By Vincent Ujumadu
AWKA—FRANCE has expressed its determination to partner  Nigerian authorities in the conduct of the  2011 elections.
The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jean Michel Dumond, who made the statement when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Peter Obi in Awka, however, did not give details of the anticipated partnership.

He acknowledged the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan towards repositioning the nation’s electoral system and extolled Governor Obi’s pace of infrastructural development in parts of the state, especially in the rural communities.

The ambassador emphasized that the European Union , which France is a member, spent N120 billion in  2008 and 2009 in funding development projects in the country, stressing that France was currently  training   6000 Nigerian teachers in French Language.