The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, on Monday, sent back the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Justice Rahman Oshodi made the remand order shortly after the anti-graft agency arraigned Emefiele on 23 counts bordering on “abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained, and conferring corrupt advantage.”

In the substance of the charges, the EFCC alleged that abused his office while he was CBN Governor through allegation allocations of $4.5bn and N2.8bn.

He was arraigned alongside Henry Isioma-Omoile, whom the EFCC accused of accepting gifts from agents.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

While Justice Oshodi ordered that Emefiele should be remanded in EFCC custody, he ordered that Isioma-Omoile be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, where he was already being held.

The judge made the remand orders while adjourning till Thursday, April 11, 2024, to hear their bail applications.

With Monday’s order, Emefiele returns to the EFCC custody about four and a half months after he left the custody of the anti-graft agency in November 2023, following his initial 151 days in both the custody of the EFCC and the Department of State Services.

At the Monday proceedings, his lawyer, Mr Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, told hinted that the ex-CBN governor would be up for a fresh arraignment between April 25 and 26.

It will be the fourth criminal case filed against him by the Federal Government following his removal from office last June by President Bola Tinubu.

The DSS first arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos for illegal possession of firearms. The case was later withdrawn.

He was subsequently arraigned by the EFCC in November before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Territory High Court on charges bordering on procurement fraud and forgery of the signature of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

His Monday arraignment before Justice Oshodi in Lagos was the third.

At the Monday trial in Lagos, the EFCC prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), told the court that Emefiele allegedly abused the authority of his office as CBN governor by allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2.2bn without bids, the act which was prejudiced to the rights of Nigerians.

Oyedepo also told the court that the ex-CBN governor corruptly accepted the aggregate sum of $26.5m through Donatone Ltd on account of the allocation of foreign exchange by the CBN.

The commission further accused Emefiele of receiving the sum of $400,000 from Source Computer Ltd on account of the approval of a “contract” in favour of the said company by the CBN, the institution wherein he served as the governor.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Emefiele used his position as the governor of the CBN to confer a corrupt advance on his associate, Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd, by allegedly approving the payment of the aggregate sum of N900m to the said company.

Emefiele was also alleged to have used his position as the CBN governor to confer a corrupt advantage on Comec Support Services Ltd by approving the sum of N149m to the company.

The EFCC also alleged that the former CBN governor used his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Andswin Resources and Solutions Ltd by approving payment of the sum of N398m to the company.

The prosecutor said Emefiele, between January 20 and June 2, 2023, in Lagos corruptly, received $7,720,000 on account of foreign exchange.

He was also accused of receiving $850,000, sometime in March 2023, on account of foreign exchange in favour of his employer the CBN, the institution of government where Emefiele governed.

Oyedepo told the court that Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Osioma-Omoile, on November 17, 2020, while acting as an agent received the sum of $110,000 through Monday Osazuwa, as a gift for Emefiele as a reward for allocating foreign currencies by CBN.

The commission also accused Isioma-Omoile of receiving the sum of $100,000, in two tranches on behalf of Emefiele as a gift reward for the allocation of foreign currency.

The prosecution said both defendants acted contrary to the provisions of sections 8, 10, and 19 of the Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences

Act 2000; as well as sections 65, 73, and 328 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

The two defendants, however, pleaded not guilty, following which the prosecutor urged the judge to fix a date for trial.

But the defendants’ counsel, Mr Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, in two separate bail applications, urged the court to grant the defendants bail on liberal terms, pending the determination of the case.

Specifically, he said that the court should grant Emefiele bail on self -recognizance or release him to his counsel as he was not a flight risk.

He said Emefiele had served Nigeria as the number one banker for nine years and was also still standing trial in Abuja court and would always be available to attend court.

Labi-Lawal added that the charges filed against Emefiele were bailable offences and not capital ones.

“Though the first defendant was granted administrative bail by the prosecuting authorities, he is seeking bail based on self-recognizance and he is ready to attend trial.

“The court should also take into consideration, the status of the first defendant as he was the former CBN governor of the country,” the defence counsel said.

The defence counsel further told the court that Emefiele would likely be arraigned on another charge in Abuja between April 25 and 26, 2024.

