Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar
\nMalami today joined Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi
\nAmaechi to set the records straight on Nigeria’s sovereignty not being
\nat risk in the country’s loan agreements with China.<\/p>\n
There is a difference between international diplomatic immunity ‘which
\nhas to do with a nation’s sovereignty, independent existence’ and
\ncommercial immunity which has to do with a commitment to ensure
\nrepayment of loans’, Malami explained while answering questions
\nalongside Amaechi on a TV programme, Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said the misconception is that the National Assembly is looking at
\nthe diplomatic immunity as against the commercial immunity of a country
\nwhen it has to do with loans, adding that there is no concession
\nwhatsoever made as it concerns Nigeria’s diplomatic immunity.<\/p>\n
“If you talk of immunity within the context of diplomatic immunity which
\nhas the implication of the independence of a state and its institutions
\nin its own right, there is no concession whatsoever made by Nigeria as
\nit relates to diplomatic immunity that has to do with its independent
\nexistence as a nation, neither was any concession made as related to the
\ninstitutional diplomatic immunity of the Nigerian institutions.<\/p>\n
“But when you talk of immunity within the context of commercial sense,
\nthat is where I think we need to clarify issues with particular
\nreference to the loans and commercial transactions among nations.<\/p>\n
“Concessions relating to immunity for the purpose of provision of the
\ncommercial guarantee are a normal, traditional ritual. Nations enter
\ninto respective interstate agreements and in the course of so doing,
\nsurrendering their jurisdictional immunity. It is on account of that for
\nexample that you see Nigeria signing an agreement with other
\ninstitutions or nations and agreeing to a choice of territorial
\njurisdiction for the purpose of determining disputes when they arise. So
\nthat is how eventually you see Nigeria submitting to the jurisdiction
\nfor determination of a trade dispute in the UK, in Paris and in other
\ninternational fora or jurisdiction even when Nigeria as a nation has
\ndiplomatic immunity.<\/p>\n
“And now that brings you to commercial immunity. The context and the
\nimplication of a commercial immunity or sobriety. It’s indeed embedded
\nin an appreciation that country A requests for a loan facility from
\ncountry B and then country B is entitled as a matter of right to extract
\na commitment, an understanding that at the end of the day, the loan
\nadvance will eventually be paid. So it is indeed a concession and
\nsobriety, giving an undertaking, providing a guarantee for repayment of
\nthe facility when the need arises.<\/p>\n
“So commercial immunity is in essence a mere guarantee that allows an
\nadvancing state an opportunity, right and power to claim back the
\nfinancial advances made to a party state and that in its own right is
\nindeed to an asset for the purpose of repayment of the loan. It is in no
\nway extended to perhaps concession to diplomatic immunity by which you
\nnow surrender the rights, privileges, and independence of a
\nnation-state. But it is a commercial term that is restrictive, exclusive
\nto an asset, a commercial asset for that matter in the event of
\ndefault,” Malami said.<\/p>\n
The AGF added that the clause is a mere guarantee, a commitment that
\nallows an advancing state (the lender) the powers to claim back an asset
\nfor the purpose of repayment of a loan and is in no way connected to the
\nsovereignty of a country.<\/p>\n
“The bottom line is to appreciate the difference between International
\ndiplomatic immunity which in its essence and right is an immunity
\nrelating to the independent existence of a state, and a commercial
\nimmunity which in essence is a commitment that you are now conceding
\nthat in the event of default of payment of an advanced amount of money,
\nyou will have the right to now attach the commercial asset of a
\nborrowing state for the purpose of satisfaction. So that is where I
\nthink the misconception set in. Misconception to the effect that the
\nNational Assembly is, in essence, looking at the international
\ndiplomatic immunity as against commercial immunity which in its own
\nright is operated only to guarantee the repayment of the advanced loan,”
\nhe stated.<\/p>\n
On his part, Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi again
\ndispelled the notion that Nigeria’s sovereignty has been signed off to
\nChina in obtaining the loans.<\/p>\n
He said, “Nobody has signed out anything. A sovereign nation is a
\nsovereign nation, nobody can recolonise us. We must learn to pay our
\ndebts and we are paying, and once you are paying, nobody will come and
\ntake any of your assets.<\/p>\n
Amaechi said the previous administration cannot even be blamed for the
\nloan or clause in the agreement because it is a standard clause.<\/p>\n
“We will not blame President Goodluck Jonathan’s government for taking
\nthe loan, because like I said, it is a standard clause in every loan
\nagreement. That clause enables the lending country to go to arbitration.
\nIt creates an avenue for them to be able to retrieve their funds in the
\ncase of a default. If therefore there’s an asset that has been
\nmortgaged, they must be able to get to that asset. If you don’t waive
\nthat immunity, they cannot. It’s a standard clause in every
\ninternational loan agreement.<\/p>\n
“If the National Assembly says we have signed out the sovereignty of our
\ncountry, so why did they approve? Didn’t they see it before approving?”<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami today joined Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to set the records straight on Nigeria’s sovereignty not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n