Former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the current Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, have offered differing accounts of an attempted $200 million settlement connected with the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project dispute.
Their statements followed Nigeria’s recent victory in arbitration proceedings brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
An International Chamber of Commerce tribunal rejected the claims brought against Nigeria and ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria $11.82 million in legal fees and $414,125 in arbitration costs.
The dispute arose from long-running contractual arrangements concerning the proposed Mambilla power project.
Malami, who served as Attorney-General under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has defended his role in the earlier settlement discussions.
He said efforts to resolve the dispute were undertaken in Nigeria’s interest and rejected suggestions that the settlement process was motivated by any promise of personal financial benefit.
Fagbemi, however, has described the prolonged dispute and litigation surrounding the project as damaging to Nigeria, arguing that the controversy effectively held the proposed power development hostage and contributed to delays in a project considered important to the country’s energy plans.
The competing accounts have become important because the ICC tribunal’s final award did not merely determine monetary liability; it also examined the history of negotiations and contractual dealings surrounding the project.
An arbitral tribunal’s findings should nevertheless be distinguished from criminal convictions or findings by a Nigerian criminal court.
Nigeria’s successful defence substantially reduced the immediate financial exposure arising from the arbitration.
The domestic debate is now likely to centre on how major government contracts, settlement negotiations and international disputes are authorised and supervised.
For Nigeria, the Mambilla dispute also serves as another reminder of the potentially enormous financial consequences of weaknesses in public contracting and dispute management.
READ MORE: LegalLinkz — Nigeria Wins Major Mambilla ICC Arbitration
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SOURCE:
Punch Newspapers
