Obasanjo explains reasons for testifying at Mambilla arbitration in France

• Published On: 25 January 2025 at 07:17

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has explained why he volunteered to testify in the ongoing Mambilla Power Project arbitration in France.

He clarified that no one, including President Tinubu, had asked him to testify, as had been suggested.

Obasanjo insisted that his decision was entirely his own, and that he had not discussed his plans to testify with anyone beforehand.

His testimony follows that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, emphasizing his personal involvement in the case.

"I volunteered to testify in this case. Nobody told me to do this. President Tinubu did not ask me to do so, as some had speculated. "I didn't tell anyone about my intention to testify," Mr Obasanjo said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES from Paris.

"I decided to testify after hearing Olu Agunloye's statement on the matter. I thought his claims were outrageous and felt compelled to correct the record," he added.

Sunrise Power, which claims the Obasanjo administration awarded it a $6 billion contract in May 2003 to build, operate, and transfer the Mambilla Power Plant, is currently in arbitration with Nigeria at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

Sunrise Power accuses the Nigerian government of breaching their contract and seeks $2.3 billion in compensation for financial and legal consulting costs.

Mr. Agunloye, the Minister of Power at the time, led the contract awarding process.

Previously, former President Obasanjo chastised Agunloye for mismanaging the project between 1999 and 2003.

In 2023, Mr. Agunloye described former President Obasanjo's allegations of mismanagement as "baseless, false, and malicious." He claimed that Sunrise Power's investment to complete the Mambilla Power Project was limited to $6 billion, a figure agreed upon by four previous ministers of power, as well as Obasanjo, prior to Agunloye's appointment.

The Nigerian government has claimed that the Mambilla Power Project contract was awarded fraudulently, and that some public officials were corrupted during the process.

Previously, former President Obasanjo urged Mr. Agunloye to publicly disclose the source of his authority to award the contract.

Mr Agunloye stated that the contract was awarded with Mr Obasanjo's approval.