The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed that the huge consequence that paying over $9 billion (N3.5 trillion) will have on the country is the reason why FG is ready to negotiate with Process and Industrial Developments Ltd, P&ID to find a way out.
The sudden move by the federal government to negotiate with the firm was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed while speaking on NTA breakfast programme last week.
According to Mohammed the country is open to negotiation.
“We are leaving no stone unturned to resolve this matter. We are ready to sit down with them and negotiate what is reasonable to all parties. You don’t inflict this kind of injury on a country and its people. We are making wide consultations on the matter. Nigerians can rest assured that everything is being done to make sure that the country is not short-changed in this case,” the minister said.
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The minister further disclosed the reason behind the decision of the government to negotiate. According to him, the firm in question has the resources to hire the best PR agencies in the world to turn the case against Nigeria.
“The contract itself was not justifiable and I know that the EFCC, Ministry of Justice and other bodies investigating the contract will come up with facts on how the whole thing was done. The government will not sleep until this matter is resolved in a manner that will not injure the interest of Nigeria. The P&ID has the resources to hire the best PR agencies in the world to spread this falsehood. And without internal collaborators, external conspirators will not succeed. We will find those involved in this scam, either inside or outside government. The Ministry of Justice has enough experts to know that this would not be in the interest of our country. On the surface, it was a scam ab initio and the actors knew where they were going,” Muhammed disclosed.
The minister further reiterated that the government would do everything within its power to ensure that those involved are exposed and prosecuted.
