P&ID $9.6bn fine: Ex-reps member urges government to work with experts

A former House of Representatives member, Prince Ned Munir Nwoko, has urged the Federal Government to assemble a team of experts to negotiate with Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited on the judgment by a United Kingdom court granting the firm seizure of $9.6bn in Nigerian assets.

Nwoko made the call over the weekend, while delivering a lecture entitled: “Towards Efficient Management of Nigeria’s Foreign Loans” at the 2019 National Public Service Lecture, organised by the Alumni Association of University of Ibadan at Ibadan.

Nwoko, who analysed Nigeria’s foreign debt profile, put the total at $25,609.63, saying multilateral loan is 43.92 per cent, bilateral loans stood at 12.47 per cent, while commercial long-term instruments account for 43.61 per cent. He cautioned Nigeria against neo-colonialist push of China on concessional loans.

“There is the need for governance continuity, anchored on transparent and seamless transitions, especially with regard to management of our foreign debts and other related financial or contract transactions. “The implications, terms, risks and processes should be taken into account on both short and long term bases. Perhaps, if such process had been followed or adhered to, the kind of circumstance that led to the recent award of over $9.6bn would not have arisen in the first place…”