Stakeholders call for review of Nigeria’s investment treaty framework
Participants at a Port Harcourt roundtable have urged the Federal Government to review Nigeria’s investment treaties, warning that they could expose the country to costly arbitration. Concerns include environmental rules, fossil-fuel investments and oil-asset divestments, according to Premium Times Nigeria.
Stakeholders at a roundtable in Port Harcourt have called on Nigeria’s Federal Government to review the country’s investment treaties, Premium Times Nigeria reports. The participants said the treaties could expose Nigeria to costly arbitration over environmental regulation, fossil-fuel investments and the divestment of oil assets. Their concerns cover both the government’s ability to introduce environmental rules and the legal risks associated with changes in the energy sector.
The source material does not identify the treaties under discussion, the countries or companies involved, or any arbitration cases already brought against Nigeria. It also does not state the cost that stakeholders believe the country could face. The call for reform comes amid concerns about energy transition risks.
The report does not explain which treaty provisions stakeholders want changed, whether they are seeking renegotiation or withdrawal, or what alternative framework they propose. No response from the Federal Government is included in the supplied account. The roundtable’s position, as reported, is that Nigeria’s investment-treaty framework requires review to reduce potential exposure linked to environmental measures, fossil-fuel investments and oil-asset sales.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.