The All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council has said the recent ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Tribunal in Paris reinforces its claim that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is not fit to lead Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Friday, the council alleged that evidence presented during the arbitration over the long-running Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project linked Atiku to the controversial award of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd.
According to the APC Campaign Council, the tribunal proceedings revealed an alleged connection between a $500,000 payment made to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s former wife, and the award of the contract in 2003.
The council claimed that the contract was signed despite objections reