja that all the clubs will have
the rules which they will share to their players this week.

“We are ready for
the start of the league this week. But we are also ready to enforce the
rules so that we can turn the fortunes of the game around in the
country.

“We know that the clubs will study the amended rules and regulations so that they will not run foul of it,” he said.

Babalola, on behalf of the NPL, also called all clubs to strictly
adhere to the new rules so that Nigerians will enjoy the domestic game
in the country which kicks off this Saturday.

The last 50 years
of Nigeria’s independence have been that of waste and misgovernment,
and there is, therefore, no cause for celebration, speakers at the
third plenary session of the Nigeria’s Peoples’ Parliament in Diaspora
(NPPID) said at the weekend.

The parliament,
which met at the La Guardia Marriot Hotel in New York, said rather than
engage in any festivities, Nigerians should stand up to the ruling
elite in the country and seize the momentum of the coming elections to
throw out those holding down the nation’s progress.

The NPPID, an
initiative of the Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum, a New-York based
pro-democracy group, is a platform for citizens in the Diaspora to
“cross fertilize ideas” and suggest solutions to the country’s myriad
problems. It’s first plenary was in March this year.

After an extensive
debate on the “Problems, Progress and Prospects” of Nigeria at 50,
participants at the session agreed that the country had not made any
significant progress in its five decades of existence as an independent
nation. The discussions culminated in a motion, which urged the masses
to rise up, confront the “greedy” ruling elite, and halt the plundering
of their country.

“The problem of
Nigeria emanates largely from the pathological greed, corruption and
lack of patriotism by the ruling elite, past and present, military and
civilian,” read the motion raised by Bukola Oreofe, executive director
of the NDLF.

“The masses should
demand ‘Enough is Enough’ and that the next 50 years should be
different from the last 50 years through citizen engagement and demand
for accountability.” Before Mr Oreofe raised his motion, which was
unanimously passed, speaker after speaker lamented the corruption, bad
governance and missed opportunities in the last 50 years.

Speaker of the
parliament, Okey Ndibe, described Nigeria as a country “conceived in
hope but nurtured by its leaders into hopelessness”.

Mr Ndibe, a
professor of literature at Trinity College, Connecticut, added, “Our
country faces momentous times in the coming months as the elections
approach. This is a make or mar situation for us. If we get it right,
we will begin to reclaim our country. If we don’t, we may lose Nigeria
as an idea and as a nation difficult to redeem.”

Back to the ditch

Chukwuma Okadigwe,
who said he was in the stadium in Lagos when the British Union Jack was
lowered and the green-white-green flag hoisted, lamented how “a country
that was supposed to fly like an eagle has gone back to the ditch.” For
Bolaji Aluko, a professor of chemical engineering at Howard University
in Washington, Nigeria’s problem started when “very uneducated people
started becoming the leaders of Nigeria”.

“The next election
is very important for us. We must have clean elections to elect the
right leaders,” Mr Aluko said. “If we get the right leaders, Nigeria
can take off. If not, it will just be business as usual.” As part of
its own contribution to a clean and credible elections, the parliament
resolved to dispatch a well-equipped team to Nigeria to monitor the
elections.

The leadership of the NPPID was mandated to engage with local and international organizations to raise funds for that purpose.

Chairman of the
group, Adegboyega Dada, alerted “parliamentarians” that the “military
gang and their civilian counterparts” who brought Nigeria to its knees
were at their game again.

“These are the same
people that brought Nigeria to a standstill years back. They looted and
continue to loot the treasury. They committed murder with impunity and
continue undermining the integrity of Nigerians beyond acceptable
thresholds.” Mr Dada, a medical doctor, therefore, urged Nigerians to
“unite in our resolve to rescue our nation from the hands of those who
think Nigeria is their personal estate and so could do whatever they
deem fit.” Speaker Okey Ndibe agreed.

“The buffoons who
run our country do not take us seriously. When we organize, they will.
What about forming a committee so that when a government official comes
to the US to buy a house with stolen funds, we take them to court?” Mr
Ndibe suggested.

“Even if we don’t win, we would have embarrassed them. We can,
through our vigilance, say they are stealing our resources and make it
impossible for them to bring their loot here.”

Twenty-three of
the 120-man delegation that accompanied Goodluck Jonathan to New York
for the United Nations General Assembly were aides and friends of his
wife, Patience, presidency sources told NEXT yesterday.

Among aides of the
president’s wife on the trip were her steward, Benson Okpara; her
luggage officer, Geoffrey Obuofforibo and her special assistant in
charge of administration, Oroyemisi Ojewole.

