Aluko & Oyebode (“The Firm”), Nigeria’s largest and leading full service law firm, in collaboration with other law firms such as Hogan Lovells, Linklaters and Baker Mckenzie, as well as the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) and Association for Consulting Engineers in Nigeria (ACEN), hosted a virtual regional training workshop on dispute management in Africa infrastructure projects (DIMAP) for select companies in the oil and gas, power and public infrastructure sectors. The workshop which took place on 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 19th and 21st October 2020 offered participants the opportunity to gain practical insight and knowledge from legal specialists across the respective fields.
The Firm notably co-hosted the session on public infrastructure which took place on the 13th and 14th of October 2020 with international law firm, Linklaters. The speakers from the Firm included Managing Partner Kofo Dosekun, the Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice and Chairman of LACIAC Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN and Ngo-Martins Okonmah, Senior Associate with specialism in construction and arbitration law practice. The speakers from Linklaters were Partners Matthew Weiniger QC, Andrew Penfold, Teresa Laboucarié-Polak, Linklaters Counsel Andrew Plump, Managing Associates Raquel Galvào Silva and Maria Mitaeva, as well as Associate Antonia Adebambo.
The Firm’s Managing Partner Kofo Dosekun was part of the session which provided an overview of the methods of delivering public infrastructure. This session revolved around issues such as PPP’s, their typical structure, key roles and documents, interests of respective parties, key clauses, risk allocation and termination of concession agreements, as well as the impact of repudiatory breach.
Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice Group Babatunde Fagbohunlu SAN gave the welcome address and introductions prior to the commencement of the workshop. He was also a speaker for the session on contractual dispute resolution mechanisms, in relation to multi-tiered dispute resolution clauses, ADR and dispute resolution boards, expert determination and arbitration. In addition, he was part of the discussion on key features of disputes concerning FIDIC contracts, alongside Senior Associate Ngo-Martins Okonmah who delivered a presentation on best practices for managing FIDIC construction project.
Senior Associate Ngo-Martins Okonmah was also a panellist during the panel session on construction projects in the power sector regarding FIDIC contractual provisions in Nigeria, as well as the lessons that can be learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the allocation of risk in construction contracts. Other panel members were Hogan Lovells Partner Angus Rankin and Associate Ilham Kabbouri; and Engr. Joseph E. S. Uujamhan Principal Partner/CEO, Oska-Jo & Partners Ltd.
Participants at the workshop not only benefited from the knowledge sessions but were also able to pose questions to the esteemed speakers, as well as received training through case studies and a mock arbitration hearing.
Aluko & Oyebode has over 80 attorneys across the three major commercial centres of Nigeria, namely Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. At the Firm, clients receive world class legal services delivered with the highest ethical standards. As the largest full-service commercial law firm in Nigeria, the Firm has a culture of excellence as well as a wide breadth of domestic and international expertise borne out of decades of experience, especially across several key industry sectors, including but not limited to, Construction and Infrastructure; Energy and Natural Resources; Public Sector; Infrastructure Finance and PPP; Dispute Resolution & Risk Management and Public Procurement.
