We pray God to grant the family the grace to carry on.

Well done to all that has support Innoson by buying their cars.

The FG deserve our support to defeat this guys.
The The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has done well son so far ,but more action needed for him to have his name among the patriot of Nigeria.Well done Sir.

FOOTNOTES
– The Nigerian government appears finally to have got its act together. It is fighting back, hard, in the $9.6 billion battle against Irish-run Petroleum and Industrial Development (P&ID), which recently won the huge judgment against it in a UK arbitration court over a failed 2010 Nigerian public-private gas deal. The huge award shocked the country’s citizens, politicians, lenders and most observers.

Theoretically, the judgment gives P&ID the right to seize Nigerian assets abroad.

On Thursday, Nigeria won leave in a London court to appeal the judgment, although the stay on the implementation of the order is what the African state really needed to get a foothold in the row, which potentially threatens a fifth of its foreign reserves. As it stands, the government will have to pay $200 million to the British court within 60 days to secure the continuing stay.

The US hedge fund-backed P&ID’s Irish links are now coming under serious pressure. Nigerian investigators looking into the original deal have detained Lagos-based Irishman James Nolan, a close business associate of one of the founders of P&ID, the late showbands manager and Dublin businessman Mick Quinn.

Nolan has not been charged with any crime, but his detention will put pressure on the people around P&ID. It also puts pressure on the Irish Government, which will obviously have to provide him with consular assistance but which is understandably wary about being dragged into the row with Africa’s largest economy.

Nigeria has also claimed it will seek the extradition of the other Irish P&ID co-founder, Brendan Cahill, and Mr Quinn’s son, Adam, although it is not clear what the grounds for this would be.

Nigeria is also seeking access to bank records held by State-controlled bank AIB, which it wants to view as part of its investigation into the original 2010 gas deal, which fell apart, leading to the arbitration award.

P&ID indicated this week that it is ready “in good faith” to enter settlement talks: “If the Nigerian government is serious about a willingness to negotiate, we are ready.”

That seems like a sensible plan all round.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/blocking-new-hotels-in-dublin-is-economic-vandalism-1.4031509

Mccullum:
The problem of Nigerians is considering ethnic interest above national interest, Nigeria government must up hold justice at home without emotions of tribalism and religion by showing the world that we had equity in political freedom and access to equal justice by punishing the culprits of the scammed contract according to law of land, then the world will take us serious.
Can this happened in China, US, UK and other sane nations and those involved won't be in jail now?
Until when we're serious positively, our country can be great.

You are right

Racoon:
[s][/s]
Guess it's the same irresponsible and clueless government being led by the sworn affidavit-certificate holder that have blamed everything on earth for his incompetency & ineptitude?

Nigerians should appreciate the Presidency for their current effort first,despite their mistake,
The actions of P&ID will affect every one ,whether the President is competent or not.

Tumbulum:
prepare your proposal,get down to the corporate headquarter of IVM and ask to see the chairman of IVM. Going on social media like nairaland where there are so many jokers will portray you as one of those unserious type.

Thanks for the suggestion.

If they are serious in grow their business, the can reach me via the forum.

They need us not the other way round.

Once again Thanks

The Fg should try all effort to key in it now

EU & Japan strike ‘connectivity’ deal to link Asia & to counter China’s new Silk Road

Published time: 27 Sep, 2019 13:09
Edited time: 27 Sep, 2019 15:10
The European Union has included Japan in its Asia “connectivity” plan, signing a landmark deal to coordinate transport, energy and digital projects amid concerns over China’s dominance in infrastructure funding.
The agreement formally seals Japan’s engagement in the new EU-Asia connectivity plan and was signed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the Europa Connectivity Forum in Brussels on Friday.

“Whether it be a single road or a single port, when the EU and Japan undertake something, we are able to build sustainable, rules-based connectivity from the Indo-Pacific to the Western Balkans and Africa,” Abe told reporters ahead of the signing ceremony.

EU officials have turned to Japan in an apparent move to evade attracting Chinese financing, fearing what they see as China’s dominance in infrastructure building across Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. Since 2013, China funded the construction of bridges, roads and tunnels across more than 60 countries under its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which aims to build a network of land and sea links with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

“The sea route that leads to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic must be open,” Abe said, emphasizing the deal’s signatories’ aim to prevent China-financed projects from dominating EU-Asia transport links.

“Japan and the EU endeavor to ensure synergies and complementarity between their respective cooperation on connectivity and quality infrastructure with partner third countries and coordinate action, notably in the regions of the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Indo-Pacific, as well as in Africa,” the bilateral document states.

The deal is also to ensure “transparent procurement practices,” as well as “free, open, fair, non-discriminatory and predictable regional and international trade and investment.” It will be backed by a €60 billion ($65.48 billion) EU guarantee fund, development banks and private investors. The signatories promised to pay “utmost attention” to the sides’ “fiscal capacity and debt-sustainability.” Jean-Claude Juncker promised to help build infrastructure “without mountains of debt” or a reliance “on a single country.”

Although not all the money distributed under the deal will be spent in Asia, the EU’s new agenda makes spending on infrastructure links with Asia official EU policy, which also involves the bloc’s common budget.

The two-day Europa Connectivity Forum is a multi-nation convention which aims to enforce ties between governments, financial institutions and private sectors, across Europe and beyond. This year’s Forum, held under the theme “EU-Asia Connectivity: Building Bridges for a Sustainable Future,” is focused on strengthening cooperation between the EU and its partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

https://www.rt.com/business/469754-eu-japan-asia-deal/

According to P&ID spent $40 million on design and feasibility but didn’t construct the plant as the government failed to supply the gas it was meant to process. In 2017, the arbitration tribunal awarded P&ID $6.6 billion, plus interest, based on what it could have earned over two decades

My Questions:
1:How much tax was paid to the fg
2:From which account P&ID ltd or P&ID nig ltd
3:How was the money source
4:How much was spent after the MOU was signed

The award is accruing $1.2 million in interest per day, backdated to 2013, and is now worth more than $9 billion - some 20% of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
The Interest for their crime will cover the $9billion
WHAT DOES THE RULING MEAN?
In August, a ruling in London converted the arbitration award to a court judgement - allowing P&ID to try to seize assets in order to collect it.

A British judge on Thursday gave Nigeria permission to seek to set aside that decision, with a date for an appeal hearing yet to be decided.

