Rattled by a botched gas supply and processing agreement that culminated in an English court awarding $9.6 billion (N3.5 trillion) against the country, the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has begun manhunt for local and international collaborators who sealed the deal.
The controversial deal entered into between Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources in January 11, 2010 and Process and Industrial Development Limited, was for the processing of 400 million metric standard cubic feet of wet gas into lean gas by the company for Nigeria in 20 years but which did not work out, leading to the challenge of Nigeria by the firm.
To get at the masterminds, the the anti-graft agency has begun frisking the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond to bring out the suspects to face justice, in line with the mandate granted the agency to probe the entire contract saga and press criminal charges against anyone found to have compromised the nation’s interest.
Already, operatives of the commission have combed addresses in Maitama District of Abuja, and Victoria Island in Lagos, which Process and International Development Limited gave as its offices in Nigeria, but they turned out to be different businesses unconnected with the firm.
The agency has also sought the assistance of the Interpol to track and arrest all the suspects whose names have been compiled by the federal government and sent to the international police organisation.
Besides that, the federal government has triggered its Mutual Legal Assistance, MLA, with the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirate to track the suspects in the deal who might have taken refuge in those jurisdictions, and extradite them to face trial in Nigeria.
In the meantime, two Nigerians who have been identified as directors of P&ID Limited, are said have reportedly gone underground to avoid arrest and interrogation by EFCC operatives.
One of the directors, whose name was given as Usman, has reportedly switched off his phone and gone underground after realising that he was being tracked through his phone by operatives of the anti-graft agency.
A top source said Adamu Usman, was invited to the commission in Abuja but requested for time to appear on Wednesday last week.
He, however, failed to show up on the appointed date, asking for another appointment the following day.
It was learned that when he was called on Thursday, he had switched off his phone, thereby cutting off any form of contacts with the agency.
Another director in the controversial company, whose name was simply given as Jadesola Awoyinfa, has also gone underground since the company came into the limelight in the aftermath of the $9.6 billion award to the firm and backlash from Nigerians against the company.
This is even as a female director in the Ministry of Justice, who signed the deal on behalf of Nigeria is being trailed by operatives.
The source said the woman, whose name was given as Grace, is required by operatives to explain her interest in the botched deal and why she opted to sign the deal, even as a middle level official ahead of senior government figures in the administration at the time.
The top source said: “We are looking for the woman, who had less than six months to retire from the Ministry of Justice but she was the one who boldly signed the contract on behalf of the ministry when there were senior officials above her.”
The commission said from information it had so far gathered, it was becoming clearer that most of the documents used in sealing the deal in 2010 might have been forged, including the signature of a Petroleum Minister, Rilwanu Lukman.
“There was no way a valid contract of that nature and magnitude could have been signed by a single ministry without the input of a minister.
“There is no document of the controversial contract linking any minister under the Yar’Adua administration and we are investigating the links between those who signed the contract and the company who won the botched deal,” a top government official said last night.
Meanwhile, documents obtained by Vanguard showed Sunday that though the federal government, through the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, engaged both local and foreign lawyers to challenge the money claimed by the company, the London court on June 3, 2014, went ahead to award huge sum of money to P&ID.
Despite spirited attempts by teams of local and international lawyers engaged by Nigeria to set aside the award, the arbitration on February 10, 2017, worsened Nigeria’s situation by awarding a whopping $6.597 billion to P&ID, in addition to 7% interest at the rate, with effect from March 20, 2013.
According to the court, the amount represented the present value for 20 years income the company would have received for the sale of natural gas liquid minus capital and operating expenditures the company would have incurred in the course of building and running the plant in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s representative on the panel, Chief Bayo Ojo, however, disagreed with the arbitration, arguing that P&ID couldn’t have sat idly by for 20 years and expect a windfall from the government of Nigeria.
According to him, the firm is only entitled to three years of operation and should, therefore, have been given $250 million only, after arbitration had already awarded the firm over $8.4 billion.
But during negotiation between the firm and federal government officials, the document showed, the amount was successfully negotiated to $600 million on the condition that the federal government would pay P&ID $100 million within 14 days, while the balance of $500 million was to be paid through an asset to be determined by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
However, the document showed that P&ID rejected the offer and went ahead to file another case in the United States against Nigeria.
Worried by the development, President Muhammadu Buhari, on June 26, 2018, ordered the Nigerian team to reopen negotiations with P&ID and pay the sum of $250 million as recommended by Chief Bayo Ojo.
But the firm rejected the offer by Nigeria and opted for full legal prosecution of the matter.
Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, told Vanguard Sunday that Nigeria put several legal teams to protect and defend its interest in the case instituted by P&ID and expressed the hope that Nigeria would excel at the end of its appeals in the UK and the US.
Malami regretted, however, that most of the actions in relation to the award and implementation of the botched contract were deliberately orchestrated to cause Nigeria economic and financial loss for the benefit of a cabal or syndicate.
He lamented that even the award, which was beyond the threshold of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, did not pass through the Federal Executive Council and other relevant agencies of the administration.
The minister said: “The agreement on its own right accommodated clauses that were intended to cause economic and financial loss to the Nigerian state. This is evident in the fact that even though the contract was signed and meant to be implemented in Nigeria, the court of arbitration was taken to London, outside Nigeria’s jurisdiction.
“The Federal Executive Council was not taken into consideration, though the contract sum was over and above the Ministry’s financial threshold.”
Meanwhile, Vanguard investigation in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, weekend, revealed that the contract between the Federal Government and P&ID was a scam.
The investigation in Calabar, which was supposed be the base of the company, indicated that P&ID, had no presence, as it did not establish any office or yard for operations there.
In a telephone interview with Vanguard, Sunday, Mr. Maurice Ekong, a former special adviser, (oil and gas) to governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, said: “Although, oil and gas activities rest with the Federal Government and its agencies, as the former special adviser, I was positioned to know many things, especially about oil and gas in the state.
”I know about some companies, including Seven Energy, which came in to do genuine businesses in the state. However, I have never heard of P&ID. This company had no presence whatsoever in Cross River State. If it had, I should have been in a position to know.”
Similarly, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, which has the mandate to register and regulate the activities of foreign oil companies in Nigeria, did not respond to Vanguard’s inquiries at press time Sunday.
But investigation by Vanguard showed that DPR has no record of the company, as it did not register with it.
It also showed that it did not carry out any preliminary activity, especially the mandatory Environment Impact Assessment, EIA, on the controversial project.
A source, who preferred not to be named, said: “The Federal Government has already disclosed that it has taken steps to get to the root of the matter. It was a transaction between P&ID and the government. DPR did not know and has no record of this company.”
