Justice Chinwendu Nwogu of the Port Harcourt High Court has dismissed a N5.74 billion claim filed by Macobarb International Limited, an indigenous contracting firm, against the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company, over alleged breach of contract and accumulated losses.
Macobarb’s Chief Executive Officer, Shedrack Ogboru, who instituted the suit in 2022 (Suit No. PHC/2013/CS/2022), expressed deep disappointment over the ruling, saying it signals a grim fate for indigenous contractors seeking justice in Nigerian courts.
Speaking to journalists after the verdict, Ogboru accused the court of ignoring the core issues in the contract and the financial implications of the alleged breaches by NLNG. He claimed that despite presenting what he described as a “tight case,” the court failed to acknowledge any of his arguments.
“I pity indigenous contractors in Nigerian courts. We are doomed. My case is presented 100 per cent, the NLNG’s case is zero, but surprisingly, the NLNG has been upheld while Macobarb has been denied.”
The company had sought damages and compensation, initially over N1 billion, later amended to N5.74 billion, over an alleged breach of contract (B130142PPI, Access Control) at the NLNG plant site.
Macobarb argued that the contract required progressive payments for verified work done and that repeated delays in payment slowed the project execution, eventually leading to its termination.
Macobarb also claimed that the contract stipulated penalties for any party responsible for project delays and that alert clauses were activated when payment delays began, but were ignored.
However, in his ruling, Justice Nwogu sided with NLNG on virtually all issues. He ruled that the company did not breach the terms of the contract and that Macobarb was not unlawfully denied payment.
The court held that:
Work done by Macobarb did not qualify as “work completed” under the contract unless verified and approved by NLNG. The “contract holder” designated by NLNG was not the only official authorized to act on its behalf.
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Any authorized NLNG official could terminate the contract, contrary to Macobarb’s argument. The contract did not provide for “standdown payments” or penalties against NLNG for delays.
NLNG’s alleged delay in payments did not amount to a contractual breach, and the contractor’s misuse of bank loans was not NLNG’s responsibility.
Justice Nwogu criticized the contractor’s position in several parts of his judgment, stating that Macobarb’s claims were unfounded and not supported by the contract terms.
In his reaction, Ogboru alleged systemic bias against indigenous contractors, lamenting that only abroad do communities and local contractors get justice, never in Nigeria.
He further stated that many local contractors have suffered or died due to similar experiences with multinational oil firms operating in the Niger Delta.
The ruling brings to an end a long-running legal battle over the disputed NLNG contract, with implications for the treatment of indigenous contractors in the country’s oil and gas sector.