“It is for this reason we are asking that this court grant the defendants bail, on self-recognizance or release them to their counsel so that they can attend the court in Abuja,” Labi-Lawal said.

Labi-Lawal also told Justice Oshodi that second defendant, Osioma-Omoile, was previously arraigned on Friday and was granted bail Justice O. Sule- Hazmat of the state high court in Yaba.

He urged Justice Oshodi to allow Osioma-Omoile to continue on Friday bail.

The prosecutor, Oyedepo, did not oppose the bail applications but urged the court to exercise its discretion judiciously in granting bail to the defendants.

Oyedepo also informed the court that the prosecution would like to ask for a closed section for some of their witnesses who were willing to come to court to testify but were scared for their lives.

After listening to the submissions of both counsel, Justice Oshodi ordered that Emefiele should be remanded at the EFCC’s custody, while the second defendant should be returned to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre where he was brought to the court.

The judge adjourned the case till April 11, to rule on the bail applications and to commence trial.

Former director-general of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has opposed the move to institutionalise State Police, saying it would hurt the Nigeria’s democracy.
Okechukwu, a foundation member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), disclosed this on over the weekend, shortly after the burial of late Chief Bona Udeh, erstwhile Chairman of Udi Local Government Area in Enugu State.

The APC chieftain said that his lack of support for the establishment of State Police was due to his elementary study of the antics of dictatorship.

He stated that the study made him shiver each time he thought of what would happen to democracy if governors, who had since inception of the fourth republic in 1999 acted like emperors, are empowered absolutely to kill democracy.

“What salvation do we earn, when careful consideration gazetted that the majority of our dear governors are more or less akin to emperors, who are constantly in the breach of fine democratic tenets and civil liberties?” he asked.

The APC chieftain also said the governors had thwarted the local councils since the system had blatantly mangled state judiciary and state legislatures into rubber stamps.

“My dear countrymen, do we in all intents and purposes make altruistic sense to further empower emperors?

Emperors hated alternative views, abhorred popular participation and rule of law throughout the history of man.

“Our dear governors in similar manner abhorred the rule of law and popular participation; this is why they had, in the same bipartisan manner, opposed local government autonomy, independence of state judiciary and state legislatures,” he said.

Proffering security solution, Okechukwu said as a matter of urgent national importance, at this trying period, the country needed well-trained and well-equipped Special Constabulary Police in line with the Nigeria Police Act 2020.

The APC chieftain said Special Constabulary Police should be equipped with sophisticated arsenal to contain kidnappers, terrorists and insurgents at the grassroots, without authoritarian antics.

He said the Special Constabulary Police he was advocating would be funded by Federal and State Governments, jointly recruited from indigenes of the given state in collaboration with the governors, albeit local community, based on “tiny federal strings”, for necessary moderation.

“I appeal for understanding for Special Constabulary Police as the federal and state governments will better fund the outfit, rather than authorising state governors to transfer the burden of funding to our citizenry, majority of who are trapped in multidimensional poverty.

He said although one understood the metastasis of grief, helplessness, despair, despondency and the sordid scenario of a country overwhelmed by insecurity, it would be less strategic in the midst of confusion to over tax the citizenry.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr Asishana Okauru, reported that 16 state governors had earlier supported the establishment of State Police.

They supported floating of the outfit as a panacea for the insecurity ravaging the different parts of the country.

Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Communication, Mr Stanley Nwakocha, had earlier disclosed in a statement that discussions were held at 140th meeting of the National Economic Council on the matter.

Nwakocha noted that 16 out of the 36 states had already submitted reports on the State Policing initiative and that the remaining 20 governors were already in the process of submitting theirs

“The official position of the forum is in favour of state police. I don’t know of any state that is not in support of state police,” he said.

(NAN)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu kept mum as the recent 240 per cent electricity tariff hike worsens the suffering being faced by Nigerians.

DAILY POST reports that the recent electricity tariff increase for customers has birthed another page of hardship for Nigerians.

While the residues of pain caused by the removal of subsidy and the Naira floating policies implemented by Tinubu’s Government last year still lingers, the hike in electricity tariff for customers under Band A, getting at least 20 hours of power supply, has further unsettled Nigerians.

In defence of the hike, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, noted last Friday that 85 per cent of electricity will not be affected.

