Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari have told the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, France that the Federal Government at no time awarded a contract in respect of the $6 billion Mambila Power Project in Taraba State to Sunrise Power.
Obasanjo and Buhari, who both testified for Nigeria in the $2.3 billion arbitration case filed by the company and its founder, Chief Leno Adesanya, against Nigeria over an alleged breach of contract by the Federal Government, disputed the complainants’ claims.
Sunrise says the compensation demanded was meant to defray what it has spent on financial and legal consultants.
Obasanjo and Buhari urged the court to ignore the purported 2003 agreement which Adesanya and his firm based their arguments on, because the document was invalid.
They said Sunrise got the purported letter, signed by a former Minister of Power, Dr Olu Agunloye about 24 hours after the Federal Executive Council rejected the award of contract to the firm.
Agunloye is currently standing trial in Abuja for forgery, disobedience of a presidential order and corruption in respect of the power plant project.
His prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accused him of awarding a contract entitled “Construction of 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on Build, Operate and Transfer Basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, approval or cash backing.
The ex-minister claimed yesterday that the government was merely trying to use him as a scapegoat to “portray systemic corruption to the arbitration panel and undermine Sunrise’s claims.”
The testimonies of the ex-presidents at the Arbitration Court were corroborated by Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi(SAN), his immediate predecessor, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), a former Minister of Power, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and a former Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu.
