The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN) has said the gas contract which led to a $9.6billion judgment against Nigeria, was designed to fail.
He said the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources signed and executed a contract for the supply of gas products without involving OICs, NPDC and NNPC as a party to that agreement.
Also, the Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed described the damages awarded by a UK Court as unreasonable, excessive and exorbitant.
On his part, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said there were no records to show that the contractor, Process and Industrial Developments Ltd. (P&ID) has invested close to about $40 million in the project.
The three government officials made the clarifications at a briefing in Abuja with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed.
Malami, who was the first to speak, said there were inherent elements of hitches in the contract.
He said: “My colleague, the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture has captured the background relating to the contract that gave rise to the award in contention. And he has indeed intimated that the president has indeed directed that full scale investigation should be carried out relating to the circumstance that gave rise to the contract in its own right, and the eventual award as well.
“The criminal investigation relating thereto, has indeed become necessary in view of the certain antecedent relating to the contract in its own right and the eventual award.
“Insinuations abound that the contract was originally designed to fail fundamentally against the background of the fact that there were inherent element of hitches that were designed into it right from conception.
“When I talk of inherent element of hitches, I want to draw attention first to the fact that by the composition of the parties to the agreement there were two parties – the P&ID which is the company and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
“As you rightly know very well, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources is not a producer of gas. Gas products are produced by IOCs (International Oil Companies), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“So when you conceived, signed and executed a contract for the supply of gas products without involving IOCs, NPDC, and NNPC as a party to that agreement, you know very well that there are a lot of questions to answer arising from the execution of that agreement.
“These among others gave rise to the insinuations or perhaps certain criminal and fraudulent conspiracies right from conception of the agreement.
“The fact remains that you cannot sign an agreement to provide a product that you do not have.
“The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not have oil wells, marginal fields or gas product so how can the ministry sign an agreement without bringing on board those that are the custodian or the producers of the gas products with the purpose of supply of gas products.
“It is against the background of this appreciation ab–initio that we feel that there is need for comprehensive criminal investigation for the purpose of identifying what are the undertones, whither they are indeed criminal or they are not.
“So, within the context of this appreciation that the contract was originally designed not to succeed, that the contract was entered into with the parties that are originally not entitled execute or sign the agreement that the Nigerian state was subjected to unnecessary economic sabotage right from the conception of the agreement down to the execution level.
“I think it is not out of place to embark on a whole scale criminal investigation with the purpose of identifying whither there exist element of local and international conspiracy for the purpose of subjecting the Nigerian state to serious economic loss that we are apparently subjected to arising from the award that has resulted from the purported breach of the agreement.
On her part, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, said: “This matter that has brought us here today is a very, very weighty one.
“An award of $9.6 billion is equivalent to N3.5 trillion. N3.5 trillion in our annual budget will be covering for us the personnel cost which is about N3.2 trillion and some.
“So this award is unreasonable, excessive and exorbitant. It is also unfair and it is an assault on each and every Nigerian.
“It is beyond trying to compensate for a commercial interest. It is an assault on each and every Nigerian.
“For us in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, we take comfort from the efforts that so far had been put in place by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to ensure that this judgment is set aside because the consequences will be unpleasant for each and every Nigerian.
“And I hope our brothers and sisters in the press will help fight the cause of our country.
“We will be doing that not just for this administration but for our children and children. So it is time for us all to be up in arms to make sure that we are not unfairly treated as a people.”
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said” “There is no evidence to show that a foreign company who came into this country deserved to be awarded $9.6 billion without investing a cent in Nigeria.
Emefiele said: “The Minister for Information and Culture, the Attorney-General and Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning have provided some very, very strong context on this issue of an alleged and put bluntly fraudulent contract between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID.
“We have heard and also read in some media that P&ID or the contractor in this case had mentioned that it had invested close to about $40 million in the project.
“On our part as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), we note that P&ID is a foreign company. As a foreign company, if you are investing either in a contract or a project in Nigeria, there are various options you will adopt in bringing in your investment.
“If you are bringing in capital, in which case you are bringing in the money, you will fill from A and you will also collect a certificate of capital importation.
“If you are bringing in machine or assets to execute your contract, then in this case you will fill form M and also collect a certificate of capital importation to prove that you actually brought in money.
“We have gone through our records, we do not have any information in our records to show that this company brought in one cent into this country and we have accordingly written to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and the Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police that are currently investigating this matter.
“I think just following from what the honorable Minister for Finance and Budget and Planning had said, time has come when Nigerians must rise against incidence of people alleging to be doing contract in Nigeria without investing a penny, all with an intention to defraud our country.
“The money that they want to take is our own commonwealth that belongs to all of us. It is very sad that you will find some Nigerian collaborators with some foreign interest under bourgeois intensions trying to defraud this country.
“If they have proof of their investment, we are calling on them to please come forward and provide us proof of how they invested money in this project.
“You have heard the Attorney-General talking about the fact that it was a contract that was meant to fail ab-nitio from the beginning and I think, we read even some Nigerian media organizations castigating and said Nigeria should pay.
“This is time for us to be patriotic and rise. If you find a fault in what Nigerian, a governor, a minister or anybody has done stand up and say it but not for you to collaborate and begin to join forces with people who want to defraud the country.
“I am saying from our part as Central Bank of Nigeria, we do not have any information in our records, no evidence to show that a foreign company who came into this country deserved to be awarded $9.6 billion without investing a cent in Nigeria.”
