The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Sunday told journalists that the Federal Government was negotiating with Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P& ID) over the Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) debt judgment because the timeline to appeal the judgment, first delivered in 2014, had lapsed.
A United Kingdom court recently gave judgment in which the company was ordered to seize $9.6bn in Nigerian assets for Nigeria’s breach of the terms of the GSPA which was entered into between Nigeria and the foreign company in 2010.
The minister explained that while government was determined to see that the matter be resolved shortly, he said further there was no limitation the time those involved in the deal could be invited for interrogation over the manner in which the contract was sealed.
Malami promised that all those involved in the drafting and signing of the agreement as well as other “personalities of interest” would be probed.
According to him, the award of about $6.9bn verdict against Nigeria had been made before the present administration came to power in 2015, saying that Nigeria was pushed into the present predicament because the previous administration had not appealed against the judgement “when it was made in June 2014.”
The minister clarified: “So, with the lapsing of time to appeal, you could not have filed an application to either set aside the award or to stay execution; you require the leave of the tribunal to appeal an award. That leave would have been very difficult because Nigeria, as at then, had been judged and had slept over its right to appeal.
“The only option open was to consider the possibility of negotiating. That was what informed our decision to consider the possibility of negotiation. Along the line of negotiations, many facts came to light, inclusive of the fact that gave rise to insinuations of fraudulent under-hands among the parties involved.
“Fraud could be a ground for setting aside the award without necessarily seeking for leave. So, if we can establish fraud, there is no time limit within which we can raise it as against appealing the decisions of the tribunal on the bases of law or facts. He said the previous administration and the lawyers it hired should be blamed for the court case instituted on the matter in a Nigerian court which was struck for lack of diligent prosecution.
“As at 2015, there was a contract in existence having been executed. There was an award in existence having been made in June 2014. There were lawyers engaged by parties, P & ID and the previous government. Yes there was a purported contract, there was a purported award and parties were in court before the tribunal.
“But one thing that is important to state is that while the arbitral proceedings were on in the UK, there was an attempt by the lawyers that were engaged by the previous government to file a fresh action in Nigeria to set aside the award after it was made”, he added.
Malami pointed out that the lawyers that were engaged were engaged by the previous administration and that there was an action in court, an action before the Arbitration Tribunal in UK as well as an action before a Federal High Court in Nigeria conducted by the lawyers that were engaged by the previous administration.
He, however, assured that the Nigerian government would not sell out the interest of the country and Nigerians in order to satisfy some elements “who are consciously” out to extort the people for their selfish interest.
The minister explained further that while the government was willing and ready to negotiate and meet the terms of agreements reached with genuine investors that had done business or are still doing business with Nigeria on mutually beneficial terms, it would not allow fraudsters either locally or at foreign countries to rip off the resources of Nigeria for no legally justifiable reasons.
