CONFERENCE RAISES 50-MAN C’TTEE TO RESOLVE VOTING IMPASSE

• To call for memoranda from public

• Sultan leads Muslims to protest perceived marginalisation

The National Conference Chairman, Justice Lebo Kutigi, Wednesday raised a 50-member committee, tagged “The Consensus Group”, to deliberate on how to break the deadlock over the voting pattern to be adopted in passing resolutions of the national discourse.

The conference, after a two-day debate that ended on Tuesday, could not agree on whether to adopt a voting system based on three-quarters of the 492 delegates in passing resolutions or two-thirds of the participants.

The debate had polarised the delegates along regional lines with northern participants canvassing for the adoption of the three-quarters voting system, while their southern counterparts pushed for a two-thirds majority vote.

It was learnt that delegates from the three zones of South-west, South-east and the South-south met on Tuesday night where it was agreed that they should boycott the conference if the northern delegates insisted on having their way over the voting pattern.
The northern delegates also met and agreed that there would be no shifting on the matter, insisting on the adoption of the three-quarters voting system.

In another bid to resolve the crisis of confidence threatening the National Conference, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad  Abubakar III, also led Muslims, under the aegis of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), to complain to President Goodluck Jonathan over the perceived marginalisation of adherents of the Islamic faith in the composition of delegates to the conference.

Signs of trouble had emerged earlier in the day when delegates arrived and formed clusters to discuss the impasse over the voting formula.
As such, when Kutigi, finally declared the sitting opened at 10.30 am, the chamber was already charged and it was obvious that delegates were ready for a showdown.

AKINGBOLA PLEADS SUBJUDICE AS FRC PROBES INTERCONTINENTAL SALE

Erastus Akingbola

A mild drama ensued yesterday when the former Managing Director/CEO of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Mr. Erastus Akingbola; the immediate past Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede; and his successor, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, honoured the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria’s (FRC) invitation for questioning on the 2011 and 2102 financial accounts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Others present at the probe included Akingbola’s lawyers and Access Bank’s lawyers – the UK-based Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Nigerian law firm, Usoro & Usoro.
A reliable FRC source informed THISDAY that at the first session of the two-day hearing, which commenced at exactly 11 am at the head office of FRC in Lagos, Akingbola declined to make his presentation when invited by the investigating panel, saying the matter was subjudice.

THISDAY learnt that when called upon after the introduction of the parties at the hearing, which had audio-visual equipment for ease of presentation by those invited, Akingbola informed the panel that he could not make any statement because the matter was currently before a court of competent jurisdiction, adding that based on the advice of his lawyers, it would be wrong for him to comment on the matter.

However, after repeated attempts by officials of FRC to make him talk, the former bank chief executive had a change of mind and decided to submit and sign a petition he had in his possession on the takeover of his bank by the CBN in 2009 and its subsequent acquisition by Access Bank in 2011.
According to the FRC source, the submission of the petition by Akingbola was the first time the former back CEO would make a copy of the document available to the council.

He disclosed that Akingbola’s decision to remain silent on the grounds that the matter was subjudice might have been informed by the presence of Access Bank’s international lawyers, as it was the same UK law firm that had represented the bank and secured a judgment against Akingbola from a London court in 2012.
“Akingbola submitted his petition to the FRC for the first time today (Wednesday). In fact, he started signing the petition and copies were submitted to the panel.

NEW CBN GOVERNOR: SENATE CONFIRMS EMEFIELE

• New CBN gov promises stability, growth and employment

• Bulkachuwa cleared also

The Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Wednesday vowed to ensure economic stability to create jobs and boost growth, as the Senate unanimously approved his appointment to replace Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Emefiele will take over in June from Sanusi, who was suspended last month by President Goodluck Jonathan on charges of “financial recklessness and misconduct”.
The Senate also unanimously confirmed Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as the President of the Court of Appeal. Both of them were cleared after hours of grilling by the upper legislative chamber.
First to be confirmed was Bulkachuwa who was not subjected to intense scrutiny as was the case with Emefiele.

