Isa Yuguda, the
governor of Bauchi State, has expressed optimism that Acting President
Goodluck Jonathan will choose a team that will help to drive the
economy as fast as possible.

Mr. Yuguda, who is
a son-in-law to the ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua, said, “he is fast
recovering.” He told journalists at the Presidential Villa after a
private meeting with Mr. Jonathan, that the country needs a team that
will help to reposition it for vision 2020.

The advice from
Mr. Yuguda is coming despite the belief in some quarters that as a
close confidant of Mr. Yar’Adua, he was not in support of the
dissolution of the cabinet by the Acting President last week.

Ignorant Gaddafi

In reaction to the
Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi’s statement that Nigeria should be split
into two, Mr. Yuguda said he should have studied the country before
making such an outrageous comment.

“That is
unfortunate and I don’t know whether Gaddafi knows Nigeria. I don’t
know whether he knows that Nigeria has close to 500 tribes. I don’t
know whether he knows that adherents of Christianity and Islam are
spread across the 36 states. So for him to suggest that Nigeria should
be sliced into two, I think he must be a big joker.

“We don’t even have
religious crisis in our country. What we have are purely ethnic
clashes, and these clashes are caused by economic hardship and
sometimes envy, and the international community views it as a religious
issue.”

Mr. Gaddaffi had said the solution to the sectarian crisis in
Nigeria was dividing the country into two, the North for the Muslims,
and the South for Christians.

While the debate on who chairs the
Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) continues, an electoral
assessment report has slammed the Commission for the current dearth of
public confidence in Nigeria‘s voting process and urged the executive
arm of the government to immediately change its leadership.

The report made 10 major
recommendations to improve Nigeria’s electoral processes, ahead of the
2011 elections. The recommendations, two which require legal reforms,
include reconstitution of INEC chair and board, transparency on the
part of INEC, and a call for support from the media and civil society
groups to ensure accurate reportage of elections. The report also made
recommendations for the police and the judiciary.

According to the report, commissioned
by the United States and United Kingdom governments, Nigeria will only
be able to conduct credible elections next year if some reforms were
urgently carried out, while specifically decrying the “profound and
widespread lack of trust” in INEC.

“Most critically, the crisis of
confidence in INEC must be addressed urgently for credible elections to
be possible,” the report said, adding that the agency had failed to
take “critical reform initiatives to improve its own performance and
public confidence in the process”.

The group which carried out the
research, Independent Electoral Assessment Team, comprised five members
and chaired by Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Chairman of the Ghana Electoral
Commission, was convened by the US and UK diplomatic missions in
Nigeria on the request of President Umaru Yar’Adua, late last year.

Between 9 January and 29 January, Mr.
Afari-Gyan and his team carried out the research in Nigeria and a final
draft of the report was obtained yesterday.

The other members of the team are Denis
Kadima, executive director of the Electoral Institute of Southern
Africa; Darren Kew, a professor of International Dispute Resolution at
the University of Massachusetts; Hannah Roberts, an election
consultant; and Margarita Aswani, a democracy and governance consultant.

The new and the old

While accepting
that some legal reforms are necessary for a change in Nigeria’s
electoral process, especially as espoused in an earlier assessment in
2008 by the popular Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), led by Muhammadu
Uwais, former Chief Justice, the team paid more attention to the poor
administrative processes in INEC.

“Electoral reform
is strengthened and secured through legal reform. While such legal
reform is outstanding, key administrative actions under the current
legal framework could provide for the possibility of credible elections
in 2011,” the report said.

The group observed
that Nigeria’s electoral process has been further complicated by the
sheer size of the electorate in comparison with available
infrastructure.

“Holding elections
in Nigeria presents many challenges, not least the large size of the
electorate, the limited infrastructure, low literacy levels, and an
environment that is characterised as violent and corrupt. There are
also complex ethnic, religious and geographical divides,” the team said.

