₦airaland Forum

OPINION

Published October 18, 2019

Recently, I heard a group of people discussing vehemently about the “uncomplimentary” role of Mamman Daura in the Buhari administration. They attributed everything bad to Malam Mamman Daura, my mentor, boss, friend, former editor and Managing Director at the New Nigerian Newspapers in Kaduna. I moved close to them and tried to explain to them about the Mamman Daura I know.

I knew Malam Mamman Daura when he joined the New Nigerian as the editor of the paper- sometime in 1969. Before then, the editor of the paper was a powerful writer and historian, Malam Adamu Ciroma, while the Managing Director was a British journalist, Mr Charles Sharp.



I had been at the New Nigerian for a number of years before Daura came in, at which time I was the Personal Assistant to Malam Adamu Ciroma, who had just taken over from Mr Sharp as the Managing Director.

I was moved from Ciroma’s office back to the editorial department to work with Daura, this time as a senior reporter.

First, let me commend the decision of Daura to leave the office of the Premier of Northern Nigeria, where he was an administrative officer to join the New Nigerian. Journalism at that time was not considered anything worth throwing away such a job to take up.

Daura, (a Muslim) who attended the Trinity College (a Catholic University in Dublin, Ireland) had returned to Nigeria with two degrees; one in Economics and another in Public Administration. He could have got any job for the asking but rather decided to try his hands on newspaper reporting.

I recall that there were few university graduates at the newsroom of the New Nigerian, some of whom had come in only to see what it was like to be a journalist but left immediately after looking into the newsroom. Those of us who stayed on in the New Nigerian were indeed not university graduates at that time. I recall Dan Agbese, Clement Ende, Yakubu Abdul-Aziz, myself, just to mention a few.

Among the more experienced ones was Mr. Clement Isaiah, father of Sam Ndah Isaiah (founder and Chairman of Leadership Newspaper). It is noteworthy that although the young Isaiah initially trained as a pharmacist, but because the blood of journalism ran in the family he had to meander back to establish one of the most thriving newspapers in Nigeria today.

There was Malam Sani, father of Senator Shehu Sani, who was definitely an expert in composition. I must also mention Mr Rasaq Aremu who was the editor-in-chief and later succeeded by Mr Clement Isaiah and of course there was sub-editor guru, Mr Yakubu Ali.

Malam Daura learnt the ropes of journalism very fast and before we could know, he took over the writing of daily editorial, the famous Candido column and very powerful feature articles. He was regarded at that time as one of the sharpest minds north of the River Niger and could very well be compared with others like Dr Jubril Aminu, Dr Mahmud Tukur, Dr Ibrahim Tahil, Professor Iya Abubakar and Dr Bala Usman, to mention a few.



He was a key Nigerian patriot and contributed in no small way to prosecuting the Nigerian civil war behind his pen, in the same manner that other northern patriots like Adamu Ciroma, Baba-Gana Kingibe, Alhaji Abba Zoru, Patrick Iyoher and others did.

I was closely attached to Malam Daura; ethnicity and religion were not part of his life. He treated people based on their performance and character. Daura nominated me for training programmes among many Hausa, Fulani and Muslim reporters in the New Nigerian. When the Federal Government bought over the shares of the Daily Times of Nigeria, he nominated me, a Christian minority, to serve as Director of the Daily Times under the Chairmanship of the late Alhaji Magaji Dambatta, another detribalised northern Muslim journalist from Kano State.

The job at the Daily Times was one of my most challenging moments. This was one of my most challenging jobs. In the cause of balancing the Daily Times, we had to relieve various good and hardworking journalists, like Olusegun Osoba, who later became the Governor of Ogun State, the late Dale Giwa, Chief Tony Momoh and Chief Olu Onagoruwa, of their jobs.

We also had to bring on board very unknown journalists like Ray Ekpu from the Chronicle Newspaper, Cross River State, who later became one of the most famous journalists in Nigeria; Felix Audu, from Benue State, and quite a number of other journalists, into the stable of the Daily Times.

