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Nigeria’s Loss of $9.6bn: Who’s Responsible?

Published

7 years ago

August 31, 2019

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

On August 16, 2019, the Nigerian government received the greatest shock of its administration when a British Court awarded over $9 billion damages against it for failing to honour a contract in a landmark judgement.

The judgment, which was delivered by Justice Butcher of The High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, ruled against Nigeria’s objection to arbitration which in 2017 settled that the Nigerian government should pay $6.6 billion as damages to a company, Process & Industrial Development Limited (P&ID). The damages and interest add up to a figure above $9 billion.

Nigeria’s former Attorney-General, Mr. Bayo Ojo, was among the three member arbitration panel that gave judgement in favour of P&ID against the Nigerian government and at the same time secured the monetary award. While Mr. Ojo tried his best to ensure that Nigeria escaped with a paltry $250 million, the majority opinion of Lord Hoffmann and Anthony Evans, the two other members of the panel, ensured that Nigeria lost the case.

Hoffmann and Evans held that P&ID’s expenditure and income should have been about $6.597 billion if the agreement was duly performed by the government. They also insisted that the award should be paid together with interest at the rate of 7 per cent from March 20, 2013.

Ever since the judgement, blames have been traded between the present All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led by Muhammadu Buhari, and previous administrations dating back to the late Umaru Musa Yar’dua era.

Leading the blame game is the returnee Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Nigeria, Mallam Abubakar Malami. The Minister, who was reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, few days after the judgement described the ruling as the “consequences of the underhand dealings of the past administration”.

He said: “Sadly, in spite of the spirited and concerted efforts of the current administration to combat corrupt practices and rent-seeking in all its forms, Nigerians woke up on Friday, August 16, 2019, to the rudest consequences of the underhand dealings of the past administration that has resulted in the award of $9 billion against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by a British court which ruled that Process and Industrial Development Limited had the right to seize $9 billion in Nigerian assets.”

The lawyer went ahead and specifically fingered the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the culprit, saying he connived “with local and International conspirators in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.”

Malami concluded his blame with a threat, stressing that the federal government would punish any government official whose action or inaction led to the award of $9 billion damages against Nigeria. He also promised that the government “will vigorously defend its rights to protect its people’s assets around the world against the enforcement of the judgement.”

It is worth knowing that the value of the penalty represents approximately a fifth of the country’s foreign reserves of $45bn. the fact of the case is itemised as follows:

The agreement, which set the basis for the current legal action, was a Gas Supply and Processing Agreement signed in January 2010.
If concluded, the deal would have offset a significant percentage of Nigeria’s energy deficit (Africa’s largest oil and gas producer has a notoriously epileptic power supply).
P&ID claims about $40m were expended on the project, but Nigeria did not meet its obligations and cost the company billions in damages representing future profits it had lost.

In 2013, after the deal failed, P&ID dragged the government to court and won a $6.6bn arbitration case against the Federal Government.
Four years later, the firm was awarded $6.6bn, with an additional $2.4bn included as accrued interest.
Nigeria for years resisted P&ID’s attempts to begin enforcement proceedings of the rulings in the US and the UK; the judgement by the British court now allows the firm to begin seizing Nigerian assets.
Under the Jonathan administration, Nigeria negotiated an out-of-court settlement with P&ID for a far smaller sum of $850m. However, the president left the payment to the incoming Buhari administration, which set aside the settlement and asked its lawyers to return to litigation.

Undaunted by the threats and name calling of the Buhari government, the Jonathan camp responded, throwing the blame to the feet of the present administration. It alleged that the administration failed to pay the $850million out of court settlement with P&ID just to spite the previous administration. The government has however, denied that it did not handle the case diligently.

In a statement, signed by a former aide of Jonathan, Mr. Reno Omokri, the Jonathan camp noted as follows:

“Former President Jonathan was not president in January 2010. During that time, he was completely shut out of power by an unelected cabal that ran Nigeria during the period of the ill health of the late President Yar’Adua, before the National Assembly courageously intervened on February 9, 2010.”

Jonathan assumed office in February 2010 and, according to Omokri, the deal had by then already been set in motion by Rilwanu Lukman, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s Petroleum Minister. The cabinet and close allies of the late president had refused to turn over sensitive documents to his deputy because Yar’Adua hadn’t handed over to him as constitutionally stipulated.

“That same cabal has resurrected and has now coalesced around President Muhammadu Buhari, with some of them being made either ministers, or formal and informal advisers. As a matter of fact, the main man behind that cabal is now one of the closest persons to General Buhari.”

Another dangerous twist was added to the crisis, when a statement purportedly made by P&ID surfaced, blaming President Buhari and Mallam Malami for the high cost of the damage. The statement detailed events that transpired since 2010 when the deal was first contracted.

An extract of the statement read thus: “The Attorney General’s pronouncements in the Nigerian press are a clear attempt to cover up his own incompetence and that of the Buhari Administration. This is a matter, which could have been settled shortly after he took office in November 2015 for $850 million. Instead, he personally took the decision to gamble on the arbitration and turned an $850 million liability into a $9.6 billion liability.”

It is okay that the Attorney General has sworn to prosecute and punish everyone involved and responsible for the loss, if it is eventually executed, one thing must be established, will he also prosecute himself if given the afore-mentioned, he also had a role to play.

Featured

TEF Entrepreneurship: Tony Elumelu Foundation Sets March 22 to Announce 2026 Cohort

Published

8 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Eric

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs will announce the 12th cohort of the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

In 2026, the Foundation will empower a total of 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes:
1,751 entrepreneurs through Heirs Holdings Group: Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and United Capital; 1,049 entrepreneurs in partnership with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ and GIZ; 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency; 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency; 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the Dutch Government; and 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.