Commissioning an International Team

It is not clear why
Mr. Yar’Adua decided to commission another team to carry out an
assessment of electoral processes in Nigeria last year, especially as a
previous report, which was submitted in December 2008, was yet to be
implemented.

According to the report, the UK and US came in to help following the president’s request.

“At the request of the President of Nigeria, the UK and US
diplomatic missions arranged for an independent international electoral
assessment team to make recommendations for holding credible elections
in 2011,” the report said.

While the debate on who chairs the
Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) continues, an electoral
assessment report has slammed the Commission for the current dearth of
public confidence in Nigeria‘s voting process and urged the executive
arm of the government to immediately change its leadership.

The report made 10 major
recommendations to improve Nigeria’s electoral processes, ahead of the
2011 elections. The recommendations, two which require legal reforms,
include reconstitution of INEC chair and board, transparency on the
part of INEC, and a call for support from the media and civil society
groups to ensure accurate reportage of elections. The report also made
recommendations for the police and the judiciary.

According to the report, commissioned
by the United States and United Kingdom governments, Nigeria will only
be able to conduct credible elections next year if some reforms were
urgently carried out, while specifically decrying the “profound and
widespread lack of trust” in INEC.

“Most critically, the crisis of
confidence in INEC must be addressed urgently for credible elections to
be possible,” the report said, adding that the agency had failed to
take “critical reform initiatives to improve its own performance and
public confidence in the process”.

The group which carried out the
research, Independent Electoral Assessment Team, comprised five members
and chaired by Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Chairman of the Ghana Electoral
Commission, was convened by the US and UK diplomatic missions in
Nigeria on the request of President Umaru Yar’Adua, late last year.

Between 9 January and 29 January, Mr.
Afari-Gyan and his team carried out the research in Nigeria and a final
draft of the report was obtained yesterday.

The other members of the team are Denis
Kadima, executive director of the Electoral Institute of Southern
Africa; Darren Kew, a professor of International Dispute Resolution at
the University of Massachusetts; Hannah Roberts, an election
consultant; and Margarita Aswani, a democracy and governance consultant.

The new and the old

While accepting
that some legal reforms are necessary for a change in Nigeria’s
electoral process, especially as espoused in an earlier assessment in
2008 by the popular Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), led by Muhammadu
Uwais, former Chief Justice, the team paid more attention to the poor
administrative processes in INEC.

“Electoral reform
is strengthened and secured through legal reform. While such legal
reform is outstanding, key administrative actions under the current
legal framework could provide for the possibility of credible elections
in 2011,” the report said.

The group observed
that Nigeria’s electoral process has been further complicated by the
sheer size of the electorate in comparison with available
infrastructure.

“Holding elections
in Nigeria presents many challenges, not least the large size of the
electorate, the limited infrastructure, low literacy levels, and an
environment that is characterised as violent and corrupt. There are
also complex ethnic, religious and geographical divides,” the team said.

Commissioning an International Team

It is not clear why
Mr. Yar’Adua decided to commission another team to carry out an
assessment of electoral processes in Nigeria last year, especially as a
previous report, which was submitted in December 2008, was yet to be
implemented.

According to the report, the UK and US came in to help following the president’s request.

“At the request of the President of Nigeria, the UK and US
diplomatic missions arranged for an independent international electoral
assessment team to make recommendations for holding credible elections
in 2011,” the report said.

Investors got one more reason to do
business in Lagos State yesterday as the Commissioner of Justice and
Attorney General, Supo Shasore, presented the amended version of the
Partnership Law of Lagos State.

This presentation took place at a
breakfast meeting with lawyers, professionals and journalists at the
Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.

Dignitaries in attendance included the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ben Akabueze.

What has changed?

This new law contains the amendments
creating Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) in business. This means,
investors that register their businesses under this law enjoy reduced
responsibility if the partnership breaks up or the venture fails.

