"North Plots Post - [Nigeria President Umaru Musa] Yar’Adua Nigeria".

North Plots Post- Yar’Adua Nigeria
•Yar’Adua’s absence leaves courts without leadership
By Yusuph Olaniyonu and Festus Akanbi

Northern political and traditional establishments may have concluded that with his current illness, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may not be in a position to seek second term in 2011.
The Northern leaders who have been holding several formal and informal meetings in Kaduna and Abuja to deliberate on the future of Nigeria and how to ensure that the North does not lose its position in the power calculation are however determined to ensure that whatever happens, a Northerner is the President of Nigeria in 2011.

The need to strategise against 2011, a source close to some of the meetings held by the Northern leaders said, is borne out of their determination to ensure that the unwritten power rotational arrangement put together in 1998 to make power move from the North to South and vice versa is respected in the present circumstance.
The calculation of the Northern leaders is based on the fact that they have accepted that should Yar’Adua be so ill as to be unable to complete this term, Vice-President Jonathan Goodluck should be allowed to take over in line with Constitutional provisions.

However, the Northern leaders are set to suppport the Vice-President taking over if President Yar’Adua cannot complete his term only on the condition that he would only complete the remaining period of the present administration.
The implication of this arrangement is that if Jonathan has to take over the presidency at any point before May 29, 2011, then he is automatically disqualified from standing for election in 2011.
“They (the Northern leaders) are not prepared to conceed the second term. Thus, they will only support Jonathan taking over in case Yar’Adua is unable to complete his term on the condition that a Northerner will take over the presidency in 2011.
Meanwhile, the absence of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the country due to his illness for which he is receiving treatment in Saudi Arabia has started taking a heavy toll on government as key decisions which require his attention cannot be taken by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.

One of the areas where the President’s absence is beginning to create crisis is the judiciary where the Court of Appeal now lacks leadership following the retirement of its president, Justice Umaru Abdullahi last month.
Though the name of Justice Isa Ayo Salami has been forwarded to the Senate by President Yar’Adua in line with the provision of Section 238(1) of the constitution as a replacement for Abdullahi, the nominee cannot function in the capacity until the Senate ratifies the nomination and the oath of office is administered on him by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
In the absence of a substantive president of the court of appeal, Section 238(4) provides that
“…until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the president shall appoint the most senior justice of the Court of Appeal to perform those functions.”

Since Abdullahi has now formally retired and Ayo Salami’s appointment has not been fully formalised for him to assume the functions of President of the Court of Appeal, President Yar’Adua needs to exercise his duty and powers under Section 238 (4) for anybody to act as head of the appellate court.
With the absence of President Yar’Adua, the Appeal Court has no leadership and therefore key responsibilities of the presiding office of the court like assigning cases to judges, constituting panels to hear special appeals and handling administrative duties of the court cannot be legally carried out.
It is also believed that the same situation that prevails in the court of appeal may soon extend to the Supreme Court where Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, the Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN) is due to retire on December 30.

Though Justice Ignatius Katsina-Alu has been nominated as the next CJN, he cannot act in that capacity after December 30 when the position becomes vacant until his appointment has been ratified by the Senate and he takes the oath of office or President Yar’Adua nominates him as acting CJN as provided for by section 231 subsection 4 of the constitution.
The vacuum in the office of the CJN will further worsen the situation in the court of appeal as a sub-stantive CJN is required to administer oath of office on the new president of the court of appeal.
Only the holder of the office of president of the country can swear in the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Thus even if the senate confirms the appointment of Salami and Katsina, -Alu, the administration of oath of office on the leaders of the two topmost courts may be impossible in the absence of Yar Ádua.

However, the judiciary is not the only sector of the country being negatively affected by the absence of President Yar’Adua.
Oil firms whose applications for licence renewal are awaiting the presidential endorsement are in limbo.
Industry sources said already, companies like Chevron Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are in dilemma as key oil licences which enable them to operate some oil blocs would expire at the end of this year without the hope of reneweal as a result of the continued stay of the president in Saudi Arabia.
THISDAY gathered at the weekend that already, concerns are being raised that the President’s extended trip abroad for medical care in recent months would worsen the case for foreign oil companies that are locked in negotiations over expiring oil licenses and tracking industry legislation now before the National Assembly.

According to a Wall Street Journal report at the weekend, president Yar’ Adua’s health situation has become an important question for investors, given the risks of doing business in the country.
The report claimed that executives at Chevron, which has several multibillion dollar oil and gas installations in Nigeria, have been rebuffed in recent attempts to meet the president. "The administration definitely doesn't want people to see him," Wall Street Journal quoted a senior Chevron executive as saying.