By Our Reporter
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of compromising Nigeria’s interests in connection with the controversial Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
The council made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, following the recent ruling of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris in the long-running dispute involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, its promoter Leno Adesanya and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The ICC tribunal ruled in Nigeria’s favour, rejecting claims by Sunrise relating to the Mambilla project and ordering Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses.
The APC campaign council said the proceedings had brought renewed attention to a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 to Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, who was then Atiku’s wife.
According to the tribunal findings reported from the award, Adesanya acknowledged transferring the money through his offshore company, China Castle Investments Ltd, but described it as a foreign-exchange transaction carried out on behalf of Atiku.
The tribunal, however, found that there was no contemporaneous documentary or witness evidence from Atiku or Jennifer Douglas Abubakar supporting that explanation. It also noted that China Castle did not hold a bureau de change licence and that foreign-exchange transactions were not among its stated corporate purposes.
The payment was made on January 30, 2003, while the disputed Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement involving Sunrise was purportedly awarded by then Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, on May 22 of the same year.
The tribunal noted the timing and described the circumstances surrounding the payment and subsequent contract as raising significant red flags. It also found that Atiku had considerable power and influence within the Federal Government at the time and had been involved in the Mambilla project from at least 2001.
However, the tribunal stopped short of finding that Atiku had received a bribe or exercised his official duties to facilitate the award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise. It said the evidence before it did not establish that Atiku had acted in that manner, although it could not exclude a possible connection between the payment and his role in the project.
The tribunal also examined payments totalling about N5.2 million made to Agunloye in 2019 by Adesanya through an assistant. While the explanations surrounding the payments were found to contain inconsistencies and the circumstances raised concerns, the tribunal did not establish a concrete causal connection between the payments and Agunloye’s 2003 handling of the project.
The APC campaign council nevertheless characterised the disclosures as evidence of wrongdoing by Atiku and called on him to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
Alake alleged that Atiku and Agunloye had acted together in connection with the disputed Mambilla contract and accused the former vice-president of putting personal interests ahead of the national interest.
The council further argued that the controversy contributed to the long-running difficulties surrounding the Mambilla project, which is designed to generate thousands of megawatts of electricity in Taraba State.
The APC statement also cited former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticisms of Atiku contained in his memoir, My Watch, as further support for its allegations.
The latest development followed the ICC tribunal’s dismissal of Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria. Sunrise had sought billions of dollars in compensation in disputes connected with the Mambilla project, while a separate claim sought $400 million under a 2020 settlement agreement. The tribunal rejected the claims and ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse 75 per cent of Nigeria’s $11.82 million legal expenses.
President Bola Tinubu described the ruling as clearing what he called the “single biggest legal hurdle” that had stalled the Mambilla project for years. He also commended former presidents Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, among others, for their roles in Nigeria’s defence of the case.
The APC campaign council urged voters, particularly in Taraba State, to consider the implications of the Mambilla controversy as the 2027 presidential election approaches.