Another $1b Judgment Debt Hangs On FG Over Sale Of Nitel —Chief Niyi Akintola SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and core litigation lawyer,
Chief Niyi Akintola, has revealed that another one billion dollar
judgment hangs over the country Akintola, therefore told the
Federal Government to brace up for more judgment debts already
entered against the country on account of contracts awarded but
were later cancelled.

Akintola, who is a senior member in the rank of the silks, spoke
on Saturday against the backdrop of the $9.6 billion judgment debt
hanging over the country in a case instituted by P&ID against
the Federal Government, while featuring on Fresh FM radio’s
Political Circuit, a live interview programme monitored in Ibadan,
the Oyo State capital.

He revealed that a $237 million judgment was entered against
Nigeria by an arbitration panel in the United Kingdom in 2003 in a
case brought before it by an Ibadan-born entrepreneurial icon,
Chief Bode Akindele, against the Federal Government over the
cancellation of the contract for the purchase of the defunct
Nigeria Telecommunication (NITEL).

Chief Akindele, according to Akintola, who described Nigeria as
“a country where anything goes” successfully bought NITEL from the
Federal Government for a sum of $237million and paid one third of
the sum.

He explained that Akindele’s refusal to “play ball” and part
with some shareholding for some interests in government at that
time led to the contract being called off for no justifiable
reason, prompting the legal battle before the arbitration
panel.

Akintola said further that accumulation of interest since 2003
when the judgment was given would have shot the debt up to about $1
or $2 billion.

“We are shouting about judgment debt from P&ID, more
judgment debts are coming. Our own Chief Bode Akindele bought NITEL
in 2003 for $237million and he paid one third of the sum. But
somewhere along the line, the contract was aborted because he was
not ready ‘to play ball’ with the powers-that-be at that time.

“He was not ready to part with some of the shares and so the
contract was taken away from him. He went to the arbitration
tribunal. Late Justice Kayode Eso was one of the judges on the
arbitration panel.

“As I speak with you, judgment has been obtained against Nigeria
to the tune of $237 million since 2003 and interest has been
mounting. If you do the calculation now, it would have been more
than $1 or $2 billion. So, more debts are coming for Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a country where anything goes. 98 per cent of the
contracts we sign in Nigeria have arbitration clauses and these
clauses, our civil servants do not read them. When they are
signing, they stay in a hotel and are only interested in the
estacode they will get during such trips.

“In fact, one of the ministers that just left was dubbed
estacode minister because that is what he was dong as minister.
Also, they don’t read.

“We have a chapter of the arbitration chapter of the UK in
Nigeria and even in Ibadan. If my calculation is correct, there are
about 23 international arbitrators of Oyo State origin. I don’t
know of any governor in Oyo that has called any of us to vet
contracts. In fact, the president of the Nigerian chapter of the
International Arbitration of the UK is from Ibadan, Mrs Doyin
Rhodes. She sits at the apex of the world body and she is a
daughter of the Ekerin Olubadan,” he said.

He advised the Federal Government to tread softly in its
contractual and other engagements with China, explaining that
African countries were not finding it easy repaying their
indebtedness to the Asian country.

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