Mambilla: IMPI seeks review of $500,000 transaction

Group urges authorities to examine financial records cited in ICC arbitration

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

ABUJA — The Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI, has called for further examination of a $500,000 transaction referenced in the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, arbitration proceedings over the long-running dispute surrounding Nigeria’s Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, the group said the transaction, which featured in the ICC tribunal’s final award, warranted further clarification by relevant Nigerian authorities.

According to the group, the payment was made on January 30, 2003, through China Castle Investments Limited, a company controlled by Sunrise Power promoter Leno Adesanya, to a United States bank account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, who was then married to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

The transaction was made about four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a Build, Operate and Transfer, BOT, contract for the Mambilla project. The details were examined by the three-member ICC tribunal in its final award.

IMPI said the timing of the payment and questions surrounding the documentation supporting the transaction warranted closer institutional examination.

The group, however, acknowledged that the ICC proceedings were arbitration proceedings and did not amount to a criminal trial or establish a criminal conviction against Atiku.

It said its concern was primarily to ensure that financial transactions connected to major public infrastructure projects were properly documented and subjected to appropriate regulatory scrutiny.

Akinsiju urged relevant authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the transaction, including its source, purpose, beneficiaries and whether it had any connection with the Mambilla concession process.

The group also drew attention to provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act concerning foreign bank accounts maintained by public officers, urging the appropriate authorities to determine whether any applicable provisions were breached based on the available evidence.

The call followed renewed attention to the transaction after details from the ICC award emerged. During the arbitration, Adesanya said the payment was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. However, reports on the tribunal’s findings said he did not provide documentary evidence supporting that explanation, including records of the underlying naira payment, exchange rate, instructions or the commercial purpose of the transaction.

IMPI also called for stronger safeguards in the negotiation and award of major infrastructure contracts, particularly where transactions involve public officials, contractors and their associates.

The organisation said the Mambilla dispute provided an opportunity for the government to strengthen transparency mechanisms around large-scale infrastructure projects and reduce the possibility of similar questions arising in future.

It further urged anti-corruption and regulatory agencies to review relevant records and take whatever action may be warranted by the evidence and applicable laws.

The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, with a proposed capacity of 3,960 megawatts, has been at the centre of a longstanding contractual dispute between the Federal Government and Sunrise Power. The ICC tribunal recently rejected Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse the Federal Government for most of its legal costs.