But upon entering the chamber, Senate President David Mark had told Emefiele not to expect to leave the chamber in a hurry, adding he would be subjected to special rounds of questioning because he would be leading a very important institution in the country.
Emefiele said in his first public comments since his nomination that he would make macroeconomic stability his watchword and the central bank would work to drive down inflation and interest rates.
According to AFP, he also vowed to maintain a strong exchange rate to build up healthy foreign reserves as well as formulate policies to address fears about unemployment, particularly among young people.

“We will ensure that during this period, if approved by the Senate, that whatever monetary policy decision we take will be those that will lead to improvement in the level of employment,” he said, warning the country was facing an ‘employment emergency’.”
Emefiele added: “Growing the economy of Nigeria is a very important assignment other than just a core mandate of ensuring that we have a stable environment.”
Emefiele also promised to use the development banking model to drive economic growth in the real sector of the economy to the benefit of all Nigerians.

THE ARROGANCE OF THE NORTH AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE BY FEMI FANI KAYODE

”I see arrogance. I see harassment. I see it’s either our way or no way by the same group who felt the country belongs to them only- the people who are holding this country by the jugular at this conference.

The same way they have been behaving since the creation of the Nigerian state is the same way they are aggressively exhibiting their character at this conference.

But gone are the days when any part of Nigeria can be intimidated, can be coerced or harrassed into submission. The majority of Nigerian s have realised that 50 years of their domination, albiet illegally, has come to an end.

They must sit down now and discuss. The odds are not in their favour. The threat of boycott or walkout will not change anything. We are all equal before the law. We are all equal before God”- ADEKUNLE ADESINA ODUNMORAYO.

Chief Odunmorayo’s words shall go down in history as being a prophetic and final warning to a people that have lost touch with reality and that feel that they must always have their way in Nigeria.

The message is loud and clear and it basically says that there are no more slaves and slave-masters in Nigeria. It says that we are all equal before God and we will never go back to the old days of northern masters and southern serfs.

If the north walks out of the conference simply because they are not allowed to operate what amounts to an effective power of veto when it comes to voting, then they may as well walk out of Nigeria as well.

And if they do so, to hell with them. It is time for the south to begin to come together and insist on their rights. Some things are way and above party politics and they are basic and fundamental- this matter is one of such things.

The north does not own Nigeria and the rest of us do not live for them or at their beck and call. We all own this country and the wishes of the north cannot be forced down the throats of the south

DEBATE ON VOTING PATTERN ON NATIONAL CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS ENDS IN DEADLOCK

The inability of National Conference delegates, for two consecutive days, to reach a consensus on whether votes by three-quarters or two-thirds of participants should pass the resolutions of the conference yesterday led to the suspension of further debate on it till next week.

The suspension would give room for further consultations on the issue and for the secretariat to meet with leaders of various groups at the conference.

During a debate on the issue on Monday, the delegates had argued along regional lines, with those from the North calling for the adoption of three-quarters of the votes for any resolution, while their counterparts from the South pushed for two-thirds.

Another issue that divided the delegates yesterday was whether or not there was any need for a referendum to ratify the report of the National Conference.
Though the conference adjourned at 5.28 pm, its Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi, said the adjournment was necessary for tempers to cool down.

As at the close of proceedings yesterday, the conference was still unable to adopt and approve the sets of rules that will guide its deliberations.

In adjourning the conference until today, Kutigi said the delegates would go ahead to discuss the work plan and no longer the rules.

The delegates, before lunch break, had continued debate on the voting pattern, with Senator Ita Giwa from Cross River State, giving indication that the consensus debate would be revisited after the break.

When the delegates resumed from their lunch, the chairman called for a motion to pass the rules.

He asked a delegate, Mr. Orok Etuk Duke from Cross River State, to move the motion for the adoption of the rules, but Chief Mike Ozoekhome (SAN) from Edo State moved a counter-motion that the   rules could not be adopted without the resolution on the two-thirds and three-quarters consensus controversy.

In his contribution, Chief Edwin Clark argued that since only the chairman and his team had proposed the three-quarters voting pattern, a majority of the delegates has the right to adopt the two-thirds option, if they so desired.

