Lagos/Washington, DC — The third THISDAY Townhall Meeting will hold in Abuja today, with leading Nigerian and international economists and financial experts holding discussions on the global financial crisis and the lessons for the country.

Former United States Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, and Forbes Magazine CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Steve Forbes, will headline the event.

The townhall meeting is coming against the backdrop of the financial crisis of the past few weeks in the US and Britain during which venerable institutions such as Lehman Brothers and Merryl Lynch fell by the wayside - although the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) yesterday asked Nigerians not to panic as the country's banks "are safe".

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, and IBTC Stanbic Bank Chairman, Mr. Atedo Peterside, and other leading lights of the country's money and capital markets are billed to discuss the way ahead for Nigeria.

The six-hour meeting convened by THISDAY Board of Editors will dig deep into the challenges of Nigeria's policy and market environment, appraise global market conditions, explore options and proffer solutions to one of the fastest growing markets in the world determined to be one of the leading global economies by 2020.

Yestesday, the CIBN assured Nigerians that the banks are safe despite the turbulence in world markets.

In a statement by its President/Chairman of Council, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, the bankers said Nigerian banks do not have the sort of "exotic products" that led to the crisis in United States and Europe.

The statement read: "As the crisis appears escalating in the world's leading financial markets, it is natural for financial services consumers and the general public in other parts of the world to be concerned about the possible spill-over effect or impacts in the local markets. In the face of several questions being asked, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has therefore deemed it necessary to explain the situation with our financial market here in Nigeria.

"The local banks in Nigeria are presently unaffected, by the negative developments in the financial markets of the United States and Europe. The reason is that the crisis is driven by failed financial products that led to the systemic distress. Nigerian banks are not yet into the kind of exotic products that led to the problems of those institutions abroad."

Akingbola said the industry operators "are on the alert to avoid the type of investments and consumer lending that would put the system on tailspin".

He however said the industry was also taking the development in the world financial markets as "a wake-up call" for refocusing the international expansion "because if such crisis occurs in five years time many Nigerian banks may be affected just like other global players, as they would have been fully integrated into the global markets".

It is also a wake-up call for a home-grown strategy and attention to risk management principles as business network and volumes grows, the CIBN president said.

He added: "Again the financial crisis is a wake up call on banks' top executive management, especially the Chief Executives, to have eyes for details and be fully in-charge of the key levers of the business. There is no room for absentee CEOs, but one who is in constant touch with the realities on ground in the running of their organisations."

Meanwhile, in a move aimed at mounting pressure on the House of Representatives, the United States Senate Wednesday night passed a revised version of the $700 billion bail-out bill earlier rejected in the lower chamber, by a 74-25 vote.

The bill will return to the floor of the House of Representatives for a fresh vote Friday.

The amended version raises the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) from $100,000 to $250,000, provides tax breaks for individuals and businesses and includes an additional $100 billion to the cost. The tax break is expected to win the support of more Republicans that voted against it.

Senate is determined to jump start the process after President George W. Bush warned of dire consequences of not taking action.

The upper chamber also said it had sent a strong message by going ahead to pass the bill handily.

"We've sent a clear message to Americans all over that we will not let this economy fail. This is not a piece of legislation for lower Manhattan. This is legislation for all America," said Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid. "If they (House) don't do anything, we can't do anything."

Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, is expected to exert some pressure on Democrats including members of the Congressional Black Caucus and senators from his home state of Illinois. Obama and Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain, support the FDIC insurance that has been raised to secure tax payers.

House of Representatives needs more yes votes to pass the bill. It was defeated by a 228-205 vote Monday. Antagonists of the bail-out plan claim they voted in line with the wishes of their constituencies. Some representatives are up for re-election this year and do not want to risk losing their seats.

Some have kicked against government involvement, an act they argue has shattered America's free market principles, while others say it is akin to writing a "Christmas cheque" for reckless Wall Street executives.

Senate members are already working the phones. If the bill is passed on the floor of the House today, it could be signed by Bush as early as this weekend.

Analysts say it is not certain to what extent the plan could boost the economy. There are also no provisions on how the extra $100 billion will be paid for. Commentators worry CEOs seem to be walking free with huge sums of money while the country tries to bail their failed institutions out.

The bail-out would allow the government to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. It would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession, it is believed.

Congress has been bombarded with calls from their constituencies, with many of them kicking against what they see as a rip-off, a rescue for Wall Street and CEOs that earn ungodly sums of money. The House website crashed under the weight of thousands of emails. It has limited the amount of people able to log in to forestall another crash.

A new poll shows that 47 per cent of Americans blame Republicans for the financial crisis, while 24 per cent say Democrats are responsible. Over 80 per cent say they are worried about the economy.

The bailout which the protagonists now prefer to call a "rescue plan" has generated so much controversy that commentators are suggesting that Bush should stress how the plan helps ordinary Americans instead of Wall Street. This they claim, can be done by pointing out the spiralling effect of inaction: loss of jobs, credit lines and more foreclosures.

Rep Dennis Kucinich who predicted last weekend that the bill would be defeated and voted against it, was quoted as saying that he is representing the American people and not the Board of Goldman Sachs.

"I did not come to Congress to pretend I am going to be on the Board of Goldman Sachs. This is the United States Congress and not the Board of Goldman Sachs and we have to start acting like we are protecting the American people," he stated.

Rep Peter Defazio from Oregon claims that "spending $700 billion on toxic assets will not create liquidity" and that there should be emphasis on bringing "liquidity oversight and uphold tax payer security." He argued that the Bush/Henry Paulson (Treasury Secretary) plan is based on a "false premise