Musings From Abroad

Nigeria finally wins $11bn P&ID case in London

Published

1 year ago

October 23, 2023

Nigeria has gotten a victory to stop the enforcement of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of Process & Industrial (P&ID) against Nigeria in a case marked CL-2019-000752.

The Business and Property Court in London held on Monday, in a judgement delivered by Justice Robert Knowles, that the process through which P&ID secured a 2010 contract to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, was fraudulent.

“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. However, the awards were obtained by fraud, 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,” Justice Knowles said in his ruling.

Nigeria’s request for a stay on asset seizures while its legal challenge is pending was granted by the judge, but in order to maintain the stay, Nigeria must pay $200 million to the court within 60 days. Within 14 days, it must also reimburse P&ID for certain court expenses.

Nigeria and P&ID have been at odds ever since the latter claimed the former was responsible for a deal gone wrong by not supplying them with gas. When the arbitration panel ordered the country to pay P&ID with interest beginning in March 2013, the nation was left with a $6.6 billion judgement debt in 2017.

P&ID claimed that Nigeria had broken the terms of the agreement by not supplying gas for the power plant it intended to construct in the nation. Under former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian government came to an out-of-tribunal agreement for the payment of $850 million, and it transferred the payment to President Buhari’s administration.

Buhari objected to the idea of having to pay the agreed-upon amount, revoked the settlement, and filed a challenge with the English Commercial Court to have the award enforced, but the London court increased the total to $9 billion by adding $2.4 billion in interest.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria P&ID case

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Musings From Abroad

Brazilian meatpacker JBS invests $2.5 billion in Nigeria, builds six facilities

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Brazilian meatpacker JBS says it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for a $2.5 billion investment plan that will include the construction of six new plants in the African nation.

Three of the plants would deal in poultry, two in beef, and one in pork, according to a statement from JBS.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, JBS stated that it would develop a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, which would include budget estimates, feasibility studies, and an action plan for the development of the local supply chain.

The Nigerian government would then guarantee the sanitary, regulatory, and economic conditions required for the project’s viability, JBS continued.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.