Former Nigerian Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo are testifying before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in Paris, France, on the $2.3 billion arbitration proceedings Sunrise Power initiated against Nigeria for allegedly violating a contract with the Nigerian government.
Both leaders are in Paris to discuss the issue, according to sources who spoke to the media.
Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesperson, refuted a report on Saturday night that the Presidency had coerced several prominent Nigerians into testifying in the arbitration hearing that was being held in Paris.
According to Onanuga, who did not dispute the case’s existence, “All of the distinguished Nigerians participating in Nigeria’s defence are doing so voluntarily and out of pure patriotism and conviction.” The entire nation, including President Tinubu, is appreciative of them.
Reporters were informed by Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo’s media assistant, that his principal is presently in France.
The former leader’s reason for going there, he claimed, was unknown to him.
“I can confirm to you that the former president is currently in France, and that’s all I know,” he remarked.
“I am ready to testify if a commission of inquiry is set up today to investigate the matter,” Obasanjo stated in a 2023 interview with TheCable.
Attempts to contact former President Buhari’s spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu, were unsuccessful since his phone numbers were unreachable via WhatsApp messaging and other text messages.
Though they were unable to establish if Buhari is now in France or another nation, other sources did confirm that he left Nigeria.
Sunrise began the arbitration against Nigeria at the International Criminal Court in Paris on October 10, 2017, requesting a $2.354 billion award for “breach of contract” related to a 2003 agreement to build the 3,050-megawatt plant in Mambilla, Taraba State, on a $6 billion “build, operate, and transfer” basis.
In 2017, Babatunde Fashola, a former minister of housing, works, and power, referred to Sunrise Power as a middleman.
According to the minister, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese company that is currently managing the project, is the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor that the Buhari government is directly contracting.
Sale Mamman, a former minister of power, claimed in 2020 that the parties had struck an out-of-court settlement of $200 million following multiple rounds of negotiations.
Sunrise later launched a $400 million compensation claim against the government before the ICC for violating the new accord, which changed the course of the legal struggle.
The company claimed that the amount was intended to be an out-of-court settlement, which the government allegedly did not honour because it had committed to paying within 14 days of the agreement being signed by Sale Mamman on behalf of the government, Leno Adesanya, the Chairman/CEO of Sunrise Power, and former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami.
Then, on May 11, Femi Falana, the company’s lawyer, filed a complaint at the International Court of Arbitration, requesting $400 million in total claims, including fines.
In its claim form, Sunrise stated that the money was to be paid “within 14 days” of the terms of the agreement being executed on January 21, 2020, and that there would be a 10% penalty for any breach of the settlement conditions.
The business had also stated that it was reinstated as the local partner for the ongoing $5.8 billion Mambilla power project, as per the agreement made.
A follow-up revealed that the local partner requirement had been eliminated and the accord had been amended. Citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy, the Nigerian government subsequently asked for a review of the negotiation.
Obasanjo questioned Olu Agunloye, his former minister of power, about how he obtained the authority to give the contract to Sunrise in 2003 during an interview with TheCable in 2023.
“No minister could sanction more than N25 million without the direct assent of the president when I was in office. Without my consent, Agunloye could not have committed my administration to a $6 billion project, and I refused to grant him any.
“If a commission of inquiry is established today to look into the situation, I’m prepared to provide testimony. Since every record is there, I don’t even need to testify. I never gave my approval.
“I was taken aback when he presented his letter to the Federal Executive Council on May 21, 2003, as I had previously discussed it with him and encouraged him to drop the proposal because I had different views about how to support and reform the electricity sector.
“I instructed him to step down the memo and informed him as much during the council meeting. Agunloye’s recent assertion that he acted on behalf of Nigeria surprises me. During my second term, I would have fired him as minister if I had known he had written Sunrise such a letter. “
According to the former president, he would not have remained in office for a single more day.
The government was not required to pay Sunrise any money under the build, operate, and transfer (BOT) agreement, according to Agunloye, who responded to Obasanjo’s allegations.
He stated that the plan was still in place for the newly created firm, whose declared assets were valued at less than $2,000 at the time, to provide all of the funding.
Due to claims of $6 billion in fraud in the Mambilla hydropower contract, Agunloye was listed as wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2023.
The minister appeared before the EFCC, and in January 2024 he was arraigned by Donatus Okorowo. He entered a not-guilty plea to the accusations against him.
Later, while his bail conditions were being finalised, he was placed under detention in Kuje Prison.
Buhari also wrote to Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to withhold approval of the 2020 settlement deal.
He had said: “Although I was aware that Sunrise had contacted my ministers of justice, power, and water resources and that they were interacting with different project stakeholders to address the problems impeding the project’s ability to proceed, I never gave them explicit instructions to sign a settlement agreement with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
“On April 20, 2020, the proposed settlement agreement and addendum were brought to my attention for approval. I was certain that Sunrise’s claim lacked merit, so I declined to accept the settlement deal.”
“I hope the above clarifications will help you defend our country from these ‘invisible contractors who all too often quietly take Nigeria for many millions in out-of-court settlements,’ as I stated in my recent statement regarding Nigeria’s victory in the P&ID saga.”