I recall that I was to travel to Makurdi on an official duty during the civil war and Malam Daura insisted that because of the dangers of the civil war, I had to stay in the house of his nephew, then Col. Muhammadu Buhari, who was the Commander of the Brigade in Makurdi. Col. Buhari, perhaps knowing the activities of a young reporter like me and considering the strict discipline that prevailed in his house, decided to hand me over to his adjutant, Major Dauda Suleiman, who took me to the officers’ mess but kept a keen eye on me, so no harm would come my way.

In order to complete his assignment of keeping me safe, Buhari personally decided to drive me to Kaduna when my assignment was over. I must say that Buhari loved driving and would not allow his driver to drive from Makurdi to Kaduna. His driver was by his side while I sat behind with his younger brother, Sani, then a student at the Government College Kaduna.

As fate would have it, we had a ghastly motor accident somewhere between Keffi and Kachia. But what keeps lingering in my memory was that, when Buhari came out of the car, he called my name, “Simon, Simon, hope you are alright” and he did not even mention his brother’s name, Sani. This was all in a bid to accomplish the wish of his nephew, Malam Daura, to ensure that no harm comes to me.

In the cause of my working as a reporter under Mamman Daura, I got into troubles; one was a result of a story I wrote on Zaria Tarpaulin Industry which insinuated that government officials had received bribes of Mercedes Benz cars from the proprietor, an Indian business man.

The then Governor in Kaduna, Col. Abba Kyari, approached Mamman Daura that he should produce me for detention. Instead of producing me, Mamman Daura arranged for me to go to Port Harcourt to attend a meeting of Nigerian Union of Journalists and stay there until the trouble was over.

Malam Adamu Ciroma and Malam Mamman Daura taught us honesty and probity while we were with the New Nigerian. Rumour has it that Malam Daura was forced to move from the Premier’s office because he would not wear agbada or babariga to work throughout his stay in the New Nigerian as was customary with old northern senior officers. He wore suit and we often referred to him as “Mamman Bature”.

That Mamman Daura chose to pursue entrepreneurship in carpentry and thereby establishing a furniture factory, KFCC, in Kaduna, was a great surprise to us. At that time, people of Mamman Daura’s standing only needed to move to Abuja or Lagos and could make billions of naira as agents connecting people with government. That was the nature of hard work, Mamman Daura imbibed in us.

He later took over from the late Sultan Dasuki as the Chairman of African International Bank, a completely unknown banking establishment, and nurtured it to become very profitable, employing hundreds of people. Rumour has it that when working capital of banks was moved to N25bn, Mamman Daura could not raise that capital because of his honesty; when banks with lesser pedigree crookedly raised that capital in no time.

Today, Mamman Daura is the same as he was yesterday. His residence in Malali, Kaduna State, is a simple bungalow and even though he produces furniture, the seats in the living room are ordinary and people waiting for him outside sit on the bench. Though his nephew is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he lives in a bungalow outside the Villa with little security. Just like his Kaduna residence, visitors sit on the bench outside the house, while the inside has ordinary furniture like the one in Kaduna.

Malam Mamman Daura is a sound economist and he ran the New Nigerian with sound prudence that made profit for the newspaper during his time. While in the New Nigerian, he did not have a car of his own except the official 404. His official residence at then Dawaki Road (now Isa Kaita Road) was the same bungalow like that of any other senior staff even when he became the Managing Director of the newspaper.

I have no doubt that Daura has brought sound economic advice to his nephew’s government that has added value to the quality of government. This is the Daura I knew. I believe he is still the same today and will be the same tomorrow.

Shango is a farmer in Pika, Gboko L.G.A. of Benue State

This article was originally published in the Daily Trust newspaper

https://punchng.com/the-mamman-daura-i-know/

President Buhari should ddress this rising debt asap as Fmr President Obasanjo did.

ADEREMI OJEKUNLE Yesterday at 2:26 PM

Rising public debt continues to be a cause for concern for Nigerian economy. (Professor Yemi Osinbajo and President Muhammadu Buhari pictured during an economic event in Abuja)
Rising public debt continues to be a cause for concern in Nigeria.
According to DMO, the total external debt stands at $27.16 billion, while Domestic debt climbs to $56.72 billion.
Nigeria's debt profile reaches $83.88 billion in H1 2019
Nigeria’s debt stock increased by 3.11% from $81.27 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019 to $83.88 billion (N25.70 trillion) at the end of June 2019.