Legal experts told Reuters that in order to succeed, Nigeria’s lawyers will have to prove there was an error in the ruling.

The lawyers on Thursday focused on whether the arbitration tribunal was allowed to determine that England was the appropriate seat of the arbitration; the Nigerians argue that only a court could make such a determination.

They also argue that the award itself was “patently and hugely excessive.”

The judge said he did not support one of Nigeria’s arguments, which said the award itself should not be enforced because a federal court in Lagos set it aside.

This guys and their associate are not friends of Nigeria and Nigerians,A Friend will go this far to make their case

WOULD SETTING ASIDE MAKE THE LIABILITY GO AWAY?
Not exactly. While a successful set aside would make the award unenforceable in the UK, P&ID is also asking federal courts in Washington, D.C., to convert the award to a judgement in U.S. courts. That case, an entirely separate process, is pending.

The arbitration award itself also allows P&ID to seek to seize assets in any of the other 160 countries that are part of the New York Convention - a global pact for the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards.

Legal experts said there is a long history of successful asset seizures using the New York Convention. But other jurisdictions considering seizure requests could take UK court rulings into account, which means that if Nigeria succeeds in its set aside, seizure elsewhere becomes harder.

Nigerians should appreciate the Presidency for their current effort first,despite their mistake, Then we must all support the FG effort to get victory.Technically we in an Economical war,which we as a nation must win

The FG should charge everyone involved in the case,including their associates to a Nigeria court,find them guity and ask Interpol to arrest and deport them to Nigeria to face punishment.Since the FG claimed they are scammers

Libby George

LAGOS (Reuters) - A British judge has given the Nigerian government permission to seek to overturn a ruling that would enable Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) to try to seize some $9 billion in assets over a failed deal.

The British Virgin Islands-based firm, which was set up solely for a project to build a gas processing plant, initiated arbitration against Nigeria in 2012 after the deal collapsed.

P&ID spent $40 million on design and feasibility but didn’t construct the plant as the government failed to supply the gas it was meant to process. In 2017, the arbitration tribunal awarded P&ID $6.6 billion, plus interest, based on what it could have earned over two decades.

The award is accruing $1.2 million in interest per day, backdated to 2013, and is now worth more than $9 billion - some 20% of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

The issue has enraged Nigeria, with President Muhammadu Buhari calling it a “scam” in a speech at the United Nations. Cabinet members are demanding patriotic Nigerians band against the award, while a dozen high-level officials were in London for a court hearing on Thursday.

WHAT DOES THE RULING MEAN?
In August, a ruling in London converted the arbitration award to a court judgement - allowing P&ID to try to seize assets in order to collect it.

A British judge on Thursday gave Nigeria permission to seek to set aside that decision, with a date for an appeal hearing yet to be decided.

Legal experts told Reuters that in order to succeed, Nigeria’s lawyers will have to prove there was an error in the ruling.

The lawyers on Thursday focused on whether the arbitration tribunal was allowed to determine that England was the appropriate seat of the arbitration; the Nigerians argue that only a court could make such a determination.

They also argue that the award itself was “patently and hugely excessive.”

The judge said he did not support one of Nigeria’s arguments, which said the award itself should not be enforced because a federal court in Lagos set it aside.

WOULD SETTING ASIDE MAKE THE LIABILITY GO AWAY?
Not exactly. While a successful set aside would make the award unenforceable in the UK, P&ID is also asking federal courts in Washington, D.C., to convert the award to a judgement in U.S. courts. That case, an entirely separate process, is pending.

The arbitration award itself also allows P&ID to seek to seize assets in any of the other 160 countries that are part of the New York Convention - a global pact for the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards.

Legal experts said there is a long history of successful asset seizures using the New York Convention. But other jurisdictions considering seizure requests could take UK court rulings into account, which means that if Nigeria succeeds in its set aside, seizure elsewhere becomes harder.

CAN THE AWARD ITSELF BE OVERTURNED?
Possibly. Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright noted that arbitration awards can be overturned based on “public policy arguments” that hinge on allegations of fraud or corruption.

Nigeria’s anti-graft unit, the EFCC, is conducting an investigation into P&ID, and has charged a former petroleum ministry lawyer with taking bribes related to the contract. The former official has pleaded not guilty. It also alleged that a now-deceased petroleum minister broke the law by signing the contract without proper approvals and protocol.

Last week two Nigerians, who the EFCC said worked for P&ID, pleaded guilty on its behalf to charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Nigeria’s attorney general Abubakar Malami said that gave Nigeria “a judicial proof of fraud and corruption” and “cogent ground for setting aside the liability.”

P&ID said neither man was a current employee or representative of the company, and that there was “no evidence produced, no defence allowed, no charges laid, no due process followed.”

A successful fraud argument is not an easy path.

Simon Sloane of law firm Fieldfisher said the Nigerian government would need to prove that the contract was not merely tainted by fraud, but that it was “on its face” unlawful or fraudulent. Sloane called this an “extremely high hurdle.”

Thus far, the Nigerians have not presented evidence against P&ID in an international forum.

P&ID denied any wrongdoing.

“The Nigerian government knows there was no fraud and the allegations are merely political theater designed to deflect attention from its own shortcomings,” it said in a statement.

ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS?
Nigeria could settle with P&ID - a common route and one that would likely cost the country substantially less than $9 billion.

In 2015, at the end of the term of President Goodluck Jonathan, P&ID proposed a settlement of $850 million. The Buhari administration did not take the offer.

Both parties have said they are open to negotiations, but the government said P&ID had not directly approached it to initiate talks.

Experts said that Thursday’s ruling allowing an appeal significantly strengthened Nigeria’s negotiating position.

WHAT IS AT STAKE?
For now, Nigeria’s assets are safe; the judge on Thursday ordered a stay of execution on seizures as long as Nigeria puts $200 million into a court account with 60 days and pays certain of P&ID’s legal fees within 14 days. If they fail to do so, P&ID could try to seize assets.

Harry Mantovu QC, who represented Nigeria, said that “even if P&ID seized assets for a short time, it could be serious.”

P&ID could target real estate, bank accounts or any kind of moveable wealth, but it would have to prove that the property is unrelated to Nigeria’s operations as a sovereign state.

ADVERTISEMENT


State assets that have any diplomatic function - such as a commercial property that is also used to issue visas - cannot be seized.

