“It is highly shameful and unimaginable that such could happen in this 21st Century in a civilized society and democratic one. It should therefore be condemned in very strong language.

“The naval ratings have disgraced the uniform they wear as officers of the Nigerian Navy. They are therefore a disgrace to the whole nation. The rebranding gospel should therefore be commenced with this group of officers.”

For a fuller story, read the article on ThisDayonline.com. You would need to register with them though, if you are not already registered. Registration is free.

On the last update, we wrote about the headless situation of the country since the President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had gone on medical leave and had not been seen in public for over two months. On Tuesday, the Nigerian legislature took a vote to make Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting Head of State. The issue here, is if the senate is constitutionally empowered to make such a move.

Section 5 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1998 provides:

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:

(a) shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and

(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.

Then Section 145 of the CFRN 1998 states that:

Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.

Taken together, these two sections definitely bestow legality on the actions of the senate. The only problem is the provision in Section 145 states that whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of teh House of Representatives a written declaration…

To the best of our knowledge, there has been no ‘written declaration’. Does this therefore fail to legitimize the actions of the Parliament in voting Vice President Goodluck Jonathan the acting Head of State? Whichever the case, it did not stop the Vice President from accepting the post hours after and already, in a minor cabinet reshuffle, he has moved the former Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa to Minister for Special Duties (whatever that means).

To those who have followed the former Attorney General’s utterances since he took the position, this move did not come as a surprise and was rather a welcome development. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, just moments after a telephone interview with Mr. Aondoakaa, Wole Soyinka expressed astonishment that someone like the former Attorney General could “talk from all four compass points of his mouth”, as he put it. But watch the podcast for yourself.

New Addition

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the TNL team. Tolulope Aderemi is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, with a Masters in Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. His articles are well researched and insightful and he will be handling the Oil and Gas column. If you return on the 12th and 26th of February, 2010, the column will be up then.

Recommendations

If you are a Law Office Manager or in a position or authority, you might be interested in this article written by Peter Bregman. Peter Bregman is the CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc. a global management consulting firm. He is the author of Point B: A Short Guide to Leading a Big Change, and writes a weekly column, How We Work, for HarvardBusiness.org.

This article is about motivating people to go the extra mile. His website (www.PeterBregman.com) also offers a plethora of leadership related articles.

Conclusion

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. The Nigerian Lawyer has been able to exist because of you.

February Update – The Gospel According to Aondoakaa originally appeared on The Nigerian Lawyer on February 10, 2010. Feel free to forward to a friend.

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For those who trained in Common Law jurisdictions (like I did), the House of Lord is sacrosanct; or at least, we were taught to view it that way. So it is easy to understand the nostalgia which accompanied my reading of the news. While we are advocating change and progress and maybe an eradication of excess traditionalism in the law profession, this comes as a shock. Is there such a thing as too much change?

The House of Lords had their last sitting today. What we now have, is a Supreme Court. What can we say? Change IS a constant.

If you are not sure, this is the home of Ryland v Fletcher (the doctrine of strict liability); Dunlop Pn.eumatic Tyre v. Selfridge and co Ltd (privity of contract); Donoghue v. Stevenson (the neighbour principle); Hedley Byrne v Heller (liability for pure economic loss), just to mention a few.

This a YouTube video by Lord Justice Mance explaining the reason for the change.

We here at The Nigerian Lawyer would like to give our last bow to the House of Lords and the great Justices who sat in it. Adieu!

Goodbye House of Lords | News | The Lawyer originally appeared on The Nigerian Lawyer on July 30, 2009. Feel free to forward to a friend.

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