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[files] Federal House of Representatives PHOTO: Twitter
The House of Representatives, yesterday, resolved to investigate all Nigerians involved in the illegal contract, leading to the $11 billion P&ID arbitration award in favour of Nigeria by a United Kingdom court.
It, therefore, mandated the joint Committees on Justice and Financial Crimes to review conduct of all affected services providers and report back within four weeks
The resolutions were passed sequel to the adoption of a motion titled: ‘Reversal of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of Nigeria: Call for investigation of all legal and other services providers involved in the P&ID deal’ brought by Kama Nkemkanma (LP: Ebonyi).
In moving the motion, the sponsor expressed delight at the “judgment of the Business and Property Court in London on Monday, October 23, 2023, which halted the enforcement of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of P&ID against Nigeria in a case marked CL-2019-000752.”
The lower legislative chamber noted that in the judgment, delivered by Justice Robert Knowles, it was held that the process through which P&ID secured the 2010 contract to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, was fraudulent.
It observed: “While delivering the judgment, Justice Robert Knowles held that – ‘in the circumstances and for the reasons I have sought to describe and explain – Nigeria succeeds in its challenge under Section 68’ – I have not accepted all of Nigeria’s allegations, but the awards were obtained by fraud and the awards were and the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy.
“What happened in this case is very serious indeed, and it is important that Section 68 has been available to maintain the rule of law.”
The House recalled that Nigeria has been involved in a fight with P&ID since the company accused the Nigerian government of botching a deal by failing to provide gas to them leading to the ugly situation, where the country suffered a $6.6 billion judgment debt in 2017 when the arbitration tribunal ordered the country to pay the firm with interest, to start counting from March 2013.
It congratulated President Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians on the favourable ruling.
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