Business Insider SSA's analysis of the debt figures showed that this is 12.72% increase year-on-year from the $73.21 billion at the end of June 2018.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) released the latest debt stats on Tuesday, October 15th. The public debt stock includes both external and domestic debt of the federal, states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at the end of June 2019.

Further analysis of the data shows that the federal government's external borrowing climbed 32.38% to $27.16 billion, while States including FCT grew by 5.10% to $4.27 billion.

Nigeria's public debt data (DMO website)
DMO
On the domestic debt side, the national government debt increased by 52.19% to $43.78 billion, while the States and the FCT rose by 15.43% to $12.94 billion as of June 2019.

Overall, total external debt stood at $27.16 billion, while total domestic debt stood at $56.72 billion, according to DMO data.

External Debt figure as at June 30, 2019 (DMO)
DMO
Concerns mount over rising public debt

CBN MPC:

At the end of its 126th Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria Communique (CBN), last month, members noted that despite momentum increase in private sector lending, rising Nigeria's public debt remains a headwind to economic growth.

“The huge concerns expressed in the last MPC meeting about the increases in total public debt remain unabated. Based on the Bond Issuance Calendar of the Debt Management Office (DMO), there were three additional FGN Bond Auctions in July, August and September to raise money to part-finance the 2019 Federal Budget while additional Issuance of Eurobond is expected in the late part of 2019 or early 2020.

“As the threat of debt vulnerability continues, a coordinated domestic revenue expansion with simultaneous fiscal prudence as suggested in the last MPC meeting still remains the key to addressing the weak fiscal position of the economy,” MPC noted.


Infographic: Domestic debt profile as at June 30, 2019 (DMO)
DMO
International organisations

Last year, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), Amina Mohammed, described the state of Nigeria's debt profile as worrying.

“We are now back again, in my country, the level of debt is worrying, but it is happening all over, for Africa, if that is the way we want to go, we need to sit down and have a better conversation about all the asks of a growing economy; that needs to be inclusive," Ms. Mohammed said while speaking at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN Working Together Conversation with the former IMF Chief, Christine Lagarde.

The IMF also said the country’s Debt-to-GDP ratio is risky.

Nigeria sees challenges in revenue generation and not borrowing

But Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said the country's challenge is not in debt level but how to raise revenue as an alternative to borrowings.

Great work,Nigeria can only excel when every one contribute his/her positive part to the Nigeria project

I trust Nigerians,APC will not present her,but some party may present her.

14 Oct, 2019 13:39
Ava Karabatic, a former Playboy model, reality TV star and artist has thrown her hat in the ring for the 2020 Croatian presidential elections on a broad platform targeting the country’s youth vote.
The 31-year-old former model made the announcement via her Instagram account and personal blog.

The central tenets of her platform include increasing exports and reducing imports, while improving youth employment, entering the Schengen area and banning abortions after six weeks. She also plans to legalize marijuana and prostitution to keep sex workers safe and boost tax revenues.

“I have decided I will run for president,” Karabatic wrote. “Politics is my second love. I can no longer look at all those bad things that happen to my country. <...> Young people are leaving, the birth rate is falling.”

Describing herself as the “perfect choice for President of the Republic of Croatia” Karabatic will face tough opposition from incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 51, who has enjoyed her own share of international fame.

Many of Karabatic’s policy ideas appear to be rather progressive in nature. While she believes that “marijuana has a healing effect on people,” she acknowledges that her proposed abortion legislation might prove divisive, but claims she is not afraid to stand by her convictions.

“For me, abortion after week 6 is murder and moral bottom... Of course, this would not apply to raped women and if incest occurred.”

https://www.rt.com/news/470906-former-playboy-model-president-croatia/

Good job by the Buhari lead administration

Published October 13, 2019
Nigeria’s countless and unheeded calls to her neighours to stop aiding and abetting smuggling, which is damaging her economy, led to the closure of her land borders in August. The action, earlier meant to last for 28 days, has entered the third month with its end date still indeterminate.