It also means the partners are immune
to lawsuits, if an entity decides to take their company to court. The
Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, assented to it in March 2009,
although work began on its formulation in 2003.

In the original model, partners could
be sued along with the company they set up, and had to pay shareholders
out of their pockets if the business winds up.

The desire to protect investors and
keep the trend in growing economies around the globe encouraged the
Lagos government to push for the law’s creation. The Registrar of
Partnerships and Director of Commercial Law, Funlola Odunlami, said,
“The newly-amended law is especially a bigger vehicle for the execution
of partnerships, who intend to engage in joint trade or business for
profit, while enjoying most of the benefits accruable to limited
liability companies.”

She said the law made it more convenient to do business.

New law

Mr. Shasore said the Partnership Law
had undergone much change in the past, and this was another level in
its evolution. The last part of the four-part law is dedicated to the
workings of the LLP.

He said the new law come about because
of the government’s “quest to do business in a seamless and convenient
way.” He also said parts of the concept were borrowed from other
countries like Singapore and the United Kingdom.

“The law doesn’t seek to incorporate
any entity,” he warned. “You must first of all have a partnership
before you can approach this law. When you file on the provisions of
the law at the registry, what you are seeking to do is not to
incorporate an LLP; what you are seeking to do is register a
partnership and give it limited liability.”

During the question and answer session, Mr. Supo assured Lagosians that the law would become universal.

He said states in the United States would soon have a unified law on Limited Liability Partnerships.

“Embrace it”

Lawyers at the event were encouraged to take advantage of the law to form larger law firms.

Speaking after the event, Mr. Akabueze said the business community would welcome the law.

“They will embrace it. It presents part of our efforts to expand the
frontiers of business relationships and grow partnerships as a
veritable alternative to structuring large businesses. Before now,
there’s been a notion that partnerships necessarily have to be small
operations. By this law, they can become very large.”

Investors got one more reason to do
business in Lagos State yesterday as the Commissioner of Justice and
Attorney General, Supo Shasore, presented the amended version of the
Partnership Law of Lagos State.

This presentation took place at a
breakfast meeting with lawyers, professionals and journalists at the
Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.

Dignitaries in attendance included the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ben Akabueze.

What has changed?

This new law contains the amendments
creating Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) in business. This means,
investors that register their businesses under this law enjoy reduced
responsibility if the partnership breaks up or the venture fails.

It also means the partners are immune
to lawsuits, if an entity decides to take their company to court. The
Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, assented to it in March 2009,
although work began on its formulation in 2003.

In the original model, partners could
be sued along with the company they set up, and had to pay shareholders
out of their pockets if the business winds up.

The desire to protect investors and
keep the trend in growing economies around the globe encouraged the
Lagos government to push for the law’s creation. The Registrar of
Partnerships and Director of Commercial Law, Funlola Odunlami, said,
“The newly-amended law is especially a bigger vehicle for the execution
of partnerships, who intend to engage in joint trade or business for
profit, while enjoying most of the benefits accruable to limited
liability companies.”

She said the law made it more convenient to do business.

New law

Mr. Shasore said the Partnership Law
had undergone much change in the past, and this was another level in
its evolution. The last part of the four-part law is dedicated to the
workings of the LLP.

He said the new law come about because
of the government’s “quest to do business in a seamless and convenient
way.” He also said parts of the concept were borrowed from other
countries like Singapore and the United Kingdom.

“The law doesn’t seek to incorporate
any entity,” he warned. “You must first of all have a partnership
before you can approach this law. When you file on the provisions of
the law at the registry, what you are seeking to do is not to
incorporate an LLP; what you are seeking to do is register a
partnership and give it limited liability.”

During the question and answer session, Mr. Supo assured Lagosians that the law would become universal.

He said states in the United States would soon have a unified law on Limited Liability Partnerships.

“Embrace it”

Lawyers at the event were encouraged to take advantage of the law to form larger law firms.

Speaking after the event, Mr. Akabueze said the business community would welcome the law.

