A prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Apo that former President Olusegun Obasanjo took major decisions on the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station project before Olu Agunloye assumed office as minister of power and steel.
Agunloye is standing trial on an amended seven-count charge
bordering on alleged disobedience to presidential directives, gratification,
and forgery. The case is being heard before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie.
The EFCC alleges that the former minister, on May 22, 2003,
disobeyed a directive purportedly issued at the federal executive council (FEC)
meeting of May 21, 2003, by approving a contract with Sunrise Power and
Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) for the construction of the 3,960-megawatt
Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station.
The anti-graft agency also accused Agunloye of receiving
N5.2 million in gratification from SPTCL and its promoter, Leno Adesanya,
through one Jide Abiodun Sotinrin.
Testifying under cross-examination on Monday as the third
prosecution witness, Umar Babangida, an EFCC investigator, said the
recommendations upon which the contract was awarded to Sunrise were based on a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the company, its partners, and
the federal government before Agunloye’s appointment.
“President Obasanjo had approved the details of the Mambilla
contract to Sunrise Company before Agunloye was appointed minister of power,”
Babangida told the court.
He explained that while Sunrise proposed 35 percent federal
government participation in the project, Tafag Nigeria Limited proposed 25
percent.
According to the witness, Obasanjo later directed that both
companies be given the same parameters and that government participation should
not exceed 25 percent.
Babangida said when Agunloye eventually assumed office, his
role was limited to transmitting already agreed terms to the FEC.
“When Agunloye became minister of power, he took the memo on
the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Contract to the Federal Executive Council and
complied with the president’s specifications,” he said.
He also confirmed that the memo presented to the FEC was
supported by members of the council.
Responding to questions from Adeola Adedipe, counsel to the
defendant, Babangida said Agunloye did not exceed presidential directives in
recommending SPTCL for the project.
Asked directly if the defendant acted beyond the president’s
instructions, the witness replied: “No, my Lord.”
Further asked whether the basis upon which Agunloye advised
that SPTCL be awarded the contract existed before he became minister, Babangida
said: “Yes, my Lord.”
The EFCC witness also shared that the federal government had
already made financial provisions for the project before the May 21, 2003 FEC
meeting.
“Prior to the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, during which
Agunloye presented the Mambilla memo, the federal government had already
appropriated N6 billion in the 2003 budget for preliminary works in readiness
for the construction of the project,” he said.
He added that under the build, operate and transfer (BOT)
arrangement, Sunrise was expected to source about $6 billion from private
investors.
The prosecution witness had earlier told the court that he
disagreed that the financial decision of both the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and the China Import and Export Bank in
the Mambilla power project was binding on the Chinese government as “there was
no record that shows that they are parties to the agreement (MoU between
Nigeria and North China/North China Power Group) or have consented to it”.
The court adjourned proceedings to Wednesday, January 21,
2026, for continuation of cross-examination.
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