Obasanjo clarifies ‘dubious’ Mambilla deal with Sunrise Power, says none of his ministers had power to approve over N25m project 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has weighed into the controversial award of a $6 billion Mambilla Power Project  contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company in 2003. 

Recall that then Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, had in May 2003, six days to the end of Obasanjo’s first term in office, controversially awarded a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power without the Federal Executive Council approval. 

Sunrise Power has been waving the contract papers against Nigeria and using it to pursue compensation claims. 

They got the backing of the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the then Minister of Power, Mallam Saleh Mamman, who committed the federal government to paying $200 million to Sunrise Power “within 14 days”, failing which Nigeria would pay another $200 million fine, making it $400 million in total. 

Obasanjo, in an interview he gave TheCable, challenged the former minister of power and steel, Olu Agunloye, to show proof where he got the authority to award a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power. 

Sunrise Power is currently in arbitration with Nigeria at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris, France, over the alleged breach of contract by the federal government.

In the first arbitration, Sunrise demanded a compensation of $2.3 billion, claiming it had spent millions of dollars on financial and legal consultants before the contract was jettisoned.

In the second one, the company asked for a $400 million settlement being the terms of the agreement it entered with the federal government in 2020 to end the arbitration.

Reacting to this at the weekend, Obasanjo said, “When I was president, no minister had the power to approve more than N25 million without express presidential consent. 

“It was impossible for Agunloye to commit my government to a $6 billion project without my permission and I did not give him any permission.”

The ex-president further said, “If a commission of inquiry is set up today to investigate the matter, I am ready to testify. I do not even need to testify because all the records are there. I never approved it.”