He wanted to know: “If we are here to build a strong Nigeria, and in that regard whatever we are doing here, we should reflect one Nigeria. Though we have agreed that consensus should be the order of the day, where we disagree, what do we do? Are we going to close this meeting?

“We have all come here to discuss very serious issues. We all listened to Mr. President’s address, he talked about so many things; he talked about a new Nigeria. We should not allow the rules or orders to prevent us from taking those decisions.

“There would have been no reason for us to come here if t

THE POWER OF MORNINGS: WHY SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS GET UP EARLY

When running a business, it may seem like there are never enough hours in the day. Tapping into the power of mornings, a time of day when there are less demands, might be the key to increasing your productivity.

For 15 years, Starbucks President Michelle Gaas has set her alarm for 4:30 a.m. to go running. Gretchen Ruben, popular author ofThe Happiness Project (Harper Perennial, 2011) wakes up at 6 a.m. and works for an hour before her family rises. Time-management expert Laura Vanderkam highlights what makes mornings special and how we can use them more efficiently in her book What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (Portfolio Trade, 2013). Here are a few benefits to getting out of bed earlier. 

You are less likely to get distracted in the morning. An entrepreneur's day fills up fast. If you wait until the afternoon or evening to do something meaningful for yourself such as exercising or reading, you’re likely to push it off the to-do list altogether. “There are going to be reasons why you can't tackle a personal priority at 4 p.m. -- things have a lot less likelihood of coming up at 6 a.m.," says Vanderkam.

You have more willpower early in the day. Even if you aren't a morning person, you may have more willpower in the early hours than later in the day. "Willpower is like a muscle [that] becomes fatigued with over-use," says Vanderkam. During the course of the day as you're dealing with difficult people, making decisions and battling traffic, you use up your willpower, leaving you feeling depleted toward the end of the day.

Mornings give you the opportunity to set a positive tone for the day. If you've ever slept in past your alarm clock or forgotten your kids' lunches on the counter, you know that starting off the day with a failure can bring down your mood and affect your productivity at work. Vanderkam says waking up earlier allows you to start the day with a victory and set the tone for a happier and more productive day.

If the thought of waking up at sunrise makes you cringe, Vanderkam recommends these four steps to transform even a habitual night owl into a morning person.

LIVERPOOL 2-1 SUNDERLAND: GERRARD & STURRIDGE KEEP TITLE PUSH ALIVE

Liverpool beat Sunderland 2-1 at Anfield to move back up to second in the Premier League table.

The Black Cats' massed ranks had frustrated their hosts for the majority of the first half, but Steven Gerrard struck a fine free kick into the top corner to open the scoring.

The Reds were incensed that Santiago Vergini only received a yellow card for bringing down Luis Suarez after giving away the free kick, and the Argentine was even luckier to stay on the field shortly afterwards when he slid in on Suarez again.

Daniel Sturridge doubled the advantage three minutes after the break with a shot from 18 yards out which deflected in off Wes Brown.

Lee Cattermole struck the crossbar and Sturridge did likewise at the other end, but the Black Cats were given a lifeline when Ki Sung-Yeung headed home at the far post with 14 minutes remaining.

Anfield was a bag of nerves in the final moments but the hosts managed to hold on despite increasing Sunderland pressure.

WHY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIERS SHUNNED NIGERIA’S POWER PRIVATISATION

FIVE months after the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN’s assets, uncertainty and transparency issues have been identified as reasons why international financial institutions shunned the exercise.

The Country Manager, AF Mercados, a specialist consulting and transaction advisory firm based in Madrid, Ms. Rahila Thomas, told Vanguard that these factors contributed to the non-commitment of international financiers.  

According to her, “For you to bring in international financing, a lot has to be done about the bankability of the projects, because international financing is not like local financing. They are much more thorough. They have limited room for risks.

“Some of the Nigerian banks have gone into this because they understand how the Nigerian society works. A lot of the banks here do corporate financing and not project financing.