He added that the Government would save N1.14 trillion in electricity subsidies.

Despite Adelabu’s position, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry have all openly condemned the new electricity tariff hike.

They all agreed there is a cloud of confusion around the tariff implementation amid economic hardship.

Upon the new tariff announcement by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Tuesday last week, the eleven Discos began implementing the N255 kilowatt-hours rate for customers getting 20 hours.

However, the implementation has attracted widespread dissatisfaction among electricity consumers.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company apologized to consumers for wrongly applying new tariff hikes on B, C, D, and E customers, who were categorized as getting 16 hours of power supply.

Consequently, Abuja Disco was slammed with a fine of N200 million by NERC over the wrong billing of customers. The Commission also ordered the Disco to refund affected customers with energy tokens before 11 April, 2024.

Fear of Arbitrary Billing

Despite the sanction imposed on Discos, Nigerians are still apprehensive that all 12 million electricity consumers may bear the new tariff burden.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, confirmed this when it asked the Government to order Discos to meter all Band A customers within 60 days.

FCCPC also stated that consumers in Bands B, C, D, and E should not be migrated to Band A without being metered.

According to NERC data, only 5.7 million electricity consumers are metered, while around 6.3 million are unmetered.

The development further heightened the fears of arbitrary billing by Discos.

Nigerians Paying for Darkness

While the electricity hike subsisted, the power supply remained epileptic nationwide.

National grid collapse, repairs by the Transmission Company of Nigeria and fire incidents have resulted in downtime.

This year alone, the grid has collapsed three times.

Electricity supply has dropped significantly since January due to gas constraints.

Meanwhile, the latest gas price increase of 11 per cent has further worsened Nigeria‘s power sector challenges.

This is why Kunle Olubiyo, the Nigerian Consumer Protection Network President, said Nigerians have continued to pay tariffs for darkness.

The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, in a statement by its National Secretary, Nnamdi Ajibo, called for a reversal of the electricity tariff hike.

Band A electricity consumers

According to a list compiled by NERC, the eleven Discos have 481 Band A feeders, which supply consumers with at least 20 hours of electricity.

Meanwhile, electricity consumers under B, C, D, and E bands get 16 hours of power supply and below.

However, the Trade Union Congress has said no Nigerian receives 20 hours of power supply.

In contrast, the Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors, ANED, insisted Nigerians receive 20 hours of power supply.

To address the confusion, NERC told Discos to publish a list of all Band A customers and set up a link to provide customers with information on their respective bands.

Experts React

In an exclusive interview with DAILY POST, Wumi Iledare, Professor Emeritus in Energy Economics and Executive Director of Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation, said the electricity tariff hike and gas price increase seem skewed to optimize producer surplus rather than consumer surplus.

He noted that there seems to be no penalty attached yet for Discos benefiting from the sudden rise in tariff but not delivering.

“New tariff is perhaps based on the increase in the wellhead price for natural gas for power generation.

“However, we must agree that N68 per KWhr is a price ceiling significantly below the market clearing price. So there are shortages due to high electricity demand at low prices.

“N68 is also not anywhere close to the fair return price of an economic good with decreasing marginal cost and average cost curve. It’s not even the socially optimal price of electricity either.

“So NERC had to do something apolitical, which ought to have been done long before now, but for institutional capture and political expediency that has seemed to be good judgement for too long. So it is better late than never. I guess the commissioners have come to understand these facts better than before.

“Of course, the accuracy of the tariff is speculative because of the many unknowns. It is perhaps arrived at based on assumptions and facts within the context of the pricing model applied.

“As more facts become available, the pricing model will be recalibrated in a self-adjusting manner. If what I am reading in the media is correct, there is a price discrimination application based on daily supply hours. Such a mechanism is not unusual in a segregated market structure in the power market.

“Looking at everything done so far within the last month in 2024 to spur up gas to power value chain, the presidential executive order 40, the increase in wellhead natural gas price by the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and discriminatory electricity tariff, the benefits seem to be skewed to optimize producer surplus than consumer surplus.

“Finally, regarding my take or endorsement, the biggest challenge with the implementation is how to properly distinguish the targeted class with the ability to pay and ensure 20+ hours of power supply to them.

