The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has called on former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, citing issues arising from the long-running dispute over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The council made the demand in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, following an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal ruling in favour of Nigeria in the dispute involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited over the stalled project in Taraba State.
The tribunal rejected claims brought by Sunrise Power against the Federal Government over the Mambilla project and ordered the company and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, reported at about $11.8 million.
However, the APC campaign council focused its reaction on a $500,000 payment made by Adesanya to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, in January 2003, several months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer contract connected with the Mambilla project.
According to reports on the tribunal proceedings, Adesanya acknowledged transferring the money through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company he controlled, to Douglas’s Citibank account in the United States. The tribunal examined the timing and circumstances of the transaction in assessing the parties’ competing claims.
The APC campaign council alleged that the payment was connected to the Mambilla contract and accused Atiku, who was Vice-President at the time, of working with former Minister of Power Olu Agunloye to facilitate the contract.
The council further alleged that the contract was pursued despite objections associated with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Federal Executive Council.
Alake argued that the circumstances surrounding the Mambilla contract and the $500,000 transfer raised serious questions about Atiku’s conduct while in office. The council subsequently described him as unfit to become president and urged him to withdraw from the 2027 contest.
Atiku has rejected the APC’s characterization of the arbitration proceedings, arguing that the tribunal did not convict or indict him for corruption.
In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice-President challenged the APC to identify the specific portion of the tribunal’s final award where it found that he received a $500,000 bribe, influenced the award of the Mambilla contract or participated in a corrupt conspiracy.
Atiku argued that the tribunal’s rejection of Adesanya’s explanation for the $500,000 transfer should not be presented as a finding that he personally received a bribe.
He also said he was not a party to the arbitration and did not testify before the tribunal. Atiku disputed claims that he deliberately avoided the proceedings, noting that former Presidents Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari appeared as witnesses on behalf of Nigeria.
The former Vice-President further said he was not a member of the technical process or procurement panel that evaluated proposals for the Mambilla project and challenged the APC to produce evidence showing that he personally influenced the award of the contract.
The ICC arbitration centred on claims brought by Sunrise Power and its promoter against Nigeria over the Mambilla project. The tribunal rejected the company’s claims against the Federal Government, bringing a major legal dispute over the project to a close.
The tribunal’s examination of the $500,000 payment has nevertheless become a major point of political contention ahead of the 2027 election.
While the APC campaign council has characterised the circumstances surrounding the payment as evidence of corruption and a reason for Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race, Atiku maintains that the tribunal did not make such a finding against him.
The competing interpretations of the arbitration award have therefore added a new dimension to the emerging political contest between the APC and Atiku, who is seeking the presidency under the ADC in 2027.
The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, designed to generate thousands of megawatts of electricity in Taraba State, has remained stalled for years amid contractual and legal disputes.
Following the tribunal’s decision, President Bola Tinubu described the ruling as removing a major legal obstacle to the project, while the Federal Government said it would pursue the development while protecting Nigeria’s financial interests.
For now, the political dispute centres not on the tribunal’s decision in favour of Nigeria, but on how its findings concerning the historical $500,000 transaction and the Mambilla contract should be interpreted in assessing Atiku’s record ahead of the 2027 presidential election.