“They will embrace it. It presents part of our efforts to expand the
frontiers of business relationships and grow partnerships as a
veritable alternative to structuring large businesses. Before now,
there’s been a notion that partnerships necessarily have to be small
operations. By this law, they can become very large.”

The Nigerian
Meteorological Agency (NIMET) on Tuesday allayed fears that the current
change in the weather in our country might cause skin ailments.

Speaking to
journalists at the agency’s Lagos office, Ifeanyi Nnodu, the acting
director weather forecasting services, disclosed that people should not
take seriously, the warnings that they stay indoors because the weather
will result in acid rain that is cancerous to the human skin.

“People should go
about their businesses. The moon does not give acid rain,” he said.
“There is nothing to be worried about, for acid rain does not give
cancer and it is not associated with the moon.”

According to Mr.
Nnodu, acid rain is caused by man’s activities that inject oxides of
carbon, nitrogen and sulphur into the atmosphere. He added that when it
rains, the particles are brought back to the earth, affecting plants,
metals, and some other organisms, but not humans.

“It is something
that happens normally in industrial areas, not because you are in March
2010, so when it rains you should go about what you are doing,” he
said. “The rain may be acidic as a result of industries in Lagos, but
it does not cause cancer.”

Last week, there
were speculations by people in the state that the prevailing weather
condition might result in a rainfall that is cancerous to the skin, and
the situation led to emails and text messages requesting people to stay
indoors whenever it rains.

Mr. Nnodu, however, advised asthmatic patients to desist from environments that are dusty, as this may exacerbate their ailment.

“Dust particles are
irritants to those who have asthmatic problems, health problems, and
heart diseases, and they are usually advised to keep indoors so that it
does not aggravate their health conditions,” he said.

On when the hazy
weather is to clear, Mr. Nnodu disclosed that the onset of the rainy
season will dispel the harmattan fog, especially in southern Nigeria.

“The dust may persist for some time in the northern part of this
country, but from the predications we gave concerning the onset of the
rainy season, the southern part is already getting to its offset, and
we are expecting that the rains will come and the dust will disappear,”
he said.

The Nigerian
Meteorological Agency (NIMET) on Tuesday allayed fears that the current
change in the weather in our country might cause skin ailments.

Speaking to
journalists at the agency’s Lagos office, Ifeanyi Nnodu, the acting
director weather forecasting services, disclosed that people should not
take seriously, the warnings that they stay indoors because the weather
will result in acid rain that is cancerous to the human skin.

“People should go
about their businesses. The moon does not give acid rain,” he said.
“There is nothing to be worried about, for acid rain does not give
cancer and it is not associated with the moon.”

According to Mr.
Nnodu, acid rain is caused by man’s activities that inject oxides of
carbon, nitrogen and sulphur into the atmosphere. He added that when it
rains, the particles are brought back to the earth, affecting plants,
metals, and some other organisms, but not humans.

“It is something
that happens normally in industrial areas, not because you are in March
2010, so when it rains you should go about what you are doing,” he
said. “The rain may be acidic as a result of industries in Lagos, but
it does not cause cancer.”

Last week, there
were speculations by people in the state that the prevailing weather
condition might result in a rainfall that is cancerous to the skin, and
the situation led to emails and text messages requesting people to stay
indoors whenever it rains.

Mr. Nnodu, however, advised asthmatic patients to desist from environments that are dusty, as this may exacerbate their ailment.

“Dust particles are
irritants to those who have asthmatic problems, health problems, and
heart diseases, and they are usually advised to keep indoors so that it
does not aggravate their health conditions,” he said.

On when the hazy
weather is to clear, Mr. Nnodu disclosed that the onset of the rainy
season will dispel the harmattan fog, especially in southern Nigeria.

“The dust may persist for some time in the northern part of this
country, but from the predications we gave concerning the onset of the
rainy season, the southern part is already getting to its offset, and
we are expecting that the rains will come and the dust will disappear,”
he said.