“There seems to be no penalty attached yet for Discos benefiting from the sudden rise in tariff but not delivering. The ability to implement price discrimination is doubtful”, he told DAILY POST.

Similarly, Chinedu Amah, the CEO of Spark Online, a power sector investment forum, said the hike will enable the Government to unlock more cash to invest in things that will yield collective growth.

He noted that Nigeria does not necessarily have standard development for all citizens, stressing that it is difficult to define who is rich or poor by their place of residence.

“First of all, it is important to note that subsidy removal is a good move if it will enable the government to unlock more cash to invest in things that will yield collective growth.

“However, it is important to point out that we do not necessarily have standard development in all our cities; thus you cannot clearly define who is rich or poor in all cases by how they reside,” he said.

Meanwhile, an energy expert, Mr Eleojo Joseph, said the last one week had been hellish for Nigerians due to the electricity tariff hike.

He queried that there was no proper demarcation of Bands A, B, C, and E before the new tariff hike.

According to him, the hike will affect the country’s economy in the long run.

“It has been a week of complete anarchy, fraud and scam by the DISCOs on Nigerians, and the people are in total disrepair.

“How did we arrive here? We arrived here because we do not have a competent regulatory authority, and the Government does not understand the importance of electricity generation and distribution.

“NERC has been sleeping for eight years or more, and the incompetence is showing all over the sector. But thank God they have woken up from their slumber and are making all sorts of mistakes.

“The genesis of the problem is the lack of proper mechanism being put in place before the hike in price.

“It seems there is no interface between the operators and the Regulator. Was there proper demarcation or ringing of Band A, B, C, etc., users, and was it tested before they hiked the price?

“Who are the technical experts of the DISCOs? Who are their software and billing teams? So many questions to ask, but there won’t be answers.

“Why on earth will DISCOs lie on actual verifiable events? 20 hours of electricity is measurable. The DISCOs should be ready for litigation because there will be plenty of such cases in our courts in the coming months.

“The new sets of staff of the DISCOs are a fraudulent bunch who are only there to make money, and I foresee anarchy as most angry persons will take the law into their own hands and attack the DISCO staff on the field. We are headed to a dangerous state in Nigeria’s power sector.

“The economy is the ultimate loser in all of these things happening. More industries will relocate or close shops, unemployment will increase by the day and a more gloomy outlook for the country.

“Government should dedicate special attention and rate to the industrial sector and increase the take-home salary of workers in the private and public sector”, he told DAILY POST.

Similarly, the national secretary of the Network for Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria, Uket Obonga, said most Nigerians believe that the new tariff will be implemented across the board in a matter of time.

“The citizenry’s reaction to the recently announced increase in Electricity Tariff is both baffling and bewildering.

“The Nigerians believe it is just a matter of time before the tariff increase percolates down through the other Bands.

“Proof of this was the enthusiasm with which AEDC, EKEDC and IBEDC applied the tariff increase to all their electricity customers irrespective of their Bands before the Regulator clamped down a N200 Million fine on AEDC.

“It is true that the Federal Government has failed to honour its financial obligations to participants in the NESI, especially concerning payment for gas, GenCOs, and DisCOs.

“These lapses on the part of the Federal Government have emboldened the DisCOs to root for higher tariffs to balance their books.

“Unfortunately, higher tariffs do not necessarily translate to better services because there are two other partners, TCN and the GenCOs, who do not receive commensurate receipts from the DisCOs as monthly energy remittances.

“To improve power supply in Nigeria, a holistic approach must be implemented to address the several teething problems of the NESI.

“Gas constraints: An overhaul of our Gas two Power Policy. Increased homegrown participation in producing, processing, and distributing gas for homes, industry, and power generation.

“Presently, we are importing gas to augment our local supplies, which depend on Forex availability and rate.

“TCN Bottlenecks: an overhaul of the transmission system entails more lines, reconductoring, upgrade of power transformers, and the building of new substations.

“DisCOs rickety networks: some DisCOs have not added a single SPAN of overhead lines to their network, not to mention building new injection substations. There is an acute need to refurbish, upgrade and expand the distribution networks.

“The unending metering saga: There must be new regulations with severe sanctions for failure, flouting or by-passing the metering regulations.

“All connections must be metered; presently unmetered consumers must be metered within three years,” he stated.

[DailyPost]