The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council has asked Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to withdraw from the 2027 race over allegations arising from the disputed Mambilla hydropower project.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by Dele Alake,
spokesperson of the APC campaign council, the ruling party accused Atiku of
compromising Nigeria’s interests in connection with the project.
The APC campaign council cited proceedings before the
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris involving
Sunrise Power, Transmission Company Limited and the federal government.
The tribunal recently ruled in favour of Nigeria in the
dispute, dismissing Sunrise’s claims and ordering the company and Leno
Adesanya, its promoter, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 percent of its legal costs.
Adesanya had told the tribunal that the $500,000 he
transferred to Jennifer Douglas, former wife of Atiku, in January 2003, was
part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for the former
vice-president.
The payment was made on January 30, 2003, less than four
months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer contract
for the Mambilla hydropower project, through China Castle Investments Limited,
an offshore company controlled by Adesanya.
APC LINKS PAYMENT TO MAMBILLA NEGOTIATIONS
The campaign council said the timing of the payment raised
questions because it was made during negotiations over the Mambilla project.
The council alleged that Atiku, who was vice-president at
the time, and Olu Agunloye, then minister of power, worked together to
facilitate the contract despite objections from former President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
The APC said the transaction reinforced what it described as
longstanding concerns about Atiku’s conduct in public office.
“The APC Campaign calls on Abubakar Atiku to do himself a
rare honour by bowing out of the presidential race,” the statement said.
The campaign council described the $500,000 payment as “just
the tip of the iceberg” of what it claimed were further revelations concerning
the ADC candidate.
The APC campaign council said the Mambilla controversy
showed that Atiku had placed personal interests above Nigeria’s national
interest.
It also accused him of enabling what it described as
predatory interests seeking to profit from Nigeria’s resources.
The council further criticised Atiku’s campaign for a
production subsidy on petroleum products, linking his proposal to the broader
political contest ahead of the 2027 election.
It called on Nigerians, particularly residents of Taraba
state, to take note of the history of the Mambilla project and its stalled
development.
The APC campaign council maintained that the developments
surrounding the arbitration warranted Atiku’s withdrawal from the presidential
contest.
BACK STORY
The Mambilla dispute dates to 2003, when Sunrise expressed
interest in developing the hydropower project under a build-operate-transfer
arrangement.
Sunrise later relied on a letter issued by Agunloye on May
22, 2003, as evidence that it had been awarded the project.
Obasanjo subsequently disputed the authority of the minister
to commit the federal government to the contract and said he had directed
Agunloye to withdraw the proposal from the Federal Executive Council.
In an interview with TheCable in 2023, Obasanjo said he had
not approved the contract and questioned how Agunloye could have committed the
government to a $6 billion project without his authorisation.
Sunrise commenced arbitration against Nigeria in 2017,
seeking about $2.35 billion over an alleged breach of the 2003 agreement.
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