The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has asked Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race. This request is based on allegations arising from the long-running dispute surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. The APC council has raised concerns over a $500,000 payment made to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku's former wife, in January 2003.
According to Dele Alake, spokesman of the Council, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration proceedings in Paris had raised serious questions over the payment. The payment was made by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, through China Castle Investments Limited to Douglas's US Citibank account. This transaction occurred less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a Build-Operate-Transfer contract for the Mambilla project.
The APC campaign council alleged that the close timing between the payment and the contract award suggests a possible link between the two events. The council also accused Atiku of failing to appear before the tribunal to testify. Alake stated that the APC Campaign calls on Atiku Abubakar to do himself a rare honour by bowing out of the presidential race, as the $500,000 bribe is just the tip of the iceberg of the revelations to come.
Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the allegations, accusing the APC of distorting the tribunal's findings and turning evidence examined during arbitration into a corruption verdict against him. According to a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, the APC took a tribunal award, amputated its legal meaning, stuffed the gaps with political propaganda, and presented the result to Nigerians as a corruption verdict against him.
Atiku challenged the APC to identify where the final award found that he received a $500,000 bribe, manipulated the Mambilla contract, abused his office, or participated in a corrupt conspiracy. He emphasized that he did not sit on the procurement panel and did not award the contract. Atiku added that anyone alleging that he manipulated the process has a simple responsibility: show the instruction he gave, show the intervention he made, and show the paragraph of the tribunal award where that corrupt influence was found.
The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project has been a long-running dispute, with various parties involved. The project's Build-Operate-Transfer contract was awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited. However, the APC has raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the contract award, citing the $500,000 payment made to Atiku's former wife.
The development has brought the 2027 presidential election campaign to the forefront, with various parties taking different stances on the issue. The APC has urged Atiku to quit the presidential race, while Atiku has denied any wrongdoing and challenged the APC to provide evidence of his involvement in any corrupt activities.
Key points
- APC urges Atiku Abubakar to quit 2027 presidential race over Mambilla dispute
- Atiku denies wrongdoing, challenges APC to provide evidence
- $500,000 payment made to Atiku's former wife raises concerns over Mambilla contract award
