Abubakar Malami, the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, says all the people involved in the approval of the gas processing deal with Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) will be prosecuted.
Speaking on Thursday at the ministry of justice when he resumed for his first day of reappointment as a minister, Malami described the judgement as sad and the “consequences of the underhand dealings of the past administrations”.
“In spite of the spirited and concerted efforts of the current administration to combat corrupt practices and rent-seeking in all its forms, Nigerians woke up on Friday, August 16, 2019 to the rudest consequences of the underhand dealings of the past administration that has resulted in the award of $9bn against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by a British court which ruled that Process and Industrial Development Limited had the right to seize $9bn in Nigerian assets.
“That being said, it must be placed on record that the federal government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract were carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators.
“As a government that has the mandate of the people, and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials – home or abroad and past or present – that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing, formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement.”
A British commercial court had empowered P&ID to take over Nigerian assets worth $9 billion over a failed gas processing deal.
Speaking further, Malami said the ministry of justice will now go through all contracts before it is signed on behalf of the federal government.
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