Isaac Samuel
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of politicising the outcome of the Mambilla Power Project arbitration ruling ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, challenged the APC Campaign Council to identify the specific portion of the tribunal’s final award where he was found to have collected a bribe, directed former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, to award the Mambilla contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company, or abused his office in relation to the project.
In a statement issued on Friday, Shaibu said the tribunal made no such finding against the former vice president.
“There is no such finding,” Atiku said.
He said while the tribunal examined a $500,000 transfer made by Leno Adesanya through China Castle Investments to Jennifer Douglas, the arbitrators rejected Adesanya’s explanation that the payment was related to a foreign-exchange transaction.
Atiku, however, argued that the rejection of Adesanya’s explanation did not amount to a finding that he personally received a bribe or used his office to facilitate the award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise Power.
He noted that the arbitration proceedings were between Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, Adesanya and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, the tribunal dismissed Sunrise Power’s claims and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal costs.
He added that no liability, damages or costs were imposed on him by the tribunal.
Atiku also rejected claims that he deliberately stayed away from the proceedings after being summoned to testify.
He said the reported contents of the award did not establish that the tribunal ordered him to appear and testify or that he disobeyed such an order.
Atiku noted that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as former Ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu, appeared in the proceedings on behalf of Nigeria.
He, however, argued that their participation could not be interpreted as evidence that he had been summoned and subsequently refused to appear.
The former vice president also drew a comparison between the Mambilla controversy and a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving Tinubu in the United States.
He referred to an October 4, 1993 order by Judge John A. Nordberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois concerning $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name.
Atiku acknowledged that the US case was a civil forfeiture proceeding involving property and did not amount to a criminal conviction.
He nevertheless challenged the APC to apply the same legal precision when discussing the Mambilla arbitration and the President’s past US court record.
Atiku said the 2027 election should focus on issues affecting Nigerians, including the cost of living, employment and insecurity, rather than what he described as distortions of legal proceedings.
