Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and prominent human rights lawyer, has urged the Federal Government to hold Italian firms Maire Tecnimont SPA and Saipem Nigeria Limited accountable for allegedly violating a $2.9 billion contract for the repairs of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
Falana criticized Saipem for claiming it did not receive a $1.4 billion contract in August 2021 for the refinery rebuild, which he said has resulted in a “colossal embarrassment” for the government. His comments were made during an appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday evening.
He asserted that the government must act against the two companies, especially given President Bola Tinubu’s declaration in December that both refineries would soon resume production, a promise that has yet to be fulfilled.
“In this case, I am alleging fraud and the government has a duty to the Nigerian people to indict any contracting firm that has messed up the country regarding the repairs of the refineries,” he said. “If Saipem is saying, to the colossal embarrassment of the government, that you never awarded this contract to us, then you are deceiving the Nigerian people by claiming these contracts were awarded to us.”
Falana emphasized the seriousness of the situation, noting, “The situation at Port Harcourt has become a huge embarrassment. Even last December, the President announced that those two refineries would resume production; I mean business. And that was the information given to the President. I expect that by now, those who embarrassed the President to that extent have been fired. That has to be done now.”
In September, Falana filed requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act seeking details of the contracts, which include a $1.5 billion award to Maire Tecnimont SPA for the Port Harcourt refineries and a $1.4 billion award to Saipem for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries in 2021.
However, Maire Tecnimont declined to respond, stating that, as a private company, it is not obliged to comply with the FOI Act. Falana countered that the request pertains to public funds.
He added, “With profound respect to all the lawyers and their clients, the Court of Appeal has decided that if you are a private company and public funds are entrusted to you, you are bound by the provisions of the Act. So, we are going to pursue this elsewhere; of course, we are going to take it up in court.”
Falana also mentioned a potential legal threat from Saipem regarding reputational damage from his allegations. “My colleagues at the law firm of Ajumogobia and Okeke have also written to me, stating that these contracts were not awarded to them. Why are you still demanding information on the completion date of the contract?” he questioned.
He reiterated the need for accountability, stating, “I have replied that this announcement was made by the Federal Executive Council in August 2021. After three years, you have just denied to me; you have never denied the fact that this contract was awarded to you. Up until now, the Federal Executive Council has not revoked the contracts and awarded them to another company. Our country must get to the root of what can be described as a case of monumental corruption. We are talking about $2.9 billion for a country that is said to be broke. We must escalate this matter by inviting the relevant anti-corruption agency to assist the country in tracing these funds.”
