By Vivian Okejeme
Abuja
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, have described the current slow and endless judicial process in the country as “a nightmare for investors.”
The duo spoke yesterday at the 3rd Annual Judges Workshop on Petroleum, Gas and Power Sector, organised by the International Institute for Petroleum Energy Law & Policy (IIPELP), in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI).
Represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the acting president said there was need to speed up the judicial process in order not to complicate things for investors.
He said: “We need to evolve measures that will speed up the judicial decisions. We also need these decisions not to be too complicated for investors to easily understand. We need to ensure sanctity of international arbitration.
“Judges should be trained in petroleum and energy sector so that they would be fully equipped to handle the emerging trends in the sector.”
Osinbajo also noted that both the petroleum and power sectors provided 80 per cent of the nation’s revenue and over 80 per cent of foreign direct investment.
He expressed worry that as critical as the sectors are, “if the country is not positioned to supply the necessary power supply essential for driving the economy, the country will not make much progress.”
Earlier, while declaring the workshop open, the CJN, Justice Onnoghen, said endless ligations affect foreign investors and urged the judges across the federation to invoke their powers under respective rules of the court, to issue practice directions on arbitration clause.
He said: “No investor, whether domestic or international, would want his investment tied down in seeming endless litigation, especially where there is an arbitration clause in the contract.
“May I draw the attention of heads of courts that the time-saving nature of an arbitration proceeding encourages heightened commercial and economic activities, as well as foreign investment.”
Continuing, Onnoghen directed that no court should entertain an action instituted to enforce a contract, or claim damages arising from a breach, thereof, in which the parties have, by consent, included an arbitration clause and without first ensuring that the clause was invoked and enforced.
He, therefore, urged the court to insist on enforcement of the arbitration clause by declining jurisdiction and award substantial costs against parties engaged in the practice.
The CJN warned that a party “who institutes an action in court to enforce breach of contract containing an arbitration clause without first invoking the clause, is himself, in breach of the said contract and ought not to be encouraged by the courts.”
Onnoghen said judges must not allow technicalities to stand in the way of justice in order to sustain public confidence in the judiciary.
He added that the workshop was to enlighten judges on global best practices in confronting challenges that may arise in the power and petroleum sectors.
“Some of the notable challenges faced are in the areas of taxes, rebates, royalties, demand for corporate social responsibility and environmental disputes, which require the court’s to adjudicate, ” the CJN added.
The CJN, however, noted that conflicting judgements were a necessary part of the judiciary as they helped to strengthen the system.
“Conflicting decisions unfortunately, are necessary because when you approach a court in Lagos, your facts are stated and the facts of that case are also different in a court in Port Harcourt.
“So, the judge takes a decision based on the facts before him and the law, and that is why we have the Court of Appeal who will look at the law and decide.”
He also expressed confidence that the workshop would aid the justices and judges in the adjudication and resolution of lingering disputes bedevilling the sector.
In his contribution, the Executive Director, IIPELP, and Visiting Professor of Energy Law, Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, stated that the workshop with the theme, Law and the Changing Face of Petroleum, Gas and Power Sectors in Nigeria, was to intimate judicial officers and judges on the appropriate legal, fiscal and regulatory issues in recent policy decision by the oil and energy stakeholders.
He said a lot of reforms were currently ongoing in the petroleum, gas and power sectors, including the recently passed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), as well as the lingering GenCos payment issue.
“The power sector is going through a lot. The electricity generating companies (GenCos) are threatening to shut down electricity supply if government does not guarantee their payment scheme.
“The essence of training judges on these issues, therefore, is to get the judiciary understand the dynamics of the petroleum, gas and power value chain in preparedness for adjudicating on legal issues that may require judicial interpretation in these sector,” he said.
