Tuesday, a U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. gave judgment affirming a $6.59 billion arbitral award, plus $2.30 billion interest, against Nigeria.



The judgment was given after the country failed to show up in court to defend the matter.



The naira value of the amount came to about N2.7 trillion (at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rate of N306 to one U.S Dollar).


Just as the judgment was handed down, PREMIUM TIMES became aware that the country would have paid less than 10 per cent of the $8.9 billion award if the Muhammadu Buhari administration had acted in line with the recommendation passed to it by the preceding Goodluck Jonathan regime.




But rather than take the recommended action, the Buhari administration scorned at the settlement agreement its predecessor signed with Process & Industrial Development Limited (P&ID), the engineering firm fighting Nigeria for breach of contract.



Official documents reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES show that a government negotiation team constituted by Mr. Jonathan successfully negotiated an out-of-tribunal settlement with P&ID and got the company to accept an $850 million payment, about 9.6 per cent of the $8.9billion award.



However, the present administration ignored that settlement and rather asked its lawyers to return to the tribunal to further contest the engineering firm’s claims.
The tribunal then ruled against Nigeria, awarding $6.6 billion in favour of the British Virgin Island’s firm.



The refusal to settle the matter for over five years attracted additional $2.3billion in accumulated interest at seven per cent per annum.



The fine followed a dispute over alleged breach of contractual agreement by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).



Officials familiar with the matter told this newspaper that the Jonathan government hammered out the $850 million agreement with P&ID a few days to the end of its reign.
It then transferred the responsibility of disbursing funds to the aggrieved company to the then in-coming government of President Muhammadu Buhari.



“President Jonathan reasoned that since his administration was already a few days away from its exit on May 29, 2015, it was proper not to approve the payment of $850 million to avoid unnecessary suspicion,” one official said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.



A SETTLEMENT IGNORED



At a point during the tribunal hearing, counsel to the Nigerian government, Supo Shasore, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), gave a legal opinion that government’s defence for failure to discharge its obligation under the contract was “feeble and unsustainable.”



On August 11, 2014, the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, advised the administration to take steps to settle the matter out of the tribunal “with a view to significantly reducing the claims against it.”



At the end of negotiations on November 20 and 21, 2014, a government team recommended the payment of $1.5 billion to P&ID.



But Mr. Jonathan asked the team to press for reduction of the settlement amount. The team then achieved a further concession to about $1.1billion to allow for taxes, salaries and other remunerations to P&ID workers if the contract agreement had been executed.



On April 29, 2015, P&ID agreed to the government’s final proposal to pay $850 million to settle the matter once and for all.



Although the government expressed discomfort over the $850 million settlement, wishing it was about $500 million or less, a payment schedule was agreed.



Initial payment of $100 million was to be made immediately after the Deed of Settlement are signed by the two parties.
Subsequent payments were to be in three tranches of $250 million every four months.



The Minister of Petroleum Resources at the time, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who raised the memo for President Jonathan’s approval, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would be requested to provide funding for the payment.



However, on May 25, 2015 (four days to the end of his term), Mr Jonathan wrote back to the Minister and the group managing director of the NNPC, saying, “I cannot approve at this time. Please bring up for the in-coming government to consider.”



The directive was contained in memo No. PRES/88-3/MPR/813/158/NNPC/7 from the then president to Mrs Alison-Madueke.



The memo was a response to another, dated May 18, 2015, in which the minister sought the president’s approval to ensure immediate settlement of the matter.



Although Mr Jonathan, based on the recommendation of the minister, gave approval for immediate settlement of the matter, he however transferred the disbursement of the money to the then in-coming Buhari administration.



However, on assumption of office five days later on May 30, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that when the matter was brought before President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, they opted for a renegotiation of the entire deal.



Mr Shasore, who was the Nigerian government’s defence counsel, was debriefed. He was replaced by Bolaji Ayorinde, also a SAN, to continue the matter at the London tribunal. Both lawyers declined to comment for this report.
On December 23, 2015, the new government asked the tribunal to set aside the award completely.



But on February 10, 2016, the tribunal dismissed the application following hearings between July 22 and 24, 2016 to determine damages.



The tribunal ruled that the damage suffered by P&ID was the loss of net income it would have received if the Nigerian government had kept its side of the contract.