At issue is the unremitting smuggling of diverse products across the country’s borders, including the smuggling of rice from Benin Republic. Benin imports 1.2 million metric tons of rice annually, against the backdrop of its population of about 11 million people. The country is not alone: Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon form the other members of the devious quartet in this sabotage. This is seriously threatening Nigeria’s domestic rice production, which has unprecedentedly spiked with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rice Anchor Borrowers Programme. As one bright spot in the economic recovery effort, it has helped official rice import from Thailand to plummet from 644,131 metric tons to 20,000 MT annually, as of 2018, said the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.



Undoubtedly, the closure has opened Nigeria’s eyes to new economic realities; and enamoured of them, the authorities have vowed not to reopen the borders until the affected countries learn to conduct themselves responsibly and in line with the principles that undergird the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of goods and services.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali, at a recent meeting with the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Finance and National Planning, lauded the initiative. He said, “There was a day in September that we collected N9.2 billion… It has never happened before.” Currently the country ratchets up between N4.7 billion and N5.8 billion daily revenue from imports. According to the Customs boss, with borders closed, cargoes that used to go to Benin Republic to berth en route to Nigeria “are now forced to bring their goods to either Apapa or Tin Can Island, and we have to collect duty on them.”

Equally revealing is the drop in fuel consumption by eight million litres a day, says statistics from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva. Smugglers ferret out this volume of fuel daily across the borders. Besides the halt in rice and fuel smuggling, the border closure has become a boost to the local chicken market, while car malls with suspected smuggled automobiles are being raided by Customs to compel payment of duties. So far, the operation has been successful, largely due to the joint nature of the taskforce; Customs, immigration, police and military personnel are involved, coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

President Muhammadu Buhari is excited about the revelations from the operation and has threatened not to end it as long as our neighbours do not play by the rules. He should not capitulate to diplomatic pressure or the misguided nudges of local mercantile operators to end it until he is satisfied that the border haemorrhage is under control.

However, since the closure is not a permanent solution to this unabashed bazaar, government should not lose sight of the original intention of the action: to allow security agencies formulate effective strategies to stem the scourge. That blueprint ought to have been designed by now. Nigeria has one of the most porous borders in the world, aggravated by corruption of Customs officials and other state actors. The deployment of hi-tech in Nigeria’s 84 land borders is critical to addressing this systemic breakdown of border controls, while the challenges from the over 1,400 rogue routes, according to the Immigration authorities, should be faced squarely too.

Ali was forthright to admit that compromised Customs officials and the police helped to promote trafficking in contraband at the borders. He warned such officials of dire consequences if caught. But such thunderous countenances have not been in short supply from him; what the situation needs is a deliberate measure, not happenstance, to weed out tainted officials from the system. Without it, sanity will never prevail.

Nigeria’s “big brother” posture towards her neighbours has become ruinous to its economy and corporate existence. Therefore, enough is enough! With its small population, it is difficult for Benin to justify why it is the world’s sixth largest rice importing country, according to statistics by Worldatlas, if not for its illicit border trading activities, with Nigeria as the target. Through these breached borders, illicit arms are also trafficked into the country – a fillip to the epidemic of banditry, armed robbery, cattle rustling and, above all, Boko Haram jihadists who have killed about 100,000 people in their 10-year-old campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate.

No serious country allows its economy to be sabotaged by neighouring countries. ECOWAS protocol is hinged on free movement of “legal” goods and “legitimate” services. Nothing more. As economically advanced as the United States is, it is still deeply concerned about how to effectively police her border with Mexico to ward off illegal immigrants and prevent smuggling of contraband. Now that Nigeria seems to have woken up from her slumber, the border mayhem cannot be eradicated without systemic ports reform. No question, Apapa and Tin Can ports are disincentives to business in their present state: scanners are scarcely available, physical contacts of persons govern daily operations in this digital age and cargoes are not evacuated through rail transportation, but by tankers and trailers that queue for months, mired in bad roads. Many countries have corporatised or engaged the private sector in their operations for optimal efficiency and profit-taking. Massive technology deployment and decentralisation of tank farms are critical.

From the seaports of Antwerp, Belgium, Singapore, Amsterdam in Holland, Nigeria has a lot to learn in 21st Century port reforms to boost her economy. In the present circumstances, therefore, decongesting the Lagos ports by opening up the under-utilised Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar channels has become inevitable.

https://punchng.com/beyond-our-land-borders-closure/

Now that the money is paid, the fact that we can get back the money is 100% guaranteed,provided we present our fact right.that is ,investigation reports and court judgement plus the bloomberg report of their crimes both in ireland and eu.to show their history of fraud

if you have a good space that is located in a serene conducive and habitable environment that be use as office around ikeja,lagos,please drop detail and pictures,we will contact you .

