After months of horse-trading between the executive and legislative arms, President Goodluck Jonathan, penultimate week, assented to the 2013 budget without a whisper of apology to the suffering masses of Nigeria who have, over the years, borne the brunt of late commencement of budget implementation.

Directors hold office subject to removal or retirement by rotation. Section 259 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 (“CAMA”) requires all the directors of a company to retire at the first AGM, while one-third of the directors are obliged to retire at subsequent AGMs (unless otherwise provided in the Articles). With increasing corporate governance awareness and shareholder interest in the affairs of companies, re-election of retiring directors can no longer be taken for granted.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday, February 20, 2013, approved the sum of N384 billion for the payment of severance benefits to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) employees, including 50,000 staff and 4,000 casual workers, who will be disengaged from the services of the company following the privatisation of the nation’s power assets.

Directors are sometimes requested to sign waivers of notice, where a meeting of the Board of Directors has been convened with less than the statutory minimum notice. Are these waivers valid?