Mantovu noted that the award represents 2.5% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product and half of its earnings from crude oil last year.

“It is not going to take an Einstein to conclude that this would have a massive impact on the economy of Nigeria and the monetary policy of Nigeria,” he said in court.

Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN1WC1JN-OZATP

British home secretary Priti Patel backing P&ID .A good news

Irish authorities and AIB are being drawn into a high-profile international legal dispute between Nigeria and a company founded by Irish investors that is claiming $9.6 billion (€10.8 billion) for a failed contract.

Nigerian prosecutors said they would seek the extradition of two men from the Republic to Nigeria. They also said they were seeking information about funds sent to a Nigerian government lawyer that were transferred through AIB.

The African country is embroiled in a fight with Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), which was founded by Irish investors Michael Quinn and Brendan Cahill, over a failed 2010 deal to develop a gas-processing plant. Nigeria now alleges the contract was won corruptly and the project was never meant to succeed. P&ID denies any wrongdoing.

The Nigerian anti-corruption agency has expanded its investigation into the deal by making formal requests for assistance from Irish law enforcement and the UK’s National Crime Agency, Ibrahim Magu, the head of the Nigerian agency, said in an interview with Bloomberg in London. He was one of more than a dozen government officials to speak to the news agency on Tuesday.

The latest developments may draw the Government into the dispute. An Irish citizen who worked for Mr Quinn has been arrested and charged in Nigeria and remains in custody, according to lead prosecutor Bala Sanga.

P&ID co-founder Mr Cahill and Mr Quinn’s son Adam will “in due course be charged,” he said, adding that he would seek the extradition of both men from Ireland to Nigeria. Mr Cahill and Mr Quinn didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Nigerian prosecutors also said they had evidence of two bank transfers totalling $20,000 (€18,250) made by Dublin-based Industrial Consultants (International) Ltd – part of the P&ID group of companies – to Grace Taiga, a Nigerian government lawyer who oversaw the award of the gas plant contract. The payments, in 2017 and 2018, were made from an Industrial Consultants account at AIB and were purportedly for “medical costs,” Mr Sanga said in the interview.


AIB spokesman
A spokesman for AIB said the bank did not comment on individual accounts. A spokesperson for P&ID didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest allegations.

Ms Taiga’s lawyer denied that his client had been bribed.

“How could there have been a bribe to facilitate the contract that was done in 2010 and now get paid in 2018 or 2017?” Wole Olanipekun, Taiga’s lawyer, said. “It just doesn’t add up.”

The payments, along with Ms Taiga’s email records, showed a “long-standing relationship” between the government official and P&ID founder Michael Quinn, who died in 2015, and his partner Mr Cahill, Mr Sanga said. Ms Taiga pleaded not guilty last week in Nigerian court to charges of fraud and accepting bribes. She was granted bail in a hearing on Wednesday and is set to stand trial on October 14th

One of the world’s largest lawsuits, the claim pits the small Irish-run firm against Africa’s largest economy.

P&ID, which has attracted financial backing from hedge fund manager VR Capital Group, and support from British home secretary Priti Patel, has won a series of court rulings in London and the US.

The British Virgin Islands-based firm has said the Nigerian investigation is a “sham” and an attempt to escape its legal obligations. Its lawyers have threatened to start seizing state assets abroad to enforce the award.

After Bloomberg published an article about the Irish founders of P&ID and their history of broken contracts and lawsuits, Nigerian investigators intensified their investigation. Two former representatives of P&ID pleaded guilty in an Abuja court this week to 11 charges including money laundering.

“We are giving notice to international criminal groups by the vigorous prosecution of the P&ID scandal attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars,” Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari said in an address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Nigerian attorney general Abubakar Malami said in the interview that he was considering using the fraud allegations in court as part of its defence. The Nigerian ministers and officials were in the UK for a meeting with their legal team. A hearing is scheduled to take place in London on Thursday.

Enforcement
“The enforcement of the $9 billion cannot stand having been based on a foundation that is rooted in fraud, corruption, tax evasion and procedural circumvention,” Mr Malami said.

P&ID has said that its position is vindicated by the legal judgments in its favour.

The Nigerian anti-corruption agency’s investigators have uncovered large cash withdrawals from several companies linked to Mr Quinn and Mr Cahill since 2009, in breach of Nigerian money-laundering regulations, according to Mr Sanga. The largest withdrawal was for about $700,000 in cash. Investigators haven’t yet been able to trace the recipients of the money, Mr Sanga said. – Bloomberg

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/irish-authorities-and-aib-drawn-into-9-6bn-nigerian-dispute-1.4030167?mode=amp

Easykel21:
They should also think of ways to provide roads for these new cars

I believe you know the numbers of car imported into the country,not minding the road challenges facing the country.

Tumbulum:
You are not serious op.

Please explain,so we can give you the correct answer

The Initiator of the N500k per new car Initiative will like to enter direct partnership with Innoson Group to use our initiative to sell brand news Innoson fox,ume,etc for N500 000 per unit.
We want a meeting with the chairman to explain how we intend to raise the fund that we enable us to subsidise the Innoson ivm fox and other cars of interest.
We will appreciate contact detail,display here, as part of our policy to be transparent to the Nigeria public.

If you are close to Innoson or and local plant that assemble cars ,tell them to reach us here.

We know their address, but a public invite,will benefit us all.As only a company that want to do honest business in Nigeria will contact us .
Many companies were given license to assemble cars in Nigeria, how many are in business today producing cars in Nigeria,Others are importing at will.
The eight other firms assembling vehicles in the country as Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Nissan Motors, Honda Motors, Hyundai Motor Company, Ford Motor Company, GIC Motor Companies Ltd, JAC Motors and Kia Motors can take advantage of our offer

Everyone will get a new car for just N500 thousand naira payment, we will add the balance to make the current price of new car.

You bookmark to get update.

Nigeria stand to win this round on both side, at the court or aside the court, provided they continue on their current part.
Nigeria do not need negotiation.
The worst that can happen ,is for the judge to grant P&ID their wish,thereby comparing Nigeria to pay the over $9 billion. In that case,we will still win,if Nigeria apply strategic thinking to pay. As stated in one of our post on a Backup plan. Or we can make UK pay the money legally.