The BBC did a great job in their investigation of the Sexfor Mark issue. but what is more important to Nigeria is the P&ID issues which will enrich the international community more and Nigeria in particular.

I will use the medium to call on BBC to do a through investigation on the P&ID issues and publish it as soon as possible.

Nigerians will be very greatful.

Please share

good news.
Going Further, every one that has given p&id support should be ban from entering Nigeria and going business in NIgeria directly or indirectly as a lesson to other.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed gave the account on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the federal government delegation’s trip to London over the judgment debt.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed [Twitter/@LaiMohammed]
The Federal Government has given details of fraudulent circumstances surrounding the Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) with Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) leading to the award of N9.6 billion dollars judgment debt against Nigeria.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed gave the account on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the federal government delegation’s trip to London over the judgment debt.

A UK court had on Aug. 16 authorised P&ID, a little known Irish engineering and project development company to seize the 9.6 billion dollars, about N3.5 trillion in Nigerian assets over the failed 20-year GSPA.

The court, however, on Sept. 26, granted a stay of execution of the judgment debt and also granted the government request for leave to appeal the decision.


Briefing the newsmen in Abuja, the minister reiterated that the contract entered into with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, was nothing but a fraudulent contraption with no chance, or expectation, of success.

He said, P&ID, a company without a physical address and no known investment anywhere in the world, set out to dupe Nigeria from day one, with the connivance of unpatriotic, corrupt and greedy Nigerians.

“A contract of this 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 Bureau of Public Procurement Act and the Infrastructure Regulatory Commission Procurement Act.

“While the MoU for the project was signed in 2009 by P&ID Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian government (Ministry of Petroleum Resources), a ‘trick’ clause dubiously inserted in the MoU was curiously activated.

“The clause allowed British Virgin Island (BVI)-registered P&ID to replace the original contractual party, P&ID Nigeria Limited, to sign the contract on Jan. 11 2010. P&ID, incorporated in BVI, is a shell company that has no history of any business except the phantom GSPA in Nigeria."

The minister also disclosed that there was no Board resolution approving the assignment of the contractual interest to P&ID BVI.

He said, according to the contract, the gas for the project was expected to come from OML 67 operated by ExxonMobil and OML 123 operated by Addax but none of the two companies was aware of the agreement.

“For such a supposedly important project, there was no budgetary provision for the implementation of the GSPA in the budget of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2010,” he said.

The minister added that P&ID did not obtain the necessary licence to deal in petroleum products from the Department of Petroleum Resources as stipulated by extant laws.

He said the firm also neither filed tax returns nor paid VAT to the Federal Inland Revenue Service as required by law.


“P&ID never kick-started the construction of the project facility, despite its claim to have invested $40 million in Nigeria. It also never acquired any land to build the gas processing plant.

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

“Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria confirmed there is no trace of any funds brought into Nigeria by P&ID,” he said.

The minister recalled that two Directors of P&ID Nigeria, Mohammed Kuchazi, and Adamu Usman had been convicted of charges of money laundering and economic sabotage.

They are , a Director of P&ID Nigeria.

He said suspicious payments were also made to Mrs Grace Taiga, the Legal Director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“Taiga was supposed to ensure that the interest of the country was adequately protected. Of course, the payment, transferred in three tranches, could only have been made in appreciation of the ‘good deed’ done to P&ID by Taiga.

“Also, billions of Naira in suspicious cash transfers were made by P&ID. Investigations continue into these transfers,” he said.


The minister assured that the Government has a good chance of being successful in its impending appeal of the judgment debt before the UK appellate court.

https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/dollar96bn-judgment-debt-fg-details-shady-deals-of-pandid/wqm1xtt

The reason we must support government to identify and defeat all involved.
The Nigeria Government and Nigerians must not do business with any person and organisations that is related directly or indirectly with the P&ID gangs, as a lesson to other that will want to scam Nigeria.-US Playbook on Iran

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/a-hedge-fund-steps-into-nigeria-s-9-billion-corporate-dispute

March 8, 2019, 6:01 AM GMT+1
Nigeria potentially faces the largest financial liability in its history, and a hedge fund is coming to collect. The legal and political drama involves a deal between the country and a tiny natural gas company that was scuttled after the sudden death of Nigeria’s president in 2010. The company, Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), sued and won a staggering judgment, now worth $9 billion. But it’s spent years trying to get the country to pay that award, equivalent to almost 2.5 percent of its annual gross domestic product.

