APC Campaign Council Asks Atiku to Withdraw From 2027 Presidential Race Over Mambilla Dispute
By Nafiu Muhammad Lema
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 long-running dispute over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The allegation followed the recent ruling by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris, which rejected claims by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria over the Mambilla project. The claims involved more than $3.38 billion across related proceedings.
In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the APC Campaign Council alleged that Atiku and former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, were involved in the controversial 2003 award of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract to Sunrise Power.
The council also linked Atiku to a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Sunrise promoter Leno Adesanya to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, through an offshore company.
According to details reported from the ICC award, Adesanya acknowledged transferring the $500,000 but maintained that it was a foreign-exchange transaction undertaken for Atiku. The tribunal, however, said it could not accept that explanation because there was no contemporaneous documentary or witness evidence from Atiku or Douglas to corroborate it.
The tribunal also noted the timing of the payment and the subsequent purported award of the Mambilla contract, while examining whether the transaction was connected to the project. However, reports on the award indicate that the tribunal did not make a finding that Atiku received a bribe or that he used his office to secure the contract for Sunrise.
The APC council nevertheless described the development as evidence that Atiku should withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
“By collecting a $500,000 bribe from Leno Adesanya to approve a Build-Operate-Transfer contract to a company with no scintilla of experience in hydro power generation, Atiku has proven he is one of the enablers of local and international predatory and exploitative entities out to defraud our country,” the statement alleged.
The council further criticised Atiku for not appearing before the tribunal to give evidence, contrasting this with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who testified in the proceedings. The Nigerian government said their testimonies formed part of its defence of the country’s interests.
The APC Campaign Council called on Atiku to “bow out” of the presidential race, while also linking the dispute to the delayed development of the Mambilla project in Taraba State.
The ICC tribunal’s September 17 ruling dismissed Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria and ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, with recoverable costs reported at about $11.82 million.
The ruling has been described by the Federal Government as removing a major legal obstacle to the long-delayed Mambilla hydro-power project.
