President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to probe the ‘conspiracy’ that led to the failed $9.6billion gas contract initiated during the Late President Umar Yar’adua and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration.
Nigeria, had on January 11, 2010 entered a Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) which allows it to supply a firm registered in the United Kingdom, Process and Industrial Development Limited 400 MMScuFD of wet gas for a period of 20 years.
The company was to process the wet gas into lean gas suitable for firing gas-powered electricity generation plants.
While the company would make available 85 per cent of the lean gas proceeds from the process, it was to be compensated through the by-products such as butane and sell in the international market.
Nigeria was to benefit from the sale of the by-products through 10 percent share in the British firm.
However, the government failed to build the pipeline to supply gas to the company. The company also failed to construct the plant for processing the plant.
However, a panel of arbitration ruled that Nigeria was liable for the failure of the contract and should pay the British firm a sum of $6.597bn as the profit that the company would have made in the 20 years tenure of the contract.
Speaking over the ruling, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed disclosed at a Press briefing that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed EFCC and other agencies to probe the anomaly that trailed the contracts.
Mohammed said: “We have invited you here today to brief you on the recent judgement of a UK Court authorizing Process and Industrial
Developments Ltd. (P&ID) to seize 9.6 billion dollars in Nigerian assets, over a contract entered into by the company and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2010. We will quickly run you through the issues at stake as well as what the Nigerian government is doing to stave off any seizure of its assets. We do hope that by the time we conclude this briefing, the media would have been better informed on the whole issue, hence will be better placed to inform Nigerians and clear the misrepresentations in certain circles.
“The judgement that was delivered on Friday, 16 August 2019 is a fallout of the contract purportedly entered into in 2010 between the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID. Please note that in the 20-year Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) purportedly entered into with the P&ID in 2010, the company never performed as agreed.”