Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has explained his reasons for voluntarily testifying at the ongoing Mambilla Power Project arbitration in France.
He clarified that no one asked him to testify, including President Tinubu, as had been speculated.
Obasanjo emphasized that his decision was entirely his own, and he did not discuss his intention to testify with anyone beforehand.
His testimony follows that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and it highlights his personal involvement in the case.
“I volunteered myself to testify in this case. Nobody sent me to do so. President Tinubu did not ask me to do so as speculated. I didn’t speak to anybody on my intention to testify,” Mr Obasanjo said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES from Paris.
“I decided to testify because of the statement made on the matter by Olu Agunloye. I considered his claims atrocious and thought it necessary to set the records straight,” he added.
Sunrise Power, which asserts it was granted a $6 billion contract by the Obasanjo administration 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 has accused the Nigerian government of breaching their contract and is seeking $2.3 billion in compensation for the financial and legal consulting costs incurred.
The contract was awarded under the leadership of Mr. Agunloye, who served as the Minister of Power at the time.
Earlier, former President Obasanjo criticized Agunloye for mismanaging the project during his tenure from 1999 to 2003.
In 2023, responding to former President Obasanjo’s allegations of mismanagement, Mr. Agunloye called them “baseless, false, and malicious.” He argued that the investment required for Sunrise Power to complete the Mambilla Power Project was valued at a maximum of $6 billion, a figure that had been agreed upon by four previous ministers of power, as well as by Obasanjo, before Agunloye himself assumed the position.
The Nigerian government has alleged that fraud was involved in awarding the Mambilla Power Project contract, with claims that some public officials were corrupted during the process.
Previously, former President Obasanjo had called on Mr. Agunloye to publicly disclose the source of his authority to award the contract.
Mr Agunloye said the contract was awarded with Mr Obasanjo’s approval.