Applications to the flagship programme were received from over 265,000 young Africans, representing all 54 African countries, underscoring Africa’s vibrant entrepreneurial sector and the funding challenge for entrepreneurs. The new cohort will join the TEF Alumni community of more than 24,000 entrepreneurs.

The selection process is conducted by Ernst & Young, ensuring an independent and rigorous assessment of applicants.

Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to world-class business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a powerful network of investors, partners, and other entrepreneurs.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 2.5 million young Africans with access to business management training on our proprietary digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed over US$100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs. Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated $4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Through our support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line, and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46% of supported entrepreneurs being African women.

Ahead of the upcoming announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, reiterates his unwavering belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs:

“The future of Africa will be built by Africans who create businesses, generate jobs and solve the challenges of our continent. At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we believe that empowering entrepreneurs is the most sustainable path to Africa’s economic transformation.

I look forward to announcing and congratulating the 2026 cohort of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and look forward to witnessing the impact they will create across our continent.”

The general public is invited to join, virtually.

Featured

Eid-El-Fitr: Glo Felicitates with Muslims, Urges National Unity, Compassion

Published

9 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Eric

High premium Technology Company, Globacom, has felicitated with Muslims across Nigeria as they celebrate Eid-el-Fitr festival which marks the successful completion of the Ramadan fast.

In a goodwill message released in Lagos, the company commended the resilience and devotion shown by the faithful during the 30 days of spiritual reflection, sacrifice, and abstinence.

Globacom emphasized the importance of love, sacrifice, and community, encouraging Nigerians to embody these values.

The company explained that the end of Ramadan should serve as a springboard for continued personal growth, urging Nigerians to “use Eid-El-Fitri as a moment to reflect on their spiritual journey, promote the spirit of being one’s brother’s keeper, regardless of faith or background, and make sacrifices towards building a more prosperous and peaceful nation for all”.

Globacom enjoined its millions of subscribers to utilize the network’s innovative and affordable data and voice offerings to enhance their festive experience. It reaffirmed its commitment to providing seamless connectivity and ensuring that family and friends can stay in touch, share moments of joy, and exchange Sallah greetings throughout the holidays and beyond.

Featured

Reno, Fani-Kayode’s Brains Configured to Say Anything and Delete – Dele Momodu

Published

2 days ago

March 18, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Renowned journalist and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has come down hard on two loyalists of President Bola Tinubu, Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode, who were ambassadors-designate, before being posted to Mexico and Germany respectively.

Momodu, in a statement titled Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode: A Tale of Two Shameless friends, and posted on his verified social media handles, including Instagram, noted that the two men have proved themselves as very ‘shameless’, with brains configured to say anything and delete immediately.

While referring to Reno and Fani-Kayode as two perpetual agents of perfidy’, Momodu informed that his statement was in other not to give the ‘two…friends’ the impression to think they could bully him into silence and submission.

“No. They can’t. They both have no credibility whatsoever. Together, they’ve expressed the worst views ever about BOLA TINUBU that they will never be able to erase, or clean up, in a million years, except the world finally comes to an end,” he said.

While maintaining that he stands by his qualification of President Tinubu as a dictator, he clarified that the duo of Rwno and Fani-Kayode has disparaged and said worst things about Tinubu in the past, with whom they are hobnobbying with at the present.

Momodu revealed that his suspension of his weekly column on ThisDay and The Boss Newspaper was out of respect for some Yoruba elders, for Tinubu, and not to be critical of him as he did to his predecessors, saying that he has nothing against the president except for his consistent dive into the world of dictatorship and tyranny.

The Ovation Magazine publisher berated the duo of Reno and Fani-Kayode for severally reaching out to him privately for publicity. He also boted that he is not a victim of poor upbringing as the two men constantly portray. He further contrasted himself from the two men, saying he does not fight like pigs, and unlike the duo, has a job.

Read the statement in full

RENO OMOKRI & FEMI FANI-KAYODE: A TALE OF TWO SHAMELESS FRIENDS…

I was going to ignore these two perpetual agents of perfidy but later decided to respond to them just in case they think they could bully me into 🔕 silence and submission.

No. They can’t. They both have no credibility whatsoever. Together, they’ve expressed the worst views ever about BOLA TINUBU that they will never be able to erase, or clean up, in a million years, except the world finally comes to an end.

The only reason I could adduce for Tinubu’s tolerance of both irritants is desperation and his inability to find better people to do the dirty jobs. The brains of these ones have been configured to say anything and delete immediately.

I have never disparaged TINUBU in my life. I have never called him a murderer. I have never called him a drug baron or addict. I’m intelligent enough, not to say what I have no proof of. Only morons talk without thinking. I thank God for good upbringing. I do not fight like pigs. And I have a job and manage my modest income. I’m not seeking government appoints. I know how many times Femi and Reno have reached out to me, privately, either begging for publicity or apologizing for attacking me publicly.

All I have accused Tinubu of is DICTATORSHIP and I stand by it with my full chest. I oppose tyranny because I once suffered under it. Chief Moshood Abiola won an election but dictatorship deprived him of his victory. Why should we replace military dictators with civilian slavemasters. That’s my only grouse against TINUBU. Because of our past association, I have been partial and generous to him by not being as critical of him as I did to his predecessors.
Because of TINUBU, I stopped writing my PENDULUM column on the Backpage of Thisday and The Boss newspapers. Also, out of respect for Yoruba elder statesmen, including retired Generals who pleaded that we give him time to stabilize. They are alive to bear me witness.

How Femi and Reno can continue to harass people on behalf of a TINUBU they’ve permanently damaged and sent to the cleaners really baffles me.

But this is Nigeria…

– AARE BASORUN AKINROGUN DELE MOMODU