A court in London has granted Nigeria relief and more time to appeal in the infamous $10 billion P&ID arbitration case for which Nigeria is battling to upturn. The court ruling however has not specify the length of the extension in the long-drawn dispute. It will be recalled that Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) won a $6.6 billion arbitration award after a 2010 deal to carry out a gas project in Nigeria collapsed. This has been accruing interest since 2013 and now totals nearly $10 billion, which if Nigeria has to payout would its foreign reserves.
Nigeria has alleged corruption in the contract and the ruling will allow the government more time to investigate. “We will now proceed to a full hearing of our fraud challenge in the coming months,” a spokesman for Nigeria’s attorney general said following the ruling. We are firmly committed to overturning the award – no matter how long it takes – to ensure that this money goes towards Nigeria’s future,” he added. P&ID, a vehicle created for the gas deal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nigeria had sought permission to appeal the award, despite having missed the original 28-day appeal deadline. It said new information only came to light in late 2019.