$9.6bn judgment: P&ID says no negotiations, UK legal battle resumes today
Published September 26, 2019
by:Olalekan Adetayo and Ade Adesomoju

The Process and Industrial Development on Wednesday denied offering to negotiate with the Federal Government over a recent contentious judgment of a United Kingdom which affirmed that it is owed $9.6bn by Nigeria.

This came as both Nigeria and the firm are set for a legal showdown in a push by the Federal Government to have the controversial judgment set aside in the UK court on Thursday (today).



The P&ID’s denial of an out-of-court negotiation with Nigeria over the judgment, followed media reports that it made the offer to have talks with the Federal Government after its conviction for fraud, tax evasion and other sundry offences by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 19, 2019.

Responding to an e-mail enquiries by The PUNCH on Wednesday, an official of a London-based public relations firm, iNHouse Communications, which has been receiving and responding to public enquiries about P&ID in relation to the $9.6bn judgment, Chris Rogers, said such “suggestion” of an offer to negotiate with Nigeria was false.

“Any suggestion P&ID has made an offer of negotiation or that there is an offer the Nigerian government is considering is entirely false,” Rogers said.

Responding to an earlier enquiry if such negotiation was going on, Rogers said, on Wednesday, “I have checked, and any suggestion that negotiations have commenced is entirely false and incorrect”.

Earlier on September 1, the company expressed its readiness to negotiate with Nigeria over the $9.6bn judgment.

The company, however, advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to “appoint and authorised a party to enter into real negotiations” instead of what it called the Nigeria’s “baseless slander and sham investigations against P&ID and its founders”.

The firm said in a response to our correspondent’s enquiry, “If the Nigerian government is serious about a willingness to negotiate then it must do so in good faith.

“This means that the Buhari administration must acknowledge the reality of the rulings of the independent Tribunal and the English Commercial Court, desist from its campaign of baseless slander and sham investigations against P&ID and its founders and instead appoint an authorized party to enter into real negotiations.”



The Federal High Court in Abuja had on September 19 convicted and subsequently ordered the winding down of Process and Industrial Development Limited and its Nigerian affiliate, P&ID Nigeria Limited.

Justice Inyang Ekwo made the orders after the two firms, through their representatives, pleaded guilty to the 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and other sundry charges in connection with a year 2010 contract leading to the recent controversial judgment of a British court affirming the $9.6bn awarded in favour of the firm and against Nigeria by an arbitration panel in the UK.

In his judgment, which he delivered shortly after the representatives of the companies pleaded guilty to the charges, Justice Ekwo also ordered the forfeiture of “the assets and properties” of the two firms to the Nigerian government.

Swiftly reacting to the development, the firm described the trial and conviction as “sham and entirely illegitimate”.

The firm said the proceedings followed “a systematic campaign of harassment, intimidation and illegal detention of a number of individuals associated with P&ID or the Gas Supply Project Agreement contract”.

Rogers, in a response to The PUNCH’s request for the firm’s reaction to the conviction, quoting “a spokesperson for P&ID”, said, “Today’s sham trial in Nigeria is entirely illegitimate, and follows a systematic campaign of harassment, intimidation and illegal detention of a number of individuals associated with P&ID or the GSPA contract.

“The individuals detained have not been afforded due process and have instead been pressured and intimidated by the government into making false statements.”

It added, “None of the individuals involved are current employees or representatives of P&ID. P&ID itself has received no communication from any Nigerian authority about the investigation or today’s hearing.”

FG delegation in last-minute meetings with lawyers, stakeholders

Also, members of the Federal Government delegation currently in London on Wednesday intensified efforts aimed at setting aside the judgment of a United Kingdom court that asked Process and Industrial Development Limited to seize $9.6bn in Nigerian assets.

The case is coming up in the UK court on Thursday (today).

Ahead of the court sitting however, the team consisting of top government officials and lawyers on Wednesday embarked on last minute meetings to ensure that Nigeria gets a favourable outcome.

A source close to the delegation told our correspondent that the team is not taking anything for granted.

According to him, members of the delegation continued their engagements with the media and foreign lawyers on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Information and Culture confirmed the last minute efforts in a series of messages it posted on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

The message read, “Hearing in the $9.6bn arbitration award to P&ID comes up in London on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

“FG’s delegation currently engaging with media and stakeholders in London, over the P&ID case.

“On Wednesday, the delegation held a series of engagements, starting with a stakeholders’ event, lunch with a leading Barristers’ Chambers in London and interviews with the BBC.

“The delegation includes HMIC Lai Mohammed, Attorney General and HMJ Abubakar Malami, IGP Abubakar Adamu, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Ag. EFCC Chair Ibrahim Magu and AIG Ibrahim Lamorde.”

Lawyers in the team include the Director of Civil Litigation, Ministry of Justice, Anne Akwiwu; a director from the CBN, S.K Salam-Alada; Timi Balogun; and Bradley Doline.

Others are a director in the EFCC, Bala Tsanga; a special counsel and prosecutor with the commission, Rotimi Oyedepo; and Senior State Counsel, Ministry of Justice, Oyin Koleosho.

Malami had in an interview with journalists on Sunday said the Federal Government was still considering all options in its efforts at upturning the judgment of the UK court.

The minister was asked whether the government would be filing a new case based on recent developments, especially the conviction it secured against the firm in Abuja on Thursday or would build on the previous judgment.

Two representatives of the P&ID had last Thursday pleaded guilty before the Federal High Court in Abuja to charges of fraud and tax evasion instituted against them in respect of the contract leading to the controversial judgment.

On Sunday, the Minister of Justice said the government would adopt the option that would be most beneficial.

He said, “All cards are on the table, but it all depends on the one that has potency for setting aside the award having regards to the applicable law in the circumstances.”

Malami made it clear that the government team was not ruling out any possibility in tackling the issue.

He said, “No possibility is ruled out. The options available to us include the possibility of filing a new case and or using existing proceedings to seek relief of setting aside the award (of the contract). Nothing can be ruled out.”

Malami had also told Saturday PUNCH last Friday that the case had yet to reach an appeal level, but at the stage of determining whether or not the P&ID should be allowed to enforce the award of $9.6bn by an arbitration panel against Nigeria.

He said the Federal Government would tender before the court evidence that the Gas Supply Processing Agreement signed in 2010, which led to the judgment of the British court, was rooted in fraud and corrupt practices.