Now a hedge fund managed by VR Capital Group has taken a large stake in P&ID. And the gas company is trying to pull levers of power in the U.S. and the U.K. to make Nigeria settle or, failing that, enable the company to start seizing assets.


Two years ago, P&ID won a decision against the government of Nigeria, which reneged on an agreement allowing the natural gas company to harvest hydrocarbons. Although lawyers for Nigeria say the company never put a shovel in the ground, a London arbitration tribunal in 2017 awarded it $6.6 billion—with more than $1 million in interest accruing daily.

To collect, P&ID, owned by the hedge fund and a firm called Lismore Capital Ltd., late last year hired lobbyists, lawyers, and a public-relations firm. The attorneys are also trying to confirm the award in courtrooms in Washington and London, which would allow P&ID to start seizing Nigerian assets in the U.S. and the U.K.

Representatives from[b] VR Capital, which is managed by Richard Deitz,[/b] didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. Dayo Apata, Nigeria’s solicitor general, said in a statement that the country “will ensure that its interests and that of the people of Nigeria are vigorously defended.” He wrote that the arbitration panel assumed too much confidence in the success of P&ID’s project in calculating the damages, leading to an excessive award.

In a statement, Brendan Cahill, one of P&ID’s founders, said “it is disappointing that Nigeria chose to repudiate the terms of a deal that would have benefited the country by bringing electricity to millions of its citizens.” He said the company, “backed by its investors,” would pursue enforcement of the award.

[b]VR Capital’s bet appears to be the latest example of a tactic used by investors in distressed assets. Companies including Paulson & Co., Elliott Management, and Pershing Square Capital Management in the past several years have taken stakes in investments that few would touch, and then hired lawyers and lobbyists to change the political winds to make them succeed. The strategy worked for Elliott and its co-investors when they won a massive settlement on defaulted Argentine debt. [/b]The outcome is less certain for some Puerto Rico bondholders and shareholders in U.S. mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Nigerian saga began almost a decade ago and is revealed through court and arbitration filings and other public documents. Despite the country’s ample natural resources, Nigeria’s state-owned electric and petroleum companies have struggled to power the country. To help fix the problem, in 2010 then-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua authorized partnerships with private companies to develop the nation’s energy infrastructure. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources struck one such agreement in January 2010 with P&ID, which was founded in 2006 by two Irishmen, Michael Quinn and Cahill.

Under the agreement, Nigeria planned to pipe natural gas from two offshore oil rigs to a refinery that would be built by P&ID. There, P&ID would remove hydrocarbons from the gas and send the fuel to Nigerian power plants. P&ID wouldn’t get paid for the endeavor, but it could keep and sell the hydrocarbon byproducts, which themselves had value, with the government getting a cut.

The company hoped it would make billions of dollars from the arrangement while helping to provide Nigeria with much-needed power. Quinn, in a statement before an arbitration panel, said he thought the deal would have been “the high point of my own career in Nigerian business.” He said P&ID spent tens of millions of dollars on preparatory work before winning the agreement.

But the project never got off the ground. In May 2010, Yar’Adua, who’d been suffering from pericarditis, died. The oil rigs couldn’t provide the volume of natural gas promised in the agreement, and, in any case, the government didn’t construct the pipeline. After about two years of trying to resolve its dispute with the government, P&ID filed for arbitration in London, where the agreement specified disputes would be handled. The arbiters sided with P&ID.

The Nigerian government appealed the decision in London, arguing that the petroleum ministry didn’t have the authority to enter into the agreement and the arbitration panel used the wrong legal standard. The government lost there, though it also turned to Nigeria’s court system, where it won.

