By Katherine Abayomi
The Port Harcourt High Court has dismissed a N5.74 billion breach of contract suit filed by indigenous construction firm, Macobarb International Limited, against the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company.
Justice Chinwendu Nwogu, who presided over the case (Suit No. PHC/2013/CS/2022), ruled in favour of NLNG, rejecting claims by Macobarb that the company breached the terms of a contract awarded for access control work (Contract B130142PPI) at the NLNG plant site.
Macobarb had initially sought damages of over N1 billion, later amended to N5.74 billion, alleging that payment delays and contract termination by NLNG caused significant financial loss and project disruption. The company argued that the contract required progressive payments for verified work and imposed penalties on parties responsible for delays.
However, Justice Nwogu ruled that Macobarb’s claims were not supported by the contract terms. The court held that the work done by the contractor did not meet the contractual definition of “completed work” and that payment could only be made after due verification and approval by NLNG.
The court further determined that any authorized official of NLNG could terminate the contract and that the company was under no obligation to provide “standdown payments” or bear liability for the contractor’s misuse of bank loans. It also found that payment delays by NLNG did not amount to a breach of contract.
Justice Nwogu described several of Macobarb’s claims as unfounded and lacking in merit.
Reacting to the verdict, Macobarb CEO Shedrack Ogboru expressed deep disappointment and accused the judiciary of failing indigenous contractors. Speaking to journalists, Ogboru claimed the court overlooked the key issues and sided with NLNG despite what he described as a “100 per cent” presentation of his case.
“I pity indigenous contractors in Nigerian courts. We are doomed,” he said. “Only abroad do local contractors get justice. Here, we are left to suffer.”
Ogboru also alleged that many other local contractors have died or gone bankrupt due to similar experiences with multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta.
The ruling brings closure to a protracted legal dispute and raises broader concerns about the treatment of indigenous contractors in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