Airlines in our
country on Tuesday commenced flight operations by airlifting passengers
from various airports to their respective destinations. This came after
about 24 hours of complete flight cancellations by airlines, following
the “hazardous weather conditions” experienced in the country.

Though there were
flight delays especially to northern states, as a result of the weather
situation, the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, witnessed series
of aircraft take-offs and landings.

“Passengers can now
fly based on instructions from the control tower, and this is because
the weather, though fair, has not cleared completely,” said an officer
with Aero Contractors, who asked to remain anonymous. The source
disclosed that the bad weather affected carriers in the country
negatively, stressing that during yesterday’s severe hazy weather, some
passengers demanded the refund of their fares “without considering the
airline.”

“Airlines lost
millions to that incident yesterday, but some passengers refused to
understand that it was not the fault of airlines,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the
sales of tickets by ticketing officers at the Murtala Mohammed Airport
2 (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) went on as usual, and
passengers embarked on their flights with various aircrafts departing
the airports.

Onn Monday, we
reported that hundreds of passengers were stranded at different
airports in our country, following the fog that impaired visibility
across our nation’s airspace.

Earlier, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), while reacting to the
situation, directed airlines and their flight crews to enlighten
travellers about the situation, adding that the cancellation of flights
was for the good of the passengers, as safety is the highest priority.

Harold Demuren,
director general of the aviation authority, implored pilots to carry
out intensive pre-flight briefings for weather conditions before
embarking on any flight.

According to Mr. Demuren, Nigeria experiences regular harmattan that reduces the visibility of pilots during flight operations.

“Pilots should
carefully review the procedures for their operations whenever a
forecast shows that reduced visibility or adverse weather conditions
might exist for any portion of the flight,” he said.

“Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) will close airports to
arrivals and departures when the runway visual range is measured at
less than 800 metres, and pilots must be prepared to postpone flights
or divert to alternate airports in the circumstances.”

Airlines in our
country on Tuesday commenced flight operations by airlifting passengers
from various airports to their respective destinations. This came after
about 24 hours of complete flight cancellations by airlines, following
the “hazardous weather conditions” experienced in the country.

Though there were
flight delays especially to northern states, as a result of the weather
situation, the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, witnessed series
of aircraft take-offs and landings.

“Passengers can now
fly based on instructions from the control tower, and this is because
the weather, though fair, has not cleared completely,” said an officer
with Aero Contractors, who asked to remain anonymous. The source
disclosed that the bad weather affected carriers in the country
negatively, stressing that during yesterday’s severe hazy weather, some
passengers demanded the refund of their fares “without considering the
airline.”

“Airlines lost
millions to that incident yesterday, but some passengers refused to
understand that it was not the fault of airlines,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the
sales of tickets by ticketing officers at the Murtala Mohammed Airport
2 (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) went on as usual, and
passengers embarked on their flights with various aircrafts departing
the airports.

Onn Monday, we
reported that hundreds of passengers were stranded at different
airports in our country, following the fog that impaired visibility
across our nation’s airspace.

Earlier, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), while reacting to the
situation, directed airlines and their flight crews to enlighten
travellers about the situation, adding that the cancellation of flights
was for the good of the passengers, as safety is the highest priority.

Harold Demuren,
director general of the aviation authority, implored pilots to carry
out intensive pre-flight briefings for weather conditions before
embarking on any flight.

According to Mr. Demuren, Nigeria experiences regular harmattan that reduces the visibility of pilots during flight operations.

“Pilots should
carefully review the procedures for their operations whenever a
forecast shows that reduced visibility or adverse weather conditions
might exist for any portion of the flight,” he said.

“Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) will close airports to
arrivals and departures when the runway visual range is measured at
less than 800 metres, and pilots must be prepared to postpone flights
or divert to alternate airports in the circumstances.”