The Presidency on Saturday night denied dragging “any eminent Nigeria to Paris” just as former President Muhammadu Buhari is before a court in Paris, France where he took the witness stand in an arbitration proceeding over a federal power contract dispute.
President Buhari appeared before the court on Saturday for breaching the terms of a power generation and distribution contract awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.
In a statement titled ‘TINUBU DID NOT DRAG ANY EMINENT NIGERIAN TO PARIS,’ Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, denied forcing “anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.”
The full statement by Onanuga reads: “The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to some fake news on social media about an arbitration proceeding in Paris to which the Nigerian Government is a party.
“The private proceeding, which should not have been reported in the media, is entirely confidential until the international arbitrators decide.
“While respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding, we wish to state categorically that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.
“All the eminent Nigerians involved in Nigeria’s defence are doing so willingly and out of sheer patriotism and conviction.
“President Tinubu and the entire country are grateful to them.”
In addition to Buhari, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, are in Paris, France to testify in the ongoing arbitration case involving the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
Obasanjo’s administration had on or about May 22, 2003, awarded the contract for constructing a 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The project has dragged on for over 20 years, and its main anchor, Leno Adesanya, has been a target of anti-graft investigations, including claims that he bribed a former minister at the time to secure the contract.
Sources confirmed that Buhari was grilled for hours on Saturday and would continue his testimony on Sunday before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris in case number 26260/SPN/AB/CPB.
A top administration official told The Gazette that Mr Buhari was reluctant to give testimony on the matter. Still, Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi visited him at his residence in Daura last week to compel his appearance.
“The AGF made it clear to the president that he must be in Paris,” the official said under anonymity to discuss the situation.
President Bola Tinubu approved the decision to haul his predecessor before the foreign arbitration panel, the source added. It’s rare for a Nigerian President to appear in a court case over actions he took while in office, as former executive aides are usually saddled with answering for all powers exercised on behalf of the President during their tenures. In 2017, former President Goodluck Jonathan shunned a Nigerian court subpoena to appear in a criminal trial in Abuja.
Buhari’s government was accused of withholding about $200 million in payments previously approved for the project, which was to be launched in conjunction with a Chinese consortium.
Court filings showed former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami communicated the decision to truncate the agreement to Mr Adesanya and Mambilla Power on April 22, 2020.
However, when Mr Adesanya protested the action against his company, Nigerian authorities sought to arrest him and charge him with bribery and economic sabotage. He denied the allegations and proceeded to arbitration.
Mr Adesanya was also forced to defend himself against EFCC’s decision to declare him wanted in Nigerian courts. He was charged alongside Olu Agunloye, a former power minister under Mr Obasanjo.
Mr Adesanya said he sought to ensure sustainable power in Nigeria when he proposed constructing the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project through Sunrise Ltd as the special purpose vehicle to drive the project.
Written with additional reports from Peoples Gazette & Arise TV
