Udonsak: Bad Contracts Constraining Infrastructure Projects in Nigeria 

Peter Uzoho

Partner at Dentons ACAS-Law, Josephne Udonsak, has warned oil and gas investors and operators of the risks in developing projects in Nigeria’s energy infrastructure market, saying the biggest risk is rarely concrete, steel or financing, but a poorly prepared contract.

Udonsak, who shared her thoughts at a recent summit in Lagos, organised by The Energy Year, a London-based business intelligence firm, said many energy, transport and power projects falter not because they are unviable, but because deals are structured on the wrong foundation.

Speaking on corporate-startup partnerships for infrastructure delivery, she said project preparation must come before deal-making.

She pointed out that too many sponsors rush to sign term sheets and only bring in advisors when the structure is already broken.

Preparation, she explained, means mapping the entire ecosystem from day one: Who are the regulators? Who needs to obtain which permits and consents? Who is best placed to bear a specific risk? What does compliance truly require?

She noted that those questions, if unanswered early, often return as financing failures, with lawyers forced to say the law does not allow it, or bankers saying the structure is not bankable.

She called for a shift from risk-shifting to risk-sharing, saying in a market where parties often try to push all liability to the other side, a collaborative and win-win approach must be adopted