A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has fixed for judgement July 16, 2025, on claims of a N5.4 billion breach of contract by an indigenous company, Macobarb International Limited, against the NLNG.
The Court is presided over by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu in suit number PHC/2013/CS/2022.
The fixing of date of judgment came on June 24, 2025, after counsels for both parties adopted and adumbrated their final written addresses, each seeking to convince the judge to rule in his client’s favour.
Macobarb had sued the NLNG, claiming that it breached the terms of the contract and that this breach led to various costs amounting to N5.74bn, saying the contract was deemed to still be running and that cost is rising.
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Adopting their address, the lead counsel to Macobarb, Benefit Vilokpo, said “Claimants have shown by their pleadings and documentary evidence that NLNG breached its terms of contract, and that Macobarb has demonstrated that the purported letter of termination dated 27th November, 2015, is unlawful, null, and void.”
Counsel also said contract agreement made several provisions for ‘Standby Payments’ and that Claimants have also shown that they are entitled to standby payments.
The claimants lead counsel submitted in his adopted final address what he considered issues for determination, thus: “Whether the Claimants have proved their case as required by law to be entitled to the reliefs sought in this case (a. Whether the purported termination letter dated 27th November 2015 was valid in view of the provisions of the contract agreement.”
The Claimants built their claim on the ground that the person that terminated the contract (Emeka Ohiri) was not known to the contract.
Rather, it is the Contract Holder, Dweller Francis, that was known to the contract and that the said Francis never served Macobarb any termination letter.
The claimant counsel also said and pointed to the sections in their final address that the contract provided for standdown time.
Another prong on which the claimant wanted the judge to consider an opinion is whether the Defendant (NLNG) fulfilled the terms and conditions of the Close-out Meeting.
The Claimants final address noted that to demonstrate that the Contract is still in existence, the defendant, NLNG, called for a meeting on February 19, 2016, termed “Project close-out meeting.”
The contract close-out meeting with signatures of all the attendees (Exhibit YJ 5) showed where it was stated that to close out the contract, NLNG will have to establish what the costs for the materials delivered to NLNG were, as well as the cost for demobilising and to prepare the payment Certificates for all items of the contract executed by the contractor”.
Macobarb asked the court to view it that the Contract is yet to be closed out; to also note that the Defendant (NLNG) admitted receipt of materials including 20ft container from the Claimants.