HOW THE BATTLE STARTED


On January 11, 2010, P&ID signed a gas supply and processing agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on behalf of the Nigerian government.
Under the terms of agreement, P&ID was to build and operate an Accelerated Gas Development project to be located at Adiabo in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State.



The federal government was to source for natural gas from oil mining leases (OMLs) 123 and 67 operated by Addax Petroleum and supply to P&ID for 20 years to refine into fuel suitable for power generation in the country.



The lean gas to be produced from the wet gas was to belong to the government, while ownership of the residual hydrocarbons would be vested in P&ID as consideration for processing the wet gas to lean gas.



Initial volume was about 150 million cubic feet of gas per day, and eventually to ramp up to about 400 million cubic feet per day during the 20-year period.



However, P&ID alleged that after signing the agreement, the federal government reneged on its obligation after it opened negotiation with the Cross River State government for allocation of land for the project.



P&ID said the failure to construct the pipeline system to supply the gas frustrated the construction of the gas project, thereby depriving it the potential benefits expected from 20 years’ worth of gas supplies.



The company said several attempts to settle out of court with the federal government failed.



In August 2012, P&ID served the Nigerian government a Request for Arbitration.



The federal government argued before the tribunal that the failure of P&ID to acquire the site and build the gas processing facilities was a fundamental breach, as no gas could be delivered until this was done.



But the tribunal ruled that the Nigerian government’s obligations under Article 6B of the agreement were not conditional upon P&ID constructing the gas processing facilities.



The tribunal upheld P&ID’s application requesting damages for alleged breach of contract by government.



Two members of the three-man tribunal, Lord Hoffmann and Anthony Evans, held that P&ID’s expenditure and income should have been about $6.597 billion if the GSPA was duly performed by government.



Both officials said the award should be paid together with interest at the rate of 7 per cent from March 20, 2013.
The other member, who is Nigeria’s former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo, in his minority ruling said although P&ID was entitled to compensation for the breach, its damages could not have been more than three years from the date of the alleged breach.



Mr Ojo said P&ID should not be paid more than $250 million as damages.



The tribunal said damages were calculated as the present value of 20-year income, minus certain capital and operating costs incurred from building and running the refining facility.



And considering that the award was unpaid since 2013, accumulated uncollected interest at 7 per cent per annum would be about $2.3 billion as of March 2018.



Although the federal government challenged the award, P&ID said Nigeria was bound by a treaty to pay up, having waived its right to immunity as a sovereign nation when it signed the agreement.


On March 16, 2018, P&ID in its application seeking enforcement of the award said “The final award is governed by such a treaty — the New York Convention. So, Nigeria’s status as a foreign sovereign does not deprive the court of jurisdiction to confirm the award,” the company said.


When contacted for comment on the story, presidential spokesperson, Laolu Akande, said his boss would rather prefer the Attorney-General to talk about the matter.



Asked to confirm if the VP actually directed that the agreement for the payment of $850 million be set aside in 2016, Mr Akande said he should be given some time to get more details. He was yet to get back at the time of publishing this story.



The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said the government was doing something about the case. He did not provide further details.



The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, did not answer calls to his telephone when PREMIUM TIMES called to seek his comment for this report. He also did not respond to text and WhatsApp messages sent to him.


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/271674-exclusive-how-buhari-plunged-nigeria-into-n2-7-trillion-mess-while-spiting-jonathan.html

To the enemies of this country, Buhari is a saint. Buhari, God will punish you on earth and in hell.

the topic is a microscopic representation of what sane Nigerians have always criticised this administration for...


you do not turn an otherwise laudable anti corruption fight into a vendetta & tool to attack your perceived opponents even at the detriment of doing what is proper.


love him or hate him, GEJ left an economy that was on an upward trajectory despite some challenges which could have been overcome with careful nurturing , patience & open mindedness...


but pmb like the destroyer he is, just came & rubbished everything, not because he thought it was the 'right' thing to do, but just so he could nurture the seeds of hatred he had already sowed in the minds of the gullible...

I'm not surprised.
Is it not buhari?

How can small Jonathan tell him what to do.
And this has been the beginning of his problem in running a successful government.
Had he listened and incorporated the past regime while yet fighting his supposedly corruption,Nigeria wouldn't have been this bad.
Very wicked and vindictive old soul with superiority mentality.
Sometimes I wonder why people hail him here.
What has he brought to the table except destruction that some guys are so unashamedly licking his scrotum.

