By Adedapo Adesanya

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has reaffirmed a $100 million judgment against China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in favour of Nigerian indigenous firm, Cutra International Limited, over a disputed Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 471.

In a judgment delivered on April 24, 2026, the court dismissed CNPC’s application seeking to overturn an earlier judgment entered on May 23, 2025, in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/136/2022 between Cutra International Limited and CNPC.

The Chinese oil giant filed the application on October 28, 2025, asking the court to set aside the judgment, but the court held that there was no legal basis to revisit the matter.

The dispute arose from the ownership structure and equity participation in OPL 471, which was awarded by the federal government to CNPC and its Nigerian partner, Cutra International Limited, in 2006/2007.

Under the arrangement, Cutra held a 10 per cent equity interest in the oil block. However, the company alleged that CNPC unilaterally returned the licence to the Federal Government without consulting or obtaining its consent.

Aggrieved by the action, Cutra approached the court, seeking compensation for the loss of benefits and entitlements tied to the asset.

In its earlier judgment, the court ruled in favour of Cutra after finding that evidence presented by the Nigerian firm on the estimated value of the oil block was not challenged by CNPC.

The court noted that Cutra’s claim that the minimum yield from the OPL was valued at $5 billion remained uncontroverted during proceedings.

Relying on the evidence before it, the court awarded damages of $100 million against CNPC.

Dismissing CNPC’s attempt to reopen the case, the court held that it had become functus officio after delivering judgment on the matter.

According to the court, “when a Court takes a position on a matter in controversy before it, that Court becomes functus officio with respect to that matter in controversy, and the Court stands and remains bound by the decision.”

“It is equally the position of the law that where a trial Court in the course of the proceedings in a matter before it decides on a particular issue or question, it becomes functus officio to revisit that issue or question,” the court added.

The ruling is seen as a major legal victory for Cutra International Limited and a significant development in Nigeria’s commercial dispute resolution landscape involving foreign corporate entities.

Legal and industry observers say attention may now shift to the enforcement phase of the judgment, given the international dimensions of the dispute and the substantial financial implications of the court’s decision.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Minister of Power designate, Mr Joseph Tegbe, has refuted reports making the rounds that he promised to resolve Nigeria’s power grid within three months.

It was claimed that Mr Tegbe gave this assurance when he appeared before the Senate for screening this week after his nomination by President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement on Friday by his spokesperson, Adeola A. Adelabu, the Minister-designate emphasised that he never promised to fix the national grid issue in 90 days.

One of the major challenges facing the country’s electricity sector is the frequent collapse of the grid. The country, blessed with more than 220 million people, generates less than 5,000MW of electricity.

The power grid has had to break down frequently, especially while Mr Tegbe’s predecessor, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, was in charge.

In the statement today, the new person chosen by the President to lead the power sector reform noted that his remarks at the upper chamber of the National Assembly were misrepresented.

It was stressed that at his Senate screening on May 6, 2026, Mr Tegbe made no such commitment, but stated unequivocally that the timelines were still being worked on and subject to diagnostics and stakeholder engagements.

While assuring that initial grid stabilisation efforts would commence within the first 100 days, he made clear that structural reforms, particularly in sector credibility, gas supply, and metering, might take about a year.

“My promise to this chamber and to Nigeria is that Nigerians will see visible improvement in the sector,” Mr Tegbe said, pledging to stabilise the national grid, modernise infrastructure, enhance commercial frameworks, and enforce accountability across the entire electricity value chain.

On tariff reforms, he promised to protect vulnerable households while balancing sustainability, investor confidence, and broader sector efficiency.

The Minister-designate said he remains open to constructive media engagement and welcomes requests for clarification where necessary, recognising the role of the media as partners in nation-building, especially in fostering accurate public understanding of the imminent reforms in the power sector.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The former Minister of Aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, has been redeployed from Germany to South Africa as Nigeria’s ambassador.

Mr Fani-Kayode disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, stating that President Bola Tinubu has approved his reassignment to South Africa upon his request, contrary to reports that he was rejected by the European nation.

The request, he said, was put forward days after his posting was announced in March alongside that of 64 other ambassadorial appointees.

The former aviation minister said he “personally sought” redeployment due to personal and ideological reasons.

“I expressed the fact that I would rather serve in a country that shares some of my convictions, beliefs and values when it comes to world affairs, that has the biggest economy in Africa, that has closer ties to Nigeria, and that is more proximate to my political thinking when it comes to foreign affairs and a pan-African vision,” Mr Fani-Kayode stated.

He also said, “I was not comfortable with Germany for several personal reasons. Given that I have lived in Europe most of my life, I would prefer to go to South Africa, which is a country that I have never been to and for which I have so much interest.”

He disclosed that he had presented his request and reasons to the then former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, who was still in his seat at the time.

He said Mr Tuggar considered his request favourably and subsequently presented it to President Tinubu, who approved the redeployment.

The former minister said he had spent much of his life in Europe and wished to serve in a country within Africa that aligns more closely with his views on foreign policy and Pan-Africanism, describing South Africa as a country with strong bilateral ties with Nigeria and as occupying a strategic position on the continent due to its economic influence.

He expressed gratitude to both the president and the foreign affairs minister for what he described as a “gracious” consideration of his request.

He also acknowledged Mr Sam Enang, the appointee initially posted to South Africa, for agreeing to swap places with him. This thereby makes Mr Enang the ambassador-designate to Germany.

He also denied the report that Germany rejected him for previously making tribalist and ethnic slurs. He insisted that the decision to switch was made solely by him.

“Germany never rejected me,” he wrote, adding that the report published by People’s Gazette in March was inaccurate.

The report stated that Germany rejected Mr Fani-Kayode’s ambassadorial posting due to his past “rabid ethnic and religious slurs as well as his erratic behaviour.”

Responding to this, however, Mr Fani-Kayode said, “The story was not only irresponsible and insulting but was also a total and complete fabrication based on hearsay, beer parlour talk and cheap gossip and designed to embarrass me, the President.

“Worse still, they listed a number of clearly outlandish and absurd reasons for this purported and fake ‘rejection’ which they patched together and concocted reflecting the malevolent condition of their perverse imagination.”

The minister claimed that preliminary findings from an internal investigation showed that the report was sponsored and written with malicious intent.

He also added that petitions had been submitted to relevant security agencies regarding the publication and the individuals allegedly responsible for the report.

“I have also briefed my lawyers…and we shall be suing them in a civil action for defamation,” he said.

The former minister maintained that no formal rejection was ever issued by Germany, stating that the report emerged after diplomatic communication relating to his redeployment to South Africa was leaked and misrepresented.

“What actually happened was that the day an “agreement” was sent to South Africa by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was on March 13th, it was leaked to them and they falsely and maliciously reported that it was sent only because I had been formally rejected by Germany, which they knew to be false,” he noted.

He added that he looks forward to serving Nigeria in South Africa, which he described as a country with a “remarkable and inspiring history.”

Meanwhile, Mr Fani-Kayode’s posting to South Africa comes amid growing tension of xenophobia and anti-black immigrant campaigns in the country.

The Foreign Minister, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, summoned the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria following the murder of two Nigerian nationals allegedly by officials of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

One of Mr Fani-Kayode’s first tasks will likely be addressing the xenophobic violence as it affects the lives and interests of Nigerians in the country.