The federal government has agreed to pay $496 million to settle a multi-billion dollar claim from Global Steel Holdings Limited, following the termination of a contract to upgrade the country’s steel plants, Reuters is reporting.
Attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami said the federal government managed to get a 91 percent haircut on the original claim of $5.258 billion.
“I pay tribute to President Buhari for his dedication to resolving this problem and wrestling back a crown jewel of our national industrialisation plans rather than leaving the endeavour to the future administration to deal with,” Malami.
Global Steel Holdings Limited, with headquarters in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), acquired Nigeria’s entire state steel industry via five major concessions and share purchase contracts.
The deal also included access to Nigeria’s iron ore reserves and the central railway network.
However, the contracts were revoked in 2008 when the federal government accused the firm of asset stripping – a development that led to a court case between the two parties.
According to the report, Global Steel sought arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce, Court of Arbitration in Paris, the same year.