I DON'T KNW WHY THIS PRESIDENT IS SO LAME.

Is it not the Daura Jinn ... Devil in scrawny human bones

Please tell me this is some sort of joke?

Truly how incompetent can this government be? Is it only vindictive jailings, fake anti-corruption war and political frame-up's to intimidate perceived political opponents the only thing they can get done?

Even those they can't complete well. They failed on Melaye, OBJ, Saraki, etc.. The anti-corruption war is now ghost as is the "monies" they retrieved from it.

The only thing this government does well is lie. Lie and propaganda.... oh and allow terrorist freedom to kill people on their own land.

Sai baba... I beg you, please go back to daura jejeli

I'm still in shock. I mean, even if you feel you're to buh ti listen to the advice of GEJ's outgoing administration... how incompetent must you be to not source your own advisors to tell you a way forward?

Instead the vindictive old man, ignores it completely and costs the country significantly. Then they will be showing pictures of his visit to the White House as if he accomplished something!

Nothing done out of hate will produce any beneficial results to all. Buhari is filled with hate, that is why all his actions have always turn out bad for the country.
The real enemies of the country are his selfish supporters.
Check out why the herdsmen killings continues unabated.
All service chiefs are Northerners including the defence minister hence sentimental to their course despite their atrocities.

$8bn? Please let this be a joke....if this is true then Buhari has finished Nigeria...let his family and his supporters bear this yoke...I cannot bliv this!

Interesting

its interesting how pmb's supporters totally avoid threads/topics that definitely show that the slump experienced I'm recent times was a result of pmb's ineptitude & focus on destroying the opposition.


an investigative piece by PT a couple of weeks ago showed that even the so called rice revolution under pmb is a 'scam'.

yet, his supporters chose to ignore the reality of his ineptitude & focus on creating wider ethnic animosity so as to further their vile agenda...

ivandragon:
the topic is a microscopic representation of what sane Nigerians have always criticised this administration for...


you do not turn an otherwise laudable anti corruption fight into a vendetta & tool to attack your perceived opponents even at the detriment of doing what is proper.


love him or hate him, GEJ left an economy that was on an upward trajectory despite some challenges which could have been overcome with careful nurturing , patience & open mindedness...


but pmb like the destroyer he is, just came & rubbished everything, not because he thought it was the 'right' thing to do, but just so he could nurture the seeds of hatred he had already sowed in the minds of the gullible...

lmao @ upward trajectory even though he was borrowing hundreds of billions of naira to pay workers salary till his last day in office.


Upward trajectory even though he introduced austerity measures in 2014 when oil was selling for $80 per barrel


Upward trajectory even though in 2012, less than 2 years in office, he's borrowed over N2 TRILLION, I mean in less than 2 years.


Our $2 billion/DASUKI ATM he stole and shared with his fellow PDP crooks and looters nko? Do you have any idea what we can do with $billion?


Abeg sit down somewhere with tat rubbish.

Buhari is a curse on the nation



He came to kill... Destroy and impoverish

deomelo:



Jona was borrowing N1.285tn per year and N3.52 billion every day



The sad part is, exactly what did we get in return for the trillions he borrowed?

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

We know Jonathan didn't perform well. For God's sake, that's why some 15 million people voted for Buhari.
The question here is "Why did Buhari Plung Nigeria Into N2.7 Trillion Mess To Spite GEJ?"

If we want to talk debt, Buhari has incurred more debt, in multiple of what you stated that Jonathan incurred, but that's not the discussion on this thread.

DeOTR:

We know Jonathan didn't perform well. For God's sake, that's why some 15 million people voted for Buhari.
The question here is "Why did Buhari Plung Nigeria Into N2.7 Trillion Mess To Spite GEJ?"

If we want to talk debt, Buhari has incurred more debt, in multiple of what you stated that Jonathan incurred, but that's not the discussion on this thread.

1. PMB did not plunge us into any debt, GEJ and the incompetent people before PMB plunged us into the so-called debt simply because they breached the contract with the foreign company involved.


2. The settlement agreement was reached under GEJ, so why didn't he approve and pay the settlement? Why? because he spent all our money, no foreign reserves left to pay with especially considering the fact that up till MAY 15, just days before handing over to PMB, GEJ borrowed hundreds of billions to pay workers salary.

