President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday hailed Nigeria’s victory over Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited at an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris, declaring that the ruling has cleared the ‘single biggest legal hurdle’ that paralysed the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project for years.
Tinubu was reacting to an award in favour of Nigeria in the long-running arbitration arising from disputes surrounding the development of the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
Sunrise had demanded $680 million as a settlement sum and interest in relation to another arbitration in which it claimed more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over the project.
The President described the outcome as an affirmation of Nigeria’s resolve not to succumb to what he called ‘predatory and exploitative claims’ against the country’s resources.
‘Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,’ Tinubu said in a statement he personally issued.
‘This latest decision affirms the Nigerian State’s determination not to succumb to predatory and exploitative claims by corrupt local and international entities and their enablers and funders’, he added.
The dispute has its roots in events dating back more than two decades.
In May 2003, then Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, issued Sunrise a preliminary letter of award relating to the development of the Mambilla hydropower project under a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement.
The Federal Government’s position, subsequently maintained in the arbitration and related proceedings, was that neither then President Olusegun Obasanjo nor the Federal Executive Council approved the purported award.
Evidence subsequently presented in the ongoing criminal proceedings involving Agunloye also indicated that the Federal Executive Council did not approve the contract at its May 21, 2003 meeting. Agunloye has denied wrongdoing in relation to the contract.
After the government subsequently retendered the project and awarded it to another contractor in 2007, Sunrise commenced litigation against Nigeria, seeking to stop the development of the project without its involvement or, alternatively, obtain damages.
In 2012, the Federal Ministry of Power entered into a General Project Execution Agreement with Sunrise and Sinohydro as efforts were made to resolve the dispute and facilitate the project.
Another contract for the project was awarded in 2017 to a consortium of Chinese companies, excluding Sunrise, prompting the company to institute arbitration proceedings at the ICC.
The dispute subsequently became one of Nigeria’s most consequential international commercial arbitration cases and contributed to prolonged uncertainty around the execution of the hydropower project.
Attempts were made to resolve the matter through settlement, culminating in Terms of Settlement in January 2020 and an addendum in March of that year.
The Federal Government subsequently maintained that the agreements did not receive the approvals required to become binding.
Against that background, Tinubu said Thursday’s ruling represented a major breakthrough in the government’s efforts to disentangle the Mambilla project from years of legal complications.
The President, however, assured genuine investors that Nigeria remained committed to honouring its legitimate legal obligations and partnering with credible local and foreign businesses.
‘I want to assure you that while our country remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring its legal obligations, it will continue to defend all opportunistic claims instituted against our commonwealth strongly’, he said.
Tinubu commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and the Federal Ministry of Justice team for their handling of the arbitration.
He also praised Nigeria’s defence team, led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP, for what he described as their professional and excellent defence of the country.
The President particularly acknowledged former President Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari for testifying in the arbitration.
‘I commend the patriotism and support of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, and late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who testified in the case, which dated back to an illegal 2003 contract to build a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer model. The Federal Executive Council never authorised the contract,’ Tinubu said.
Obasanjo had publicly maintained that he never approved the award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise, saying he only directed that the proposal be presented to the Federal Executive Council for consideration. His position subsequently formed part of the Federal Government’s defence in the arbitration.
Sunrise and parties associated with the original contract have previously disputed the government’s account of events surrounding the project.
Tinubu also thanked former Ministers Babatunde Raji Fashola and Suleiman Adamu, as well as other witnesses and experts who participated in defending Nigeria’s interests during the proceedings.
He further commended the National Security Adviser for supporting the government’s efforts and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dispute.
The EFCC has separately prosecuted Agunloye over allegations relating to the award of the Mambilla contract. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the criminal proceedings are separate from the international arbitration.
The Mambilla project, conceived as one of Nigeria’s biggest power projects, has remained incomplete despite successive attempts by different administrations to revive it.
Its legal complications became sufficiently significant that the Federal Government cited the disputes in explaining why the project received no allocation in the Federal Ministry of Power’s proposed 2024 budget.
Tinubu said the latest arbitration victory should now remove a major impediment that had prevented the project from moving forward.
‘God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’ Tinubu concluded.