P&ID: Success Collective, As FG Move To Launch National Arbitration Policy — AGF, Malami

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has said that the successes recorded at the on-going P&ID arbitration case in the United Kingdom was a product of collective institutional collaboration and not attributable to a single individual personality.

This is contained in a statement issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, which was made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday 9th day of September 2020.

According to the statement, Malami stated this at “The Morning Show” program of the Arise Television on Wednesday morning while discussing the recent developments related to the Nigeria’s arbitration on the embattled P&ID contract agreement.

“I wonder how one personality can claim victory associated with an institution. Neither the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation -that developed witnesses’ statements in support of the case that led to the victory nor Abubakar Malami, SAN (as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) can in law and logic claim an exclusively personalized victory over a product of intergovernmental, inter-ministerial and multiple-agency collaborative venture,” he said.

According to Malami, in addition to Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Police, Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs, Central Bank of Nigeria and other related agencies played an extra-ordinarily vital role in the processes and developments that culminated into this landmark victory for the county.

Malami said with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government the era of impunity and compromised that were embedded into the government system was over and the new culture of uncompromising stance for the public interest has come to stay.

The Minister who described the successes recorded by the Nigeria government in the recent UK court judgment on P&ID issue as unprecedented said investigations are ongoing and all those who played roles in the sham called contract will be made to face the wrath of the law.

In another development, Malami said the Federal Government was working assiduously to come out with National Arbitration Policy.

“It is our intention to look at the existing legislations, possibility of enhancing them for the purpose of establishing the national interest as the major enabler of, perhaps, amendment to the existing legislations if the need for doing so arises”.

“We are not ruling out the possibility of bringing about Executive Orders to compliment same if the need arises. So, indeed we are looking at the possibility of having in place effective legal framework, national policy and associated legislations that will assist the process,” Malami said.

He said arising from the evolution of arbitrations, as per as the Nigerian state is concerned, the government has established very efficient and reputable centers of arbitrations in Lagos and Abuja.

He said establishment of such centers is a step in the right direction maintaining government resolve to localize what is supposed to be localized as per as the development of arbitration is concerned within the Nigerian State.