3. PMB did the right thing by challenging what the judgment and transpired events before him and you won't be lamenting today if he'd succeeded.

4. Bottomline, the people before him created the problem in the first place and the settlement was reached under them and they refused to pay the agreed settlement when they had the chance and opportunity to do so.

They have zero moral rights and authority to wail about what they created and refused to settle under their watch.


5. I can show you in vivid colors what PMB is doing with our money, but I'm 100000000000000% sure you can not show me what GEJ did with the trillions he borrowed.


6. The PDP/GEJ raked in hundreds of billions of dollars from oil sales and windfalls, but all they did was borrow. From his first day in office, GEJ borrowed trillions till his last day in office.



Many of you love to opine over what you know nothing about, you just read news headlines and start littering the internet flawed assertions.

deomelo:




1. PMB did not plunge us into any debt, GEJ and the incompetent people before PMB plunged us into the so-called debt simply because they breached the contract with the foreign company involved.


2. The settlement agreement was reached under GEJ, so why didn't he approve and pay the settlement? Why? because he spent all our money, no foreign reserves left to pay with especially considering the fact that up till MAY 15, just days before handing over to PMB, GEJ borrowed hundreds of billions to pay workers salary.

3. PMB did the right thing by challenging what the judgment and transpired events before him and you won't be lamenting today if he'd succeeded.

4. Bottomline, the people before him created the problem in the first place and the settlement was reached under them and they refused to pay the agreed settlement when they had the chance and opportunity to do so.

They have zero moral rights and authority to wail about what they created and refused to settle under their watch.


5. I can show you in vivid colors what PMB is doing with our money, but I'm 100000000000000% sure you can not show me what GEJ did with the trillions he borrowed.


6. The PDP/GEJ raked in hundreds of billions of dollars from oil sales and windfalls, but all they did was borrow. From his first day in office, GEJ borrowed trillions till his last day in office.



Many of you love to opine over what you know nothing about, you just read news headlines and start littering the internet flawed assertions.

Absolute trash.

[s]

fallout87:


Absolute trash.

[/s]



I did not post that for the typical can't read and comprehend lazy ipob trolls.

@deomelo
If you're hired to replace a non-performing manager, you don't blame the sacked manager for your failure to do better. You applied for a job and you stated how you'd do things differently and far better if employed during the interview.
If at any time you feel you can't live up to expectation, you either resign or wait until the Company fire you too. This a perfect example of how stupid it sounds for Buhari to blame Jonathan for his poor performance.
Regardless of whether this case came up because the last administration breached a contract, Buhari administration should have weighed the consequences of contesting the $850 million settlement. Now which is prefarable, $850 million or #2.7 trillion?
Though Jonathan administration is the root of this mess, he would have settled it if he was reelected. By this singular act, voting Buhari has cost the country more than #2.4 trillion.
Please pray tell, what has been the achievements of this regime in the last 3 years? Please, no mention of corruption.

DeOTR:
@deomelo
If you're hired to replace a non-performing manager, you don't blame the sacked manager for your failure to do better. You applied for a job and you stated how you'd do things differently and far better if employed during the interview.
If at any time you feel you can't live up to expectation, you either resign or wait until the Company fire you too. This a perfect example of how stupid it sounds for Buhari to blame Jonathan for his poor performance.
Regardless of whether this case came up because the last administration breached a contract, Buhari administration should have weighed the consequences of contesting the $850 million settlement. Now which is prefarable, $850 million or #2.7 trillion?
Though Jonathan administration is the root of this mess, he would have settled it if he was reelected. By this singular act, voting Buhari has costs the country more than #2.4 trillion.
Please pray tell, what has been the achievements of this regime in the last 3 years? Please, no mention of corruption.

So, useless and incompetent Jona created the problem and the agreement was reached under Jona, but he refused to pay because he was waiting to be reelected. That's what they call irresponsible and dereliction of duty. You and Jona sound like comedians.


If I show you PMB's achievements, will you show me Jona's achievements too?

deomelo:




lmao @ upward trajectory even though he was borrowing hundreds of billions of naira to pay workers salary till his last day in office.


Upward trajectory even though he introduced austerity measures in 2014 when oil was selling for $80 per barrel


Upward trajectory even though in 2012, less than 2 years in office, he's borrowed over N2 TRILLION, I mean in less than 2 years.


Our $2 billion/DASUKI ATM he stole and shared with his fellow PDP crooks and looters nko? Do you have any idea what we can do with $billion?


Abeg sit down somewhere with tat rubbish.

lol...


the chief hater...


been a while... I trust you are good.


well, I guess you would ignore the looting under your lord & saviour pmb because that one suits your twisted logic...

pmb has borrowed more & done less, yet, you close your eyes to that...


the topic represents glaring evidence of pmb's ineptitude & vindictive stup!dity, but its OK with you because as long as its pmb, been stup!d is the new cool...

[s]

ivandragon:





lol...


the chief hater...


been a while... I trust you are good.


well, I guess you would ignore the looting under your lord & saviour pmb because that one suits your twisted logic...

pmb has borrowed more & done less, yet, you close your eyes to that...


the topic represents glaring evidence of pmb's ineptitude & vindictive stup!dity, but its OK with you because as long as its pmb, been stup!d is the new cool...

[/s]



Typical pointless and irrelevant ipob rubbish.

deomelo:
[s][/s]


Typical pointless and irrelevant ipob rubbish.

lol...

take it easy... don't late hate lead you further down the path of stup!dity...

[s]

ivandragon:



lol...


take it easy... don't late hate lead you further down the path of stup!dity...

[/s]






Typical pointless and irrelevant ipob rubbish.

The sad thing is all these foolish Igbos read this article and clearly understood this debt was incured under Jonathan who who could not fulfill it part of an agreement he signed, then refused to pay the agreed out of court settlement for that specific failure but would rather blame Buhari who could not understand why he has to pay 9 billions dollars for nothing and chose to challenge the validity of paying such money for absolute no reason.

Igbo deluded mentality.
If 100 of them is to comment on the topic they will simply ignore who caused the problem and blame the person that is suppose to park the shii.

deomelo:
[s][/s]






Typical pointless and irrelevant ipob rubbish.

yeah yeah, same old, same old...

you respond to a comment, you get put in your place, you talk trash, cross out comments, spill the usual ethnic bs...


typical deomelo...

Please see Nigeria's debt profile below. It is getting worse by the second;

its funny how those who claim to want 'progress' in Nigeria are the 1st to cast ethnic slurs.


if you have hatred imbedded in your thinking faculty, how then can you progress positively?


that a deal was signed January 2010 does not mean negotiations on the deal started January 2010...


if my memory serves me right, the process for the contract started in 2007/2008...

besides, since pmb's social media id!ots love taking glory for projects started by previous administrations, why are the touts suddenly averse to taking responsibility for this?

after all, GEJ also 'initiated' the project... lol...


besides, the judgement was given because Nigeria failed to show up in court.


so it was quite possible that if pmb had not been vindictive & the likes of his social media id!ots not egging him on, Nigeria might have gotten a better deal if our lawyers had shown up...


but rather than holding pmb & the attorney general responsible for the SNAFU, pmb's tout prefer to shift the blame & cast ethnic slurs...

typical misdirected miscreants...

front2line:
The sad thing is all these foolish Igbos read this article and clearly understood this debt was incured under Jonathan who who could not fulfill it part of an agreement he signed, then refused to pay the agreed out of court settlement for that specific failure but would rather blame Buhari who could not understand why he has to pay 9 billions dollars for nothing and chose to challenge the validity of paying such money for absolute no reason.

Igbo deluded mentality.
If 100 of them is to comment on the topic they will simply ignore who caused the problem and blame the person that is suppose to park the shii.

Part of the problem this country faces is people like you. Absolute disgrace. Go back and read the article again and stop with your tribalism. You are worse than BH

deomelo:



So, useless and incompetent Jona created the problem and the agreement was reached under Jona, but he refused to pay because he was waiting to be reelected. That's what they call irresponsible and dereliction of duty. You and Jona sound like comedians.


If I show you PMB's achievements, will you show me Jona's achievements too?

Where in the article does it state GEJ created the problem? Try to comprehend things always. Don't just type cos you feel you know all

[s]

ivandragon:


yeah yeah, same old, same old...

you respond to a comment, you get put in your place, you talk trash, cross out comments, spill the usual ethnic bs...


typical deomelo...

[/s]




Typical pointless and irrelevant ipob rubbish.