The Director General of the Institute, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, SAN said this in an exclusive interview with The Guardian during the opening session of the 27th Course on drafting commercial agreements and banking documentations held at the Institute in Lagos.
The director general stated that the course would prepare lawyers and other individuals expected to play a part in business transactions that would emanate from foreign investors being wooed by the government at all levels in the country.
He said: “This kind of course is very good for a government that has the mantra of shopping for foreign investment and engaging in bilateral trade agreement with other nations and other corporate institutions abroad. The frequency of commercial enterprise and agreement in this country supposed to be very high in this country now.
“We are courting foreign investors. If we are doing that, every thing must be reduced in writing in the form of a commercial agreement. People must know what and what clauses must be included in such agreement.
“In event of a breach of what obtains, how is the contract going to be terminated? Are you going to make provisions for the choice of law that will apply? Or where the arbitration will take place in event that there is a dispute, or whether there is going to be an arbitration or litigation which can be handled either in UK or Nigeria in the Federal High Court as the case may be.
“These are all the ingredients that are supposed to be contained in a well-rounded commercial agreement, but it is only given to those who are properly informed.
“Here we do not just give a textbook approach, we also give you some drafting exercises that will enable you practicalise whatever you are told so that everything will be bare for you such that if any of such matter comes before you, you will know exactly what to do because you have experienced it.”
According to him, an agreement must be involved in all commercial transactions and its drafting must be holistic in all ramifications. “We may want to bring people in to our power sector and they have to sign an agreement with either the Ministry of Power or an office that is charged with the responsibility, either PHCN or something of that nature. These are all commercial agreement.
“But because they are dealing with public corporations or public institutions, the nature of such agreements or the financial implication of such agreements are more.
Also the nature of such agreements must be much more formidable”, he stated.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Company Secretary and the Corporate Relations Director of the Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sobowale Sesan said the training has become important because of the fact that the world is rapidly changing.
According to him, lawyers appear to be reaching a tipping point in terms of the world economy, with relatively wealthier nations becoming relatively poorer, and vice versa.
He explained that Capital was flowing from the mature markets in Europe and America into Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.
His said: “New investors are considering Nigeria (in spite of its various challenges) as an attractive investment destination in areas such as power, agriculture, manufacturing and petrochemicals. In our industry for instance, the 4 leading global brewers are either investing new capital in expanding their capacity in Nigeria or are consolidating the industry by the acquisition of small local brewers. A major multinational in the sector is building a Greenfield brewery in Onitsha. All of these developments are affecting the investment landscape, as well as the landscape of business opportunity, prompting everyone to question how they want to position their businesses going forwards.”
He stressed that with increased investment in economies such as Nigeria by global businesses or multinationals, there would be increased scrutiny of the quality of legal service being provided to the Nigerian subsidiaries of these businesses as they become increasingly significant parts of these global businesses thereby applying the principle that “where a man’s treasure is, there his heart will be also”.
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