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MAMBILLA POWER PLANT: EX-MINISTER ACCUSES FORMER PRESIDENT OBASANJO OF SPREADING FALSEHOODS
A former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of deliberately spreading falsehoods to obscure his own record regarding the Mambilla power project.
Agunloye, who was accused of a six-billion-dollar Mambilla Hydroelectric plant fraud, had earlier sought the intervention of the Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and other personalities over the matter.
Agunloye, who is the National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), is facing a seven-count charge brought by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court over the contract.
Our correspondent learned that Agunloye served as Minister of Power and Steel between 2002 and 2003 under Obasanjo., who ruled Nigeria as civilian president between 1999 and 2007.
The former minister had, however, accused his former principal of deliberately spreading falsehoods to obscure his own record regarding the Mambilla power project.
Agunloye, in a statement on Friday, alleged that the government seeks to use him as a scapegoat to portray systemic corruption to the arbitration panel.
He added that his challenges stem from personal conflicts between President Obasanjo and two of his associates: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Leno Adesanya, the owner of Sunrise Power Company.
Speaking further, he maintained that Obasanjo feigned ignorance of the BOT contract during his presidency and later distorted the facts in public and judicial settings.
“The government seeks to use me as a scapegoat to portray systemic corruption to the arbitration panel and undermine Sunrise’s claims. Challenges stem from personal conflicts between President Obasanjo and two of his associates: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Leno Adesanya, owner of Sunrise Power Company.
“Obasanjo feigned ignorance of the BOT contract during his presidency and later distorted the facts in public and judicial settings.
“The arbitration in France arose from actions taken by successive administrations, particularly under President Buhari. In 2017, then-Minister of Power Babatunde Fashola bypassed a 2012 agreement signed under President Goodluck Jonathan with Sunrise and awarded the contract to another company.
“Despite advice from the Chinese government to resolve the dispute amicably, the FGN failed to honor two settlement agreements, leading Sunrise to return to arbitration.
“The government is spreading misinformation and using me as a pawn to divert attention from the actions of its own officials and four former presidents who handled the project over two decades.”