The minister said although the court had ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $9.6bn, it had yet to grant the firm the go-ahead to seize Nigeria’s assets in enforcement of the award given in favour of the firm.

The AGF said the Federal Government would tender, among others, the investigative report of the EFCC as well as Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, convicting P&ID Limited, which was incorporated on the British Virgin Island, and its Nigerian affiliate of fraud.

The AGF said the government would also tender the charges pending against firms and individuals who played one role or the other in the alleged fraudulent GSPA.

P&ID: Court grants ex-petroleum ministry director N10m bail

Meanwhile, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday, granted a N10m bail to a former Director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Grace Taiga, who faces criminal charges connected with the controversial P&ID $9.6bn judgment.

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi had on September 20, 2019, ordered her remand in Suleja prison in Niger State after the defendant pleaded not guilty to the eight counts preferred against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The judge subsequently fixed Wednesday for the hearing of her bail application.

Ruling on her bail application moved by her lawyer, Ola Olanipekun (SAN), the judge said on Wednesday he had the discretion to grant bail to the defendant.

He then granted her bail in the sum of N10m which must be guaranteed by two sureties in like sum.

The prosecution had opposed the bail application. Justice Adeniyi, however, ruled that the prosecution failed to convince her not to grant the bail.

He directed that the sureties to be produced by the defendant must include public servants not below directorate level and must be resident in Abuja.

The sureties are to depose to an affidavit of means.

He directed that the defendant must not travel outside Nigeria without the court’s permission.

The prosecution accused her of among other charges, receiving a bribe through her offshore bank account in signing, alongside the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, the late Rilwan Lukman, the Gas Supply Processing Agreement between the Process and Industrial Development Limited and the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry on January 11, 2019.

She was also accused of violating various laws by entering into the GSPA without a prior approval by the Federal Executive Council and a certificate of no-objection to the contract from the Bureau of Public Enterprise.

The charges are in connection with the controversial Gas Supply Processing Agreement which led to the recent $9.6bn judgment given against Nigeria and in favour of Process and Industrial Development by a British court.

Taiga was said to have signed as Nigeria’s witness to the GSPA while the then minister presiding over the ministry, the late Dr Rilwan Lukman, signed as Nigeria’s representative.

Running water through electricity,is the best and cheapest way to treat water.Electricity Current kills all living thing in water,Sharp sand and granite filter all dirty from water,

Zimbabwe's capital runs dry as taps cut off for 2m people
AFRICA / 24 SEPTEMBER 2019, 8:04PM / FARAI MUTSAKA

Buckets are seen in a queue to fetch water at a borehole in Harare. Picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP
Harare - Tempers flared on Tuesday as more than 2 million residents of Zimbabwe's capital and surrounding towns found themselves without water after authorities shut down the main treatment plant, raising new fears about disease after a cholera outbreak while the economy crumbles even more.

Officials in Harare have struggled to raise foreign currency to import water treatment chemicals; about $2.7 million is needed per month. Meanwhile, water levels in polluted reservoirs are dropping because of drought.


For residents who have seen shortages of everything from medicines to bread to petrol in recent months, the latest indignity brought weariness and disgust.

"The toilets at school are just too filthy, people continue using them yet there is no water," said 12-year-old Dylan Kaitano, who was among many uniformed school children waiting in line at wells, some shoving in impatience. "I didn't go to school today because I have to be here."

Everyone living in Harare is affected, City Council spokesman Michael Chideme said, as residents turned to other options such as bottled water. He called it a dangerous situation because of the risk of water-borne diseases.


Amid Water Crisis, How Chennai Residents And Hotels Are Saving Water[quote][/quote]

Chennai, which is reeling under severe water crisis as all four reservoirs around the city have dried up, is making residents and hotels use water responsibly and initiate water conservation drives. Residents in the Central Park South Apartment co...

"It is a desperate situation," Deputy Mayor Enock Mupamaonde told The Associated Press outside the closed treatment plant. And more people are affected than thought, he said, estimating that another 2 million non-residents enter the city each day to use its services and conduct business.

At the Chivero reservoir, the city's main water supply, plastic bottles, vehicle tires and algae floated in the shallow water which was green and emitted a choking, foul smell.

Zimbabwe's capital now frequently records cases of diseases such as typhoid due to water shortages and dilapidated sewer infrastructure. Some residents for months have been forced to get water from shallow, unsafe wells and defecate in the open, while children pick their way across fetid yards.

The AP earlier this month watched some residents pump water then wait a half-hour for enough water to seep into a well to pump again.

"We are suffering," said Gladys Mupemhi, a resident of the low-income Kuwadzana suburb who said some people woke up at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to wait for hours in line. "We are only allowed a maximum of 20 liters of water per person, what can I do with 20 liters?"

Claudius Madondo, chairman of the residents association controlling the line, said nearby wells were no longer functioning, forcing the rationing. Some of the people waiting heckled him.

"Nothing is working in this country, how do we survive?" Hatineyi Kamwanda, another resident, said. "We can't even use the toilets, the children are not going to school because of this and now we fear cholera is going to hit us again.

"The president should treat us as human beings, we voted for him."

Twenty-six people died last year in a cholera outbreak, leading President Emmerson Mnangagwa to express dismay that Zimbabweans were suffering from a "medieval" disease.

The economic and social pressures follow Mnangagwa as he attends the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders this week.

Zimbabwe once was a bright spot in southern Africa and a regional breadbasket but the economy has collapsed in recent years, and foreign currency is hard to come by. Prices for many basic items continue to rise, and the public health care system falters as some doctors and others say they can hardly afford the commute to work.

As services largely collapse, many Harare residents in recent months have found themselves lining up at wells in the middle of the night for water or lighting their homes by candle or mobile phone.

The deepening frustrations have exploded more than once into protests that have swiftly been followed by sometimes violent government crackdowns.

One abducted woman was forced to drink raw sewage, Human Rights Watch said — a rare example of something that exasperated Harare residents now have in surplus.

AP

Like we stated ,P&ID has no case against Nigeria

https://www.nairaland.com/5408599/p-id-no-case-submission.nigerian
by Yusuf Alli, Abuja September 25, 2019
Twenty Four hours to its sitting, the Federal Government team has raised 13 grounds on why a London court should reverse the $9.6billion judgment secured against Nigeria by Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

The delegation has also exposed the trick clause used by P&ID to secure the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA), which led to the controversial arbitration award.

