A former presidential aide Laolu Akande has criticized recent efforts to air Nigeria’s internal controversies abroad, particularly regarding the $6 billion Mambilla Power Project.
Speaking on Sunday during the My Take segment of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television, Akande said the recent arbitration hearing in Paris concerning the $6 billion project may not be in the nation’s interest.
The hearing, under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), featured testimonies from former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, who appeared as witnesses in the dispute between the federal government and Sunrise Power & Transmission Company Limited, owned by Chief Leno Adesanya.
“Why is the Nigerian political elite deciding to wash its dirty deals, not exactly publicly, but certainly abroad? That doesn’t look very good,” Akande lamented, questioning the government’s decision to resolve disputes of such magnitude on international platforms.
Akande observed that the federal government appears to be using a strategy similar to that deployed in the controversial P&ID case, where it argued that the claimant’s actions were rooted in corruption. He pointed out that Dr. Agunloye is now facing corruption charges in connection with the case, but he suggested that the government needs to provide more damning evidence if it wants to successfully pursue this strategy.
“It seems the strategy of the federal government is to argue, like it did in the P&ID case, that the claims of the Sunrise company are immersed in corruption,” he noted. “It would seem that the federal government ought to come out with much more damning evidence to sustain this corruption strategy.”
“For decades, Nigeria has been trying to build the Mambilla power plant, which alone will give us over 3,000MW of electric power. Imagine how transformative that could be,” Akande said.
“But for the same decades, corruption, indiscipline, and a sheer lack of patriotism have stormed this excellent promise.”
Akande highlighted the ongoing dispute about the validity of Sunrise’s claims that it was awarded a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) contract for the project in 2003. He noted that former President Obasanjo, who was in office at the time, has categorically denied that such approval was given, blaming the then Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, for acting arbitrarily. On the other hand, Dr. Agunloye insists that the contract was indeed approved by Obasanjo and has accused the former president of withholding the full truth.
“President Obasanjo has accused the then Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, of doing this arbitrarily,” Akande stated. “Dr. Agunloye has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and is insisting that President Obasanjo certainly did approve the contract. Agunloye is vehemently implying that Obasanjo is not telling the whole truth.”
Akande also revealed that a legal opinion from the Afe Babalola Chambers in 2005 confirmed that there was indeed a valid contract between the federal government and Sunrise. Furthermore, the Chinese firm financing the project has reportedly insisted that the federal government properly terminate its contract with Sunrise before any progress can be made.
The Mambilla power project, envisioned as a transformative initiative to address Nigeria’s energy crisis, has been plagued by decades of controversy, delays, and allegations of corruption. The ongoing legal wrangling in Paris represents yet another hurdle in the realization of this critical infrastructure project, which has the potential to significantly boost Nigeria’s power generation capacity and stimulate economic growth.
