PRESS OFFICE: Centurion Law Group

During the Africa Oil & Power conference held in Cape Town, Centurion CEO NJ Ayuk said that strong leadership and political will were the only way that African countries could resolve the great number of simmering border disputes taking place around the continent. Out of 100 boundaries covered under the Law of the Sea of Africa, just a third of them are agreed. As a panelist on the policy & law discussion at the conference, Ayuk advocated strongly for a diplomatic approach to resolving the disputes.

“We have to admit that the status quo is not working. But when you are dealing with national sovereignty issues, things get very emotional,” Ayuk said. “It will be very difficult to solve but military might is not the answer.”

Centurion Law Group is the legal partner of the Africa Oil & Power conference, which took place June 6-7, 2016 in Cape Town. Ayuk has been an impassioned advocate for negotiating a conclusion to territorial disputes, arguing that it could unlock a vast wealth of unexplored natural resources. Ayuk said, however, that it was the spectre of that resource value that was contributing to the stalemate.

“You never see two people quarrel over fishing rights,” Ayuk said. “But when oil and gas are factored, the stakes are much higher.”

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About Centurion

Centurion is a leading pan-African legal and business advisory group with extensive experience in oil and gas law. The group provides outsourced legal representation and covers a full suite of practice areas for its clients, including arbitration and commercial litigation, corporate law, tax and anti-corruption advisory and contract negotiation. Centurion specialises in assisting clients that are starting or growing a business in Africa.

For more information about the Centurion team and the group’s practice areas and offices, visit www.centurionlawfirm.com.

Contact: NJ Ayuk | CEO | +240 222 781 613