Good News for Naira, Tinubu’s Govt As Nigeria Wins P&ID $11bn Suit in UK Court

Good News for Naira, Tinubu’s Govt As Nigeria Wins P&ID $11bn Suit in UK Court

  • A UK court has dismissed the case against Nigeria by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Ltd
  • The case has been on since 2010 following a collapsed deal in which the company wants $11 billion in compensation
  • P&ID, a little-known British Virgin Islands-based company, took Nigeria to arbitration over the collapsed deal

Nigeria has won its bid to overturn $11 billion damages suit brought by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Ltd for a collapsed gas processing project in 2010.

The deal collapsed after federal government officials claimed bribery in the procurement process.

P&ID N11bn suiit
The UK court ruling will come as a welcome relief Photo credit: Presidency
Source: Facebook

In his judgement via email, Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London on Monday, October 23, 2023, held that P&ID obtained its multi-billion-dollar arbitration award against Nigeria by fraud.

Background of the case

P&ID was awarded a 20-year contract in 2010 to construct and operate a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, as part of a wider plan to exploit Nigeria's abundant gas reserves.

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After the deal collapsed, P&ID took Nigeria to arbitration in London and, on January 31, 2017, was awarded $6.6 billion for lost profits – a sum swelled with interest to over $11 billion beginning from March 20, 2013, the Nation reports.

With the interest rate fixed at seven per cent, amounting to $1 million daily, the potential payment had accumulated over $11 billion before the verdict.

Nigeria had alleged that the gas deal was a scam conceived to defraud the country.

Federal government lawyers told the court that P&ID officials paid bribes to secure the contract.

But P&ID denied the allegation and accused the Nigerian government of "false allegations and wild conspiracy theories."

The implication of the big win

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Nigeria was on the hook for the sum – representing around a third of the Central Bank of Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves.

If Nigeria had lost the case, it would have been another massive burden to the country battling to get foreign exchange to save naira.

Otedola strikes billion naira deal with Elumelu to exit Transcorp

Meanwhile, in another report, Legit.ng reported that Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola ended the battle with Elumelu over control of Transcorp Plc.

Transcorp is a diversified conglomerate interested in energy, hospitality, and agriculture.

The mutual agreement saw Otedola receive a payout of N32.5 billion two weeks after spending N6 billion to acquire 2.6bn shares.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.