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Nigeria Demands Damages As UK Court Dismisses $11bn P&ID Suit

Published

1 year ago

October 24, 2023

Eric

The Federal Government has said it will demand damages from Process & Industrial Developments Limited, which lost its $11bn arbitration award against Nigeria on Monday in the United Kingdom.

The Punch quoted the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as saying: “There will be further hearing by the United Kingdom court on the heels of this judgment to determine costs payable by P&ID and other others in the matter.’’

The Business and Property Court in London had on Monday halted the enforcement of the P&ID $11bn award against Nigeria in a case marked CL-2019-000752.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Robert Knowles, it was held that the process through which P&ID secured a 2010 contract to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, was fraudulent.

The arbitration court had awarded $6bn against Nigeria in January 2017 over the failed gas processing contract but the fine had accumulated to $11bn before the verdict was delivered on account of the seven per cent interest rate.

Delivering the long-awaited ruling in the case on Monday, Knowles stated, “In the circumstances and for the reasons I have sought to describe and explain, Nigeria succeeds on its challenge under Section 68. I have not accepted all of Nigeria’s allegations but the awards were obtained by fraud and the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy.”

P&ID had claimed Nigeria violated the terms of its agreement by failing to provide gas for the power plant it wanted to build for the country.

According to the global firm, the alleged violation frustrated the construction of the gas project agreed to by the government of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua and deprived P&ID of the potential benefits expected from 20 years’ worth of gas supplies with “anticipated profits of $5 to $6bn.”

The arbitral tribunal unanimously decided that the Nigerian government had repudiated the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement by its failure to perform its obligations under the agreement awarded to the P&ID in 2017.

An initial out-of-tribunal agreement for the payment of $850m was reached by a previous administration and the disbursement was passed on to the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari, however, rejected the idea of paying the negotiated sum and challenged the enforcement of the award before the English Commercial Court.

The judge granted Nigeria’s request for a stay on any asset seizures while its legal challenge was pending, but ordered it to pay $200m to the court within 60 days to ensure the stay, including some court costs to P&ID within 14 days.

In the Monday ruling, Knowles observed that, “Notwithstanding Nigeria’s allegations, I have not found Nigeria’s lawyers in the arbitration to be corrupt. However, the case has shown examples where legal representatives did not do their work to the standard needed, where experts failed to do their work, and where politicians and civil servants failed to ensure that Nigeria as a state participated properly in the arbitration.

“The result was that the tribunal did not have the assistance that it was entitled to expect, which makes the arbitration process work. And Nigeria did not in the event properly consider, select and attempt admittedly difficult legal and factual arguments that the circumstances likely required. Even without the dishonest behaviour of P&ID, Nigeria was compromised.”

The AGF attributed Nigeria’s victory in the $11bn lawsuit to close a collaboration by agencies of the Federal Government.

Fagbemi said, “As you may all be aware by now, the Honorable Justice Robbin St. John Knowles of the United Kingdom commercial court today, handed down a historic judgment, in the suit, where the Federal Republic of Nigeria, otherwise known as FRN, moved to set aside the arbitral award of $9.6bn but which has now accrued interests now come to $11bn, made against Nigeria in 2017 in favour of P&ID for an alleged breach of a gas supply and processing agreement, purportedly entered into with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to establish a gas processing plant in Calabar for which P&ID never secured any land sight.

“The arbitral award had over the years played the assets of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and those of its agencies all over the world, at the risk of attachment, erosion of foreign reserves and distortion of monetary, fiscal and other policies of government with dire consequences for Nigeria and its people. These emphasised the need for the FRN to vigorously challenge and resist the enforcement of the award by P&ID.

“The judgment handed down today found that the award had been obtained by fraud and in a way which goes contrary to public policy. In particular, the judge concluded that P&ID obtained the award only by practising the most severe abuses of the arbitral process. It has been a night of long nights indeed.

“The success marks the culmination of a decade of legal action and is not just a victory for the poor of Nigeria but any similar target of corruption and fraud.”

President Bola Tinubu also expressed excitement over the verdict, saying it liberated the country from unjust economic malpractice.

A statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted Tinubu as saying, “This landmark judgment proves that nation-states will no longer be held hostage by economic conspiracies between private firms and solitarily corrupt officials who conspire to extort and indebt the very nations they swear to defend and protect.

“Today’s victory is not for Nigeria alone; it is a victory for our long-exploited continent and for the developing world at large, which has for too long been on the receiving end of unjust economic malpractice and overt exploitation.”

