P&ID Judgment, An Opportunity To Save Nigeria’s Foreign Reserve, Says Ex-lawmaker

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Oct, Wed, 2023

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P&ID judgment, an opportunity to save Nigeria’s foreign reserve, says ex-lawmaker

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By Taiye Agbaje
Former House of Representatives member, Mr Robinson Uwak, says the judgment of a UK court quashing the $11 billion awarded in favour of Process and Industrial Developments Company, (P&ID) is a huge opportunity to save Nigeria’s foreign reserve.
Uwak, who represented Oron, Mbo, Okobo, Ure-Offong/Oruko and Udung-Uko Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom at the 7th Assembly, stated this on Wednesday in a statement in Abuja.
He congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the country’s victory in the matter.
“I join all well-meaning Nigerians to congratulate President Bola Tinubu over the victory of Nigeria at the British Commercial Court, Business and Property Section which on Monday nullified the arbitral award of $11 billion (with accumulated interests) against Nigeria.
“In the judgment, Justice Robin Knowles found that the arbitral awards were obtained by fraud and that the manner of their procurement was contrary to public policy in Nigeria deserving nullification.
“The voiding of the sum, which would amount to half of our over N11 trillion, is a welcome relief to our dear country, Nigeria at a time of severe economic and social difficulties.
“I consider this lifeline given to us as a huge opportunity to save our foreign reserve, which has depleted considerably and revamp the potency of the naira.
“I equally see this as a mild rebuke to our domestic and external contracting where breaches are rife, and the corruption among some cadres of the civil service.
“These we must address by urgent reforms as there are still pending international arbitrations involving Nigeria,” he said.
NAN reports that the judgment was delivered after five years of legal frameworks which have finally been to the advantage of Nigeria, as the court quashed the 11 billion dollar arbitration award in favour of P&ID.
In the ruling, the Justice of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, upheld Nigeria’s prayer on the ground that the ill-fated gas processing contract was obtained by fraud.
The UK judge dismissed the $6.6 billion arbitrary judgment against Nigeria of which interests have increased to $11.5 billion over a failed contract to develop a gas processing plant.

Judge Knowles ruled that the awards were obtained by fraud and that what had transpired in the case were contrary to public policy.

The Business and Property Court in London delivered the judgment in a case between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited.

P&ID had agreed with Nigeria in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, but the company said the contract failed because the Nigerian government did not fulfill its end of the bargain.

Claiming Nigeria breached the terms of the contract, P&ID took a legal recourse and secured an arbitral award against the country.

On Jan. 31, 2017, a tribunal ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre-and post-judgment interest at seven per cent.

Following the judgment, Nigeria applied for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.

The application was granted by Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, in September 2020, thereby returning the case to arbitration.
Nigeria had alleged that the gas deal was a scam conceived to defraud the country.

Lawyers representing the federal government told the court that P&ID officials paid bribes to secure the contract.

But P&ID denied the allegation and accused the Nigerian government of “false allegations and wild conspiracy theories”.

In a March trial at the court, Nigeria alleged that the contract was secured through dishonest means that included bribery and perjury and that the arbitration award, which has now risen to $11 billion because of interests, should be quashed. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

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