The government has discovered that the Memorandum of Understanding on the gas contract was signed in 2009 by P&ID Nigeria Limited with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

But, a trick clause was inserted in the MoU, which allowed the British Virgin Island (BVI)- registered P&ID to replace the original contractual party, P&ID Nigeria Limited, to sign the contract on January 11, 2010.

The team said the P&ID case cannot stand because the contract was fraudulent.

According to sources, who spoke with The Nation, the government was able to discover the supplanting of P&ID Nigeria Limited in the course of the ongoing probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Police and others security agencies.

The latest evidence is one of the strongest points to be tabled by Nigeria’s lawyers tomorrow when the legal battle on the arbitral award begins.

Nigeria is also insisting that the contract was not vetted by the office of the Attorney- General of the Federation and it was not taken to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.



One of the sources said: “We are raising 13 grounds of defence on Thursday against P&ID for a stay of execution and a declaration of the arbitral award as a nullity, based on substantial evidence of fraud and economic sabotage.

“Of importance, detectives have discovered that the MoU for the GSPA was entered into with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources by P&ID Nigeria Limited and the contract signed by P&ID of the British Virgin Island.

“It was a contract filled with deception, with an ultimate target of swindling Nigeria. Our legal team has taken judicious notice of this amorphous clause.”

The source added: “A contract of that magnitude cannot be valid until it has been vetted by the office of the Attorney- General of the Federation and taken to the Federal Executive Council for approval. None of these was done. The sham contract was also signed in contravention of the infrastructural Regulatory Commission Act and Public Procurement Act.

”While the initial MOU for the project was signed in 2009 by P&ID Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian government (Ministry of Petroleum Resources), a ‘trick’ clause in the MoU was curiously activated that allowed British Virgin Island (BVI) registered P&ID to replace the original contractual party, P&ID Nigeria Limited, to sign the contract in January 11, 2010.

“ P&ID incorporated in the British Virgin Island is a Shell Company that has no history of any business except the phantom gas supply project in Nigeria. There was no board resolution approving the assignment of the contractual interest to the BVI registered entity.



” P&ID never kick started the construction of the project facility, it claimed to have incurred $40 million in preliminary expenses. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that there is no record of such investment, or any transaction related to the gas project in Nigeria by P&ID from 2010 to date.

“There is no proof of any initial commitment by P&ID toward the execution and implementation as its own obligations as stipulated in the agreement signed in 2010.

“P&ID could not meet any of the requirements the company was asked to provide. They include:

Updated proposal for the gas processing and utilisation
Identification of project site
Land acquisition
MoU with other agencies pertaining to gas processing in Nigeria
Evidence of financial capacity
Another source, who is privileged to be involved in the investigation and legal battle against P&ID, said the contract was a sham dotted with bribery and corruption.

The source said: “Suspicious payments were made to Mrs. Grace Taiga who, as the Legal Director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, was vested with the responsibility of providing legal counsel to the Federal Government and ensuring that the interest of the country was adequately protected in the contract. Industrial Consultants International limited, a company associated with P&ID, made two transfers to Ms. Taiga in 2017 and 2018. These transfers could only have been made in appreciation of the ‘good deed’ done to the company by Mrs. Taiga, which has entitled her to agreed or perpetual benefits.



”There was no budgetary provision for the implementation of the GSPA in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2010 while the P&ID did not have any licence to deal in petroleum product.

“The firm also failed to file tax returns and pay VAT to the Federal Inland Revenue Service as required by law.

”The unprecedented $9.6 billion in arbitration award to P&ID is an unreasonable reward to a company that has done nothing more than to engage in fraud and economic sabotage.

“Not only does this run against the course of justice, but more importantly, failing to recognize this sham would bring harm and hardship to Nigeria, as well as the wider region.

”Two directors of P&ID in Nigeria have been convicted of charges of money laundering and economic sabotage. Muhammad Kuchazi, commercial director of P&ID, the British Virgin Islands, and Adamu Usman, a director of the company in Nigeria, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of economic sabotage and money laundering at a Federal High Court in Abuja last Thursday.”

It was learnt that the government delegation in the United Kingdom has so far succeeded in setting the records straight to stakeholders, investors and the media.

Another source said: “We have been going round in the last three days to meet with the critical segments of the UK society. We discovered that many stakeholders did not have balanced information on what led to the $9.6billion, which was a judicial ambush.

”The dispute that led to Arbitration between the Nigerian government (Ministry of Petroleum Resources) and the Irish engineering company P&ID arose from a 20-year Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) entered in 2010 between the two parties in respect of an accelerated gas development project in Nigeria’s OMLs 67 and 123.

“P&ID’s claim in the arbitration proceedings was mainly for loss of profit for the entire 20-year term of the GSPA, initially claiming the sum of $1.9 billion and later increasing its claim to $5.9 billion.

“The Arbitral Tribunal on 3lst January, 2017, rendered its Final Award against Nigeria (Ministry of Petroleum Resources) in the sum of $6.597 billion together with pre-award interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum effective from 20th March 2013 and post-award interest at the same rate till date of payment. This interest has increased the size of the award to $9.6 billion.

“In arriving at this decision, the tribunal ignored the ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos that the award be set aside.

“On Friday 16 August 2019 at the United Kingdom’s Business & Property Courts (the Commercial Court), Mr. Justice Butcher granted P&ID’s enforcement application which converts the arbitration award secured by P&ID into a domestic UK judgment against Nigeria.”
-The Nation Newspaper

Nigeria government needs a backup plan to EFCC strategy in order not to embarrass herself globally.
Based on EFCC report and case against P&ID, the whole P&ID or P&ID Nigeria is a fraud, as such the best method to address it,is for the federal government to give it a special treatment.
1: NIgeria should accept to pay the whole $9 billion but in naira into a local bank with instruction to allow them withdraw a maximum amount of N500k weekly
2: Instruct the bank to charge the hell out of the deposit
3: Make it difficult for the main promoter to enter Nigeria

There are additional measures to apply
https://www.nairaland.com/5427988/p-id-9-billionbackup-plan

"P&ID is a scam", Buhari alerts world leaders on attempts to cheat Nigeria in billions of dollars
Seun Adeyeye Today at 7:05 PM Tell your friends
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in New York alerted World Leaders on attempts by international criminal groups to cheat Nigeria of billions.