Tinubu commended the Nigerian legal team and acknowledged the roles of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the office of the AGF in defending the country’s interest in the case.

Headline

Tinubu Presents N47.9trn 2025 Appropriation Bill to NASS

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Eric

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presented the proposed 2025 federal budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

The N47.9 trillion budget saw a whopping N3.5 trillion allocated to the education sector.

Other sectors that got higher allocations include defence and security – N4.91tn, infrastructure – N4.06tn and health – N2.4tn.

“It is with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished joint session of the National Assembly, the 2025 Budget of the National Assembly of Nigeria titled, ‘The Restoration Budget’ security peace, building prosperity,” Tinubu said as he concluded his 30-minute presentation at 1:10pm.

This budget highlights the government’s focus on improving education, healthcare, and infrastructure, in line with its ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ aimed at boosting the economy and addressing key national priorities.

The live broadcast of the budget presentation today revealed the government’s plans for the next fiscal year. With a strong emphasis on human capital development, the president highlighted the budget’s commitment to improving the nation’s economic foundation.

Education sector receives major funding

A significant portion of the 2025 budget is dedicated to education, with N3.5 trillion allocated to the sector. President Tinubu stated that part of this funding would be directed toward infrastructure development, including support for Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the establishment of nine new higher educational institutions.

“We have made provision for N826.90 billion for infrastructural development in the education sector,” Tinubu said.

This allocation aims to improve educational facilities and support ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s educational system.

Focus on human capital development

During the presentation, the president emphasized the importance of investing in Nigeria’s human capital. “Human capital development, our people are our greatest resource. That is why we are breaking record investment in education, healthcare, our social services,” he remarked.

Tinubu also pointed to the N34 billion already disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to assist over 300,000 students.

The budget includes continued investments in healthcare and social services as part of the broader goal of enhancing the quality of life for Nigerians.

Strengthening the economy and national security

Tinubu highlighted that the 2025 budget is designed to build a robust economy while addressing critical sectors necessary for growth and security.

“This budget reflects the huge commitment to strengthening the foundation of a robust economy, while addressing the critical sectors essential for the growth and development we envision; and secure our nation,” he said.

The budget aims to tackle key challenges and foster long-term economic stability by prioritizing infrastructure and development in key sectors.

Healthcare and social services allocations

In addition to education, Tinubu focused on the allocation for healthcare and social services. The government plans to increase investments in healthcare infrastructure and services to ensure broader access to essential healthcare for Nigerians.

These investments are part of the administration’s strategy to improve overall living conditions and enhance public health across the country.

President Tinubu’s proposed 2025 budget is said to reflect the administration’s commitment to achieving its development objectives, with a focus on economic growth, human capital development, and infrastructure improvement.

As the National Assembly reviews the budget, the president reiterated his administration’s resolve to address the nation’s most pressing needs.

Source: Nairametrics

Headline

Ghana’s President-elect Mahama Visits Tinubu in Abuja

Published

5 days ago

December 17, 2024

Eric

Ghana’s President-Elect, Dr. John Dramani Mahama, a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at his residence, Presidential Villa, State House on Monday.

Mahama won 56 percent of the votes in this month’s presidential election, compared to the ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who secured 41 percent.

The landslide comeback for former president Mahama ended eight years in power for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by Ghana’s worst economic turmoil in years, an IMF bailout and a debt default.

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I Stand by What I Said, Kemi Badenoch Replies VP Shettima

Published

2 weeks ago

December 12, 2024

Eric

The leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has lashed back at Vice President Kashim Shettima over the latter’s reaction to her comments about Nigeria.

Badenoch was born in the UK in 1980 to Nigerian Yoruba parents.

Badenoch, who attained age 16 in Nigeria before departing the country for the UK where she was elected Conservative Party’s leader, described Nigeria as a nation brimming with thieving politicians and insecurity.

However, Shettima, while speaking at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, December 9, 2024, accused Badenoch of “denigrating her country of origin” with her remarks.

The vice-president listed influential people whose families had migrated to other countries, commending former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “brilliant young man who never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”

Reacting on Wednesday, Badenoch lashed back at Shettima, saying she doesn’t do “PR for Nigeria”.

Her spokesperson, as the Tory leader, according to UK Express, said: “Kemi is not interested in doing Nigeria’s PR; she is the Leader of the Opposition in the UK.

“She tells the truth; she tells it like it is; she isn’t going to couch her words. She stands by what she said.”