“When you bring in international financial institutions, they want to do project financing. They will not get into corporate financing. You need to ensure that the tariffs are right. You need to ensure that all the documents – power purchase agreements, gas supply agreements, and transmission agreements are structured in a way that they pass risks around everybody that can bear the risk. And obligations are placed on the people that can meet those obligations.

“If that is clear and they can see a tariff path that they bank on, why not. That is why you saw that there was limited international finance during the PHCN transactions, because there were too many grey areas. You have the transmission issue, gas issue; generators are not able to produce. They are not getting their money in full.

Thomas, whose company consults for six distribution companies on regulatory matters, also said that the issue of tariff is a very sensitive one. This is because over the years people have suffered poor service delivery, customers are tired and people complain about estimated bills.

“What has happened over the years is that PHCN needed to increase their billing efficiency. Instead of trying to locate where energy is being stolen, they take out metered customers from energy and whatever energy is left, they spread across customers that are not metered. That is why the monthly bills are very high. People are paying more for the losses in the system, because they don’t have meters,” she said.

Source | Here

POWER GENERATION DROPS BY 963MW

The erratic supply of electricity to homes and business premises in the last two weeks is as a result of the drop in power generation by about 963 megawatts as a result of gas supply constraints.

The electricity generation, which was put at 3,463.40MW as of March 20, dropped to 2,500MW on Mondy.

The Board Chairman, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Waziri, who disclosed this to journalists on Monday on the sidelines of the investors’ conference organised by the firm in Abuja, said the worsening state of power supply in the last two weeks was as a result of the series of incidents that had bedevilled the sector lately.

He said, “Gas supply has dropped significantly in the last two weeks; in fact, it is exactly two weeks. That has resulted in reduced generation to about 2,500MW as of this (Monday) morning; we are back to square one. But we are addressing all these issues.

“Then, of course, we had accidents along the Benin-Sapele road and a lot of transmission lines collapsed due to fire incidents. These affected a very small area in that locality in terms of giving them power. But like I said earlier, these issues are being addressed.”

At the conference proper, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the Federal Government was in bilateral and multilateral relationships with the governments of other countries for the importation and exportation of electricity.

Nebo, who was represented by the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Mohammed Wakili, told the investors that the country needed about $8bn to boost its power transmission infrastructure in the next five years.

He said the Federal Government had signed a Memorandum of Understating with the Democratic Republic of Congo to supply electricity to Nigeria.

Nebo said, “The government of Nigeria is in bilateral and multilateral relationships at various stages of advancement with other governments for the importation and exportation of power. For example, Nigeria has signed an MoU with the Democratic Republic of Congo for the importation of electricity from the Inga Dam Power Plant for both local consumption and export to other countries.

“The Inga is envisaged to exceed 40,000 megawatts on full exploitation. The TCN network spreads to all parts of the country and across the borders to some neighbouring countries to form part of the West African Power Pool.

“With the realisation of Inga and other initiatives, Nigeria will become a regional hub in international electricity trade, exporting large swathes of internally generated as well as imported power to the WAPP countries.”

MORE TROUBLES FOR SANUSI AS SHAREHOLDERS OF INTERCONTINENTAL BANK DRAG HIM TO COURT

There are more troubles for the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido, as three shareholders of the defunct Intercontinental Bank have dragged him before a Federal High Court alleging wrongdoing in the way the bank was sold.

The shareholders: Abdullahi Sani, Adaeze Onwuegbusi and Chijioke Ezeipke through their lawyers, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) are demanding the sum of N10 billion as special and general damages against Sanusi for  breaches culminating in the wrongful take over of Intercontinental Bank Plc by Access Bank.

Also joined in the suit are the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

The plaintiffs also want the court to order CBN to immediately recover the sum of N25.1 billion together with interest still being owed by the trio of Mr. Aig-Aigboje Imokhuede, Mr. Herbert Wigwe and Senator Bukola Saraki.

When the matter came up yesterday, the plaintiffs counsel, Uche prayed the court for leave to serve Sanusi through a substituted means on the grounds that his present place of abode after his suspension was not known.

Uche further prayed the court to serve the application on Sanusi through his last office address at the CBN and that the application should be pasted on the notice board or be given to an adult in the bank.