The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has called on the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over fresh details surrounding the disputed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The demand followed the release of details from an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration in Paris, which rejected claims by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria over the Mambilla project.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, put at about $11.82m.
The arbitration also examined a $500,000 payment Adesanya made in January 2003 to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then wife.
According to the tribunal award, Adesanya said the payment was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku, who was Vice-President at the time. However, the tribunal said the explanation was not supported by contemporaneous documentary or witness evidence.
The tribunal did not find that Atiku personally received a bribe.
Reacting to the development, spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, accused Atiku of compromising Nigeria’s interests and linked the payment to the award of the Mambilla contract.
Alake also alleged that Atiku and former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, worked together to facilitate the contract during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The APC spokesman described the $500,000 payment as a bribe and said the development raised questions about Atiku’s suitability to seek the presidency in 2027.
The Mambilla dispute dates back to 2003, when Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer contract connected to the proposed hydroelectric project in Taraba State.
President Bola Tinubu said the Federal Executive Council never authorised the original contract and described the latest ICC ruling as clearing a major legal obstacle to the project.
The Federal Government had faced claims totalling about $3.38bn in disputes linked to the project, including a $680m settlement claim and a separate claim exceeding $2.7bn. The tribunal rejected the claims against Nigeria.
The APC campaign council also linked the Mambilla controversy to previous criticisms of Atiku contained in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
Alake urged Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, while also calling on political stakeholders in Taraba State to take note of the implications of the long-running dispute.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government said the arbitration outcome strengthened Nigeria’s position to pursue the Mambilla project while defending the country against claims it considers unfounded.
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