P&ID Deal: UK Court Ruling, A Source Of Huge Satisfaction – Presidency

 

The Presidency has lauded the judgement of a court in the United Kingdom on the case involving the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

In a statement on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described the ruling as right and just.

According to the presidential aide, the Presidency welcomes the judgment granting Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions in the $10 billion arbitration case with the company.

He added that the judgment provided a strong prima facie case that the fraudulent gas deal with P&ID and the subsequent judgement debt of $10 billion against Nigeria was a clear attempt to cheat the country of billions of dollars by a company that had not invested one naira in it.

“On the arbitration award, it is a source of huge satisfaction that the UK Court, among others, had ruled that: ‘Nigeria has established a strong prima facie case that the Gas Supply and Processing (GSPA) was procured by bribes paid to insiders as part of a larger scheme to defraud Nigeria.

“There is also a strong prima facie case that that (P&ID) main witness in the arbitration, Mr Quinn, gave a perjured evidence to the Tribunal, and that contrary to that evidence, P&ID was not in the position to perform the contract,” the statement said.

Shehu noted that the Presidency was delighted with the processes that led to the ruling of the English court, stressing that it has given relief to the Nigerian Government to further protect its national assets from criminally minded organisations and individuals.

The views of the UK court, he stated, provided sufficient grounds for the Federal Government to go ahead and challenge the frauds perpetrated by the company and overturn the arbitration award.

In his reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari commended the team of lawyers who represented Nigeria in the matter with P&ID.

He also reassured Nigerians and the international community of his unwavering commitment to fighting corruption in all its forms and manifestation.