OBA OLUFON & CO.

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Infrastructure advisory.

Advisory on infrastructure and development transactions involving public and private participation — PPPs, concessions and major project structures designed to survive their term.

Why this matters

Most infrastructure failures are governance failures, not engineering failures.

Roads do not collapse because of concrete. Concessions do not collapse because of traffic. They collapse because risk was allocated to the wrong party, termination compensation was undefined, and change-in-law was a footnote. The firm advises on infrastructure deals with the failure modes of the last twenty years in view.

— Infrastructure bench

Services

What the firm covers in this practice.

Mandates run as transactional advisory on a single project, sponsor-side or grantor-side, with engagement scoped to the close or extended through operations.

Phase 01

Project structuring

  • Project structuring

    SPV, shareholding, debt-equity mix and step-in mechanics.

  • PPP advisory

    Concession, BOT, BOO and management contract models.

  • Risk allocation matrix

    Who carries what — and what they get paid for it.

  • Bankability assessment

    Lender-ready structures, not optimistic ones.

Phase 02

Negotiation & drafting

  • Concession agreements

    The grantor-side bargain in a document that performs.

  • Construction & O&M

    EPC, EPCM and O&M packages aligned with the concession.

  • Direct & tripartite agreements

    Lender step-in, government undertaking, sponsor support.

  • Change-in-law & force majeure

    Priced into the document, not negotiated in court.

  • Termination & compensation

    Calculations that pay, not formulas that fight.

Phase 03

Compliance & disputes

  • Regulatory compliance

    Sector approvals, ICRC, BPP and grantor sign-offs.

  • Risk management

    Ongoing operations: tariff, performance and reporting compliance.

  • Variation & re-financing

    Structured amendments that survive the next administration.

  • Dispute resolution

    Tiered ADR, expert determination and arbitration under the contract.

Approach

How a infrastructure advisory brief moves through the firm.

Four steps. Click any one to see the artifacts produced.

Step 01 · Artifacts

Feasibility & structure

  • Structuring memo
  • Risk allocation matrix
  • Bankability paper
  • Engagement letter

Step 02 · Artifacts

Bid & negotiation

  • Bid documents
  • Concession draft
  • Direct agreement
  • Government undertaking
  • Sponsor support letter

Step 03 · Artifacts

Financial close

  • CP schedule
  • Lender package
  • Closing memorandum
  • Funds-flow
  • Audit pack

Step 04 · Artifacts

Operations & defence

  • Tariff review brief
  • Change-in-law claim
  • Expert determination submission
  • Renegotiation pack

Who we represent

Clients the firm acts for in this practice.

A representative — not exhaustive — list of the clients the firm accepts mandates from under infrastructure advisory.

Project sponsors & developers EPC & O&M contractors DFIs & commercial lenders Federal & state grantors Sub-national MDAs Concession authorities Equity co-investors Sector regulators
High-voltage transmission towers across an open landscape — emblematic of the infrastructure projects the firm advises on.
Project sponsors, developers and contractors delivering Nigeria’s infrastructure stack form the spine of this practice.

What success looks like

The outcomes the firm aims for.

01

Concessions reach financial close

Bankable structure, lender package and CPs cleared on schedule.

02

Risk priced into the document

Force-majeure, change-in-law and termination compensation drafted to perform.

03

Variation absorbed without litigation

Tariff and scope changes resolved through expert determination, not court.

04

Project survives political change

Direct agreements and government undertakings designed for continuity.

Bench on this matter

Partner-led from intake.

The named partners on an infrastructure mandate are the partners who run it. Associates assist; they do not replace.

Oba Olufon, SAN

Senior partner · infrastructure

Leads concession, PPP and major-project mandates — sponsor and grantor side.

Partner, projects

Partner · construction & disputes

EPC, O&M and project-level disputes, including expert determination and arbitration.

Engage the firm

Brief us on a project.

Initial consultations are confidential. You’ll leave with a clear view of the project’s legal architecture, the route to financial close, and where the document needs to do more work.

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