In addition to the
five security operatives that accompanied her husband on the journey,
Mrs Jonathan flew her own separate security team to New York. There
were her aide-de-cap, Jacob Tamunoibuomi; her orderly, Abigail Jonah,
and Francis Ibiene, her chief security officer.

Although Mr
Jonathan’s chief physician, F. Fiberesima, was on the trip, Mrs
Jonathan reportedly insisted on taking her own personal physician,
Elizabeth Austin-Amadi, along with her. Also on the president wife’s
party were her director of protocol, Mfama Abam; her principal protocol
officer, Nuhu Kwache; her special assistant, domestic matters, Martha
Onwuzurumba; her special assistant, media, Aliagan Zubair and another
media assistant, Ayobami Adewuyi.

Four friends of Mrs Jonathan also made the trip. They were Bola Shagaya, Joyce Bozimo, Pelebo Banigo and Musa Ujah.

Helen Mark, wife
of the President of the Senate; Mariam Imoke, wife of Cross River State
governor; Fatima Shema, wife of the Katsina State governor; Oluwakemi
Alao-Akala, wife of the Oyo State governor and Clara Chime, wife of the
Enugu State chief executive, completed Mrs Jonathan’s party to New York.

Realm of absurdity

Mrs Mark also took two of her aides, Ogwuiji Clement and Omeche Omudu, along.

The vice
president’s wife, Amina Sambo, was accompanied on the journey by her
aide-de-camp, Abubakar Dauda; her principal protocol officer, Zayyad
Abdulsalam and her personal assistant, Dabo Suleiman.

The Nigerian Constitution does not recognise the offices of First Lady at the federal and state levels.

But wives of
presidents and governors, even local government chairpersons, have
continued to maintain huge offices, a retinue of aides and financial
allocations that are never retired. Over 30 aides are believed to work
for Mrs Jonathan alone.

Executive Director
of the Nigeria Liberty Democratic Forum, Bukola Oreofe, on Sunday
described Mrs Jonathan’s conduct as “obscene use of public funds”.
“What she did ranks very high in the realm of absurdity,” Mr Oreofe
said.

“I am not surprised that his wife, who has no constitutional duties,
would do that in the midst of the misery and poverty that the average
Nigerian is languishing.”

American politics
has a photogenic new face with a troubled past of bad finances,
potential fraud and a flirtation with witchcraft.

A previously
unknown conservative activist named Christine O’Donnell is a sudden
political sensation and Washington is trying to figure out what to make
of her.

“Certainly she has some explaining to do,” Republican Congressman Mike Pence said this week.

O’Donnell is a new
Republican Party nominee for November’s Senate election. She defeated a
better-known career politician for the nomination with support from the
Tea Party movement.

The Tea Party,
which draws its name from an 18th-century uprising which helped set off
the American revolution, isn’t really a political party. It’s a fast
growing insurgency within the Republican Party, pushing some lawmakers
further right and driving others from office.

As people learn more about O’Donnell, they’re wondering if she is the best kind of candidate to replace them.

For years, she led
a Christian campaign against sexual promiscuity and decried a diverse
range of evils from masturbation to shared bathrooms for male and
female students. Before that, she says she once “dabbled into
witchcraft.” She also reportedly dabbled into paying her taxes and home
loan late enough to face legal proceedings. She has very little
declared income and is facing a new complaint that she illegally spent
more than $20,000 of campaign donations on her own living expenses.

O’Donnell denied the allegations and denounced them as the work of her opponents.

“Will they lie
about us? Harass our families? Name call and try to intimidate us? They
will.” Many Republicans are nervous about candidates like O’Donnell, as
undeserving of the party’s nomination and unlikely to win.

George Bush’s
former campaign manager, Karl Rove, questioned her honesty and called
some of her remarks ‘nutty.’ But after a barrage of criticism from
party ranks, he endorsed her anyway.

That signals just
how popular the anti-tax, anti-incumbent Tea Party has become with
American voters and how powerful at the polls.

Tea Party
personalities are taking a growing role inside the Republican Party
despite opposition from many established Republican leaders.

The leadership may yet fight for control of the party. Or despite
their reservations, they can support newcomers like O’Donnell. The Tea
Party is winning a lot lately and the Republicans like to win.

Attahiru Jega, the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is
optimistic that he can oversee credible polls in Nigeria. “I can
guarantee an excellent job, if I get time until April to be able to
conduct elections,” Mr. Jega says confidently, sitting in his office at
INEC headquarters in Abuja.

He is referring to
perhaps the most urgent decision that needs to be taken regarding the
2011 polls. Last week, INEC sought the cooperation of political parties
to explore ways of extending the election timetable within a legal
framework because according to its chairman, “If we are able to conduct
an election in April, we can do a grade A job’’.

For details, get a copy of today’s NEXT newspaper