President Muhammadu Buhari with his National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno [Presidency]
The alarm was raised during the presentation of the his National Statement as the fifth speaker on the first day of the General Debate during the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA74).
According to him, the present Nigerian government is facing the challenges of corruption head-on

He said: “We are giving notice to international criminal groups by the vigorous prosecution of the P&ID scam attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars.”

While holding social media outlets responsible for fuelling major crimes such as mass killings, Buhari called on major tech companies to be alive to their responsibilities.

“They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives.

“This could tear some countries apart,” he said.

He also declared that, “no threat is more potent than poverty and exclusion,” noting that, “they are the foul source from which common criminality, insurgency, cross-border crimes, human trafficking and its terrible consequences draw their inspiration.”

President Buhari, however described poverty “as one of the greatest challenges facing our world.”

Buhari noted that, “its eradication is an indispensable requirement for achieving sustainable development,” while highlighting his administration’s efforts to overcome the challenge.

On the 2019 presidential elections, he said “our people backed the politics of tolerance, inclusion and community over the politics of protest and division.”

The President in his mission statement which was made available to newsmen in Abuja, reaffirmed Nigeria’s position on certain issues which impinge on global peace, security, progress, democracy and development.

By Reuters• last updated: 23/09/2019 - 22:04

(Reuters) – Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Monday it would phase out all diesel cars by 2021 in favour of models with electric propulsion systems, as the Japanese automaker moves to electrify all of its European cars by 2025.

By next year, according to European Union emission targets, CO2 must be cut to 95 gram per km for 95% of cars from the current 120.5 gram average, a figure that has increased of late as consumers spurn fuel-efficient diesels and embrace SUVs. All new cars in the EU must be compliant in 2021.


For Honda, declining demand for diesel vehicles and tougher emissions regulations have clouded its manufacturing prospects in Europe.

Honda said in February it would close its only British car plant in 2021 with the loss of up to 3,500 jobs.

Japan’s No. 3 automaker has said it would cut the number of car model variations to a third of current offerings by 2025, reducing global production costs by 10% and redirecting those savings towards advanced research and development.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

Good moves

All Judgement by Nigeria court are recognise globally as much as the uk court judgement.

The ball is now in our court to win, the Fg should take up pages in all news paper in UK,to highlight the P&ID fraud as reported by EFCC and the recent Nigeria court judgement,including the TY Danjuma claims,Bloomberg report of P&ID promoters .It will swing both public and legal opinion in our favour

By Igho Akeregha, Abuja Bureau Chief
23 September 2019 | 3:50 am

The Federal Government yesterday said it had dispatched a high-powered delegation to the United Kingdom to met with the legal team over the $9.6 billion judgment awarded against Nigeria in the botched gas swap deal it entered with the Irish firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID).
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who dropped the hint in Abuja, said: “All cards are on the table, but it all depends on the beneficiary that has the potency for setting aside the award having regards to the applicable law in the circumstances.”

The minister, who concealed the identities of members of the team was shedding light on the recent development as to whether the delegation would file a new case based on prevailing realities or build on the previous ruling.


He said no possibility was ruled out, including “the possibility of filling a new case and or using existing proceedings to seek relief of setting aside the award (of the contract).”

Malami hinted that the delegation hopes to arrive in time for the case which comes up on September 26 before a British court.

He had said the case was yet to reach an appeal level but pointed out that government would tender before the court evidence that the gas deal was fraudulent ab nitio.

The AGF said the government would tender, among others, the report of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja convicting the British Virgin Island-registered Irish company and its Nigerian affiliate of fraud.

Nigeria would also present the pending charges against the firms and individuals who played one role or the other in the alleged fraudulent pact.

Malami said: “It has not got to any appeal stage as such. The arbitration panel has no enforcement power. So, when an award is made, you have to approach the conventional court for the enforcement of the award.”


“What they (P&ID) did was to approach the conventional court for the enforcement of the award. The conventional court said it was not going to give an order for the enforcement of the order until they were heard.

“They had wanted an ex parte order without putting us on notice to attach (for the seizure of) our assets. But the court said it would have to hear from the other side (Nigeria) in the enforcement proceedings.”

He continued: “The court fixed September 26 for the hearing of arguments by the parties as to whether or not to allow for the enforcement.

“So, it is not about an appeal now. The court’s pronouncement as to what amount of money to be paid has been made by the court. They now approached the court to allow them to attach Nigerian assets in fulfillment of the award that was granted.

“The court fixed September 26 for the entertainment of arguments as to whether or not it would allow the attachment of Nigeria’s assets.

“So, we are going to the British court to argue that they should not be granted the power to attach the assets. The only thing that can be of help to Nigeria in stopping the enforcement of the entire award is proof of corrupt practices as the basis for the arbitral award.”

Nigeria government needs a backup plan to EFCC strategy in order not to embarrass herself globally.
Based on EFCC report and case against P&ID, the whole P&ID or P&ID Nigeria is a fraud, as such the best method to address it,is for the federal government to give it a special treatment.
1: NIgeria should accept to pay the whole $9 billion but in naira into a local bank with instruction to allow them withdraw a maximum amount of N500k weekly
2: Instruct the bank to charge the hell out of the deposit
3: Make it difficult for the main promoter to enter Nigeria

There are additional measures to apply.

Israel as a nation is small but no maga under the sun can challenge her,so also united states.
Nigeria should write to every country hosting her asset,that on no condition should they handover the asset to those guys,stating facts to prove that they mislead the court.

ursullalinda:
After the probe what next? Seems they use this probing stuffs to form busy while whirling away time

Is a good point,but is our duty to put pressure on them

Published on September 19, 2019By CHIKA OKEKE

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has pleaded with the federal government to inject N500 billion as recapitalisation fund into its coffers, for enhanced service delivery to Nigerians.

The executive director, business development and portfolio management, FMBN, Mr Umar Dankane stated this in Calabar yesterday during the bank’s Southern zonal retreat, with the theme “Motivating the Informal Sector to Embrace the National Housing Fund Scheme.’’

He noted that for the mortgage market to excel in Nigeria, that there is an urgent need for the federal government to recapitalise the bank with N500 billion.

According to him, “The crucial challenge facing the bank is its capital base, so the bank is yearning for government’s rescue through recapitalisation”.