Then the London arbiters came back with an award amount. P&ID never broke ground on the natural gas refinery, but said it spent about $40 million in the planning stages. It calculated its damages by estimating the profits it believed it would have earned over 20 years had the project gone forward: about $6 billion. Two of the three arbiters granted the enormous award. The third also said there should be damages, but set the level much lower.

At some point, the Cayman-based fund, VR Advisory Services Ltd., bought 25 percent of P&ID, according to public records. A P&ID spokeswoman declined to comment on when VR bought its stake or to identify the owner of Lismore Capital.

Last fall two firms registered with the U.S. Senate to lobby Congress and the Trump administration on behalf of the energy company. One of them, Kobre & Kim, which also represents P&ID in the District of Columbia courtroom, has a history of attempting to enforce judgments against foreign governments. The other, DCI Group, has made a specialty of public-relations work for Wall Street companies that attempt to use public pressure to make bets pay off. DCI in January said it had made $80,000 in fees in the fourth quarter from P&ID and lobbied the U.S. Department of State. Black Diamond Strategies LLC, which is stocked with conservative lobbyists, has also disclosed that DCI hired it for lobbying work on P&ID’s behalf.

The battle made headlines in Nigeria, where President Muhammadu Buhari was campaigning for a second term. (He won in February.) In November, when Nigerian officials visited the U.K. to pitch an offering of bonds, columnists there said Nigeria had to pay P&ID if it hoped to raise money from British investors. This prompted some in the Nigerian press to accuse commentators of being hired to attack Buhari. Cheta Nwanze, an analyst at Lagos-based risk advisory firm SBM Intelligence, says the government should have resolved the dispute and moved on. He says the president’s decision not to do so “has now caused a liability far exceeding any the country has ever incurred.” —With Elisha Bala-Gbogbo

BOTTOM LINE - An arbitration judgment against Nigeria for pulling out of an energy deal could be worth almost 2.5 percent of the nation’s annual GDP.

I am proud to be a Nigerian, today,tomorrow and ever.
The future of Nigerians are very bright.
As we individually or collectively address challenges facing us as a nation.

I use this opportunity to support the fg cashless policy,because its the major tool to end over 90% of the crimes committed in this country,because it exposes movement of funds and purpose of funds use.
Which is the weakness of all criminals.

Actions needed to address our dependent on oil

Published time: 30 Sep, 2019 09:13
Edited time: 30 Sep, 2019 10:04

China’s largest oil and gas producer CNPC has announced the discovery of an oilfield that could hold over a billion tons of reserves in the northwest of the country.
According to CNPC, the proven reserves at Qingcheng oilfield in the Ordos basin stand at 358 million tons, while its estimated reserves could reach 693 million tons.

A total of 640,000 tons of oil will be produced in the oilfield this year, and the annual output is expected to reach three million tons in the near future, according to Li Luguang, vice president of PetroChina (a subsidiary of CNPC).

The company also reported some 740.97 billion cubic meters of newly added proven shale gas reserves, which have been explored in southwest China’s Sichuan Basin. It plans to produce 7.7 billion cubic meters of shale gas this year and expand the output to over 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2020.

The Sichuan shale gas blocks have a total proven reserve of 1.06 trillion cubic meters, according to CNPC.

Li said the company will encourage technological innovations and expand the exploration of unconventional energy resources such as shale gas.

Developing domestic crude production is critical for China, which is the world’s largest consumer of oil. Last year, it imported 440 million metric tons of crude oil. The country has stepped up efforts to boost domestic production by 50 percent, increasing it by more than two million barrels per day over the next five years.

https://www.rt.com/business/469906-china-huge-oil-discovery/

This also call for a review of all MOU,as regard litigations.
Just like it is done in USA,UK,France,China,Nigeria must assume jurisdiction in all commercial cases.

ON SEPTEMBER 30, 20196:07 AMIN
EDITORIAL, NEWSBY BANKOLE


Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/09/pid-going-all-out/

Noted.
The judge and all other judges should understand that anyone that makes his or herself enemy of Nigeria by their actions, that goes against the will of the people of Nigeria will be destroyed as we destroy ebola.

By asking Nigeria to pay $450 million after Nigerian made public, facts to proved that P&ID is a scam,shows that the Judge is a fraud too.A honest judge will allow Nigeria to appeal and also pay fine ,if Nigeria loss the appeal and not the other way round.

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