…Alake accuses former VP of compromising Nigeria’s interests over stalled Mambilla project
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has called on African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, alleging that revelations from an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project raise serious questions about his conduct while serving as vice-president.
The council’s spokesman, Dele Alake, made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, following the conclusion of the ICC arbitration proceedings in Paris involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and the Federal Government over the long-running dispute surrounding the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla project in Taraba State.
Alake accused Atiku of compromising Nigeria’s interests for personal and financial gain, alleging that he and former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, worked together to facilitate an illegal contract for Sunrise Power despite objections from then-President Olusegun Obasanjo and reservations expressed at the Federal Executive Council.
“Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress candidate, is unfit to be President of Nigeria because he has once again proven he will compromise Nigeria’s best interests for personal, fiduciary gain,” Alake said.
The APC spokesman based his allegation largely on a $500,000 payment made on January 30, 2003, by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company controlled by Adesanya.
According to Alake, the payment was made months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer contract for the Mambilla project.
“Atiku’s greed, however, propelled him to disobey the council and President Obasanjo, months after Leno Adesanya, through an offshore account, China Castle Investment, wired $500,000 to the US Citibank account of his now-divorced wife, Jennifer Douglas,” he alleged.
The ICC proceedings examined the circumstances surrounding the payment. Adesanya acknowledged transferring the $500,000 to Douglas and told the tribunal it was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. The tribunal, however, found that the explanation was not supported by documentary evidence, according to reports on the final award. (TheCable)
The tribunal also noted the timing of the payment in relation to the proposed Mambilla contract. The final award stated that there was a “close connection in time” between the January 30, 2003 payment and the alleged award of the contract on May 22, 2003.
However, the tribunal’s ruling did not find that Atiku personally received a bribe. Reports on the award said neither Atiku nor Douglas gave evidence in the arbitration to corroborate the foreign-exchange explanation. (TheCable)
Alake nevertheless described the payment as evidence of what he called a broader pattern of corruption and accused Atiku of helping expose Nigeria to potentially huge financial liabilities arising from the Mambilla dispute.
He said the dispute had resulted in claims running into hundreds of millions of dollars and referenced a separate claim exceeding $2.7 billion.
The APC spokesman also criticised Atiku for not appearing before the tribunal, contrasting this with the participation of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari in proceedings relating to Nigeria’s defence.
“Although the Tribunal requested Atiku’s witness statement, Adesanya shielded Atiku and Jennifer Douglas by lying,” Alake alleged.
He also cited Obasanjo’s criticism of Atiku in the former president’s autobiography, My Watch, particularly passages in which Obasanjo questioned Atiku’s transparency, judgment and commitment to national interest.
Alake called on the ADC candidate to withdraw from the presidential contest, saying the $500,000 payment was “just the tip of the iceberg” of what he described as further revelations about Atiku.
“The APC Campaign calls on Abubakar Atiku to do himself a rare honour by bowing out of the presidential race,” he said.
The APC campaign council further linked the Mambilla controversy to Taraba State, arguing that the prolonged dispute had delayed a major hydroelectric project that could have generated economic benefits for the state and the country.
The ICC tribunal, in its final award, rejected Sunrise Power’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses. (TheCable)