He pointed out that the bank was initially created with a capital base of N5 billion and being the famous secondary mortgage market, that it could no longer operate from the realities on ground.

The executive director lamented that the Primary Mortgage Bank’s (PMB’s) currently has N5 billion capital base and wondered why FMBN, being the only secondary mortgage institution in the country still operates on N5 billion capital base.



This he said was reason, the new management team decided to review its operation and requested that federal government should recapitalise the bank with N500 billion.

He was optimistic that if achieved, that Nigeria’s mortgage market would excel, saying that the fund would provide affordable houses for workers.

Dankane hinted that the bank is working assiduously towards reducing the housing deficit, by ensuring improvement in Nigeria’s housing stock.

He disclosed that the primary function of the bank is to provide affordable housing to workers, saying that the bank issues housing loans of 6 percent interest rate to National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors, considered as lowest in the country.



Dankane emphasised that the bank is working with developers and all relevant stakeholders in providing solutions to workers’ housing deficit.

Their are alternative funding,that will cost less than 2% workers.The money is available for accessing if they contact us for partnership only

The Ministry of Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was not suppose to be sued by P&ID, the right company to sue the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was P&ID Nigeria limited.
But the problem is P&ID Nigeria limited did not enter contract with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The Contract was signed by P&ID,though negotiation was done by P&ID Nigeria limited.
The P&ID was registered in the British island as stated in the exhibit 5

Did the company meet the requirement to do business in Nigeria
For a foreign company to set up in Nigeria, there are basically 5 mandatory steps:

Step 1

Incorporation of a Limited Liability company with a share capital of N10m (Ten Million Naira) at the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

All companies intending to operate in Nigeria must be registered with the CAC. The minimum share capital which a company must have is N10,000. However, for Foreign owned companies, the minimum share capital is N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira). The process to register is fairly straightforward, and normally takes about 2-4 weeks.

Step 2

Obtain a Tax Identification Number and register for Value Added Tax at the Federal Inland Revenue Service – TIN and VAT Registration.
Step 3

Open Domiciliary Bank Account with a Commercial Bank in Nigeria and obtain Certificate of Capital Importation.

Step 4

Registration at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC).

Step 5

Obtain a Business Permit from the Nigerian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

And there you have it, the 5 steps to setting up a foreign owned business in Nigeria. Once this is done, the next phase is to ensure that you comply with all business operation regulations. For instance, depending on the nature of the business you have set up, you might be required to register with certain regulatory bodies.

Published on September 19, 2019 By Kauthar Anumba-Khaleel

The House of Representatives has begun the investigation of the controversial gas contract awarded to Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited and the $9.6 billion judgement fine imposed on Nigeria by a United Kingdom (UK) court.

The Lower House’s action followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance on the need to look into act of negligence of the P&ID’s transaction by the Ministries of Justice and Petroleum Resources respectively, sponsored by Hon. Julius Ihonvbere.

Consequently, the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, constituted an ad-hoc committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the award of the contract.

Leading the debate, Ihonvbere lamented the judgement debt of $9.6 billion (with daily interest accruing) in the case between P&ID and the federal government.



He said that the judgement was punitive and would have negative effects on the country with a foreign reserve of only $45 billion and a sovereign debt profile of over $80 billion.

Ihonvbere said: “The House is aware of the fact that Nigeria has a penchant for disregarding the sanctity of contracts and terms of agreement, coupled with the failure of Nigeria’s representatives in many cases, to carefully or diligently scrutinise agreements they sign knowing that the consequences will affect past and future generations.



“Nigeria had entered into a Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) with P&ID Limited in January 2010 through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the understanding that Nigeria would supply natural gas (wet gas) at no cost, through a government pipeline to P&ID’s production facility, while P&ID in return would construct and operate the facility, process the wet gas and return to the government of Nigeria lean gas for the generation of power at no cost to Nigeria.

“Further aware that two years down the line, P&ID had not built any gas plant to which Nigeria could supply wet gas for processing, signifying in the first place that the move to arbitration was opportunistic and grossly self-serving.

“The House is cognisant of the fact that the matter went before an Arbitration Tribunal, under the rules of the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 2004, with London, England as place of arbitration. After affirming its jurisdiction in the matter, the tribunal began hearing to determine whether or not there was any repudiatory breach of contract.

“At this point, there was an attempt by the Ministry of Petroleum to reach a settlement agreement with P&ID Limited to the tune of $850 million, payable in instalments, which obviously was not diligently pursued,” he lamented.



The lawmaker continued, “the House is alarmed that the agreement was somewhat shrouded in secrecy and as such apparently dubiously procured, as those who ought to know about its existence did not and more importantly, the relevant laws in Nigeria for the transaction to be consummated was not applied especially, Part IV of the Bureau of Public Procurement Act 2007 which deals with the Fundamental Principles of Procurement.

“The House is further alarmed that it took the new Nigerian government more than four months to respond to the vital arbitration judgement of about $9.6 billion with a ridiculous excuse that there had been a change of administration in Nigeria and that ministers, including the attorney-general had only just been appointed thus asking for an extension of time to act on the outcome of the Arbitration Tribunal.


“Rather than engage P&ID in the matter before the tribunal with robust legal arguments and interpretations, Nigeria was busy shopping for a favourite forum to plead her case in a court in Lagos, Nigeria.

“The House is worried that the lack of diligent prosecution of cases in which Nigeria is involved by those whose duty it is to do so, is due to our tendency to either politicise everything or focus more on personal interests, or failure on the part all parties involved,” he noted.

The lawmaker further observed that that Butcher, J. (the judge in the matter) in his August 16, 2019 ruling made heavy weather out of several acts of omission on the part of the Nigerian authorities, especially when he noted that “…the FRN had remedies for procedural unfairness, but it did not utilise them.”

He argued that Nigeria could also have objected to Procedural Order No. 12 or questioned the Final Award. In the words of Butcher J, “it did neither and the time for doing so is long past.”

Ihonvbere maintained that “these are serious indictments on the incompetence and gross negligence displayed by our representatives/agents/arbitrators in the matter.”

Thereafter, the House resolved to probe that the “embarrassing judgement,” which it described as exposing “a deep decay in our governance and leadership infrastructure with far-reaching implications for the credibility of the country’s capacity to handle business and legal cases.”
https://leadership.ng/2019/09/19/reps-begin-probe-of-pid-contract/