By Moses Patience Chat
The Federal Government at the weekend said it has approached and also asked a London Court in the United Kingdom to cancel a previous judgment that was given, asking Nigeria to pay $11 billion as debt to Process and Industrial Development [P&ID] over the controversial gas contract involving the two parties.
The Company had claimed that it signed a contract with Nigeria to build a gas processing plant but the deal collapsed because the Nigerian Government breached the contract. But the Federal Government, while closing arguments at a trial in the UK, urged the court to cancel the arbitration award signed in favour of P&ID, which has now accrued interest worth $11 billion.
In defense, Nigeria’s lawyer, Mark Howard, told the court that P&ID obtained its contract “by telling repeated lies and paying bribes to officials,” adding that the Company financially induced top Nigerian government officials, including those who chaired the government technical committee that reviewed the gas plant contract and many others.
Howard also alleged that lawyers in the Nigerian team during the arbitration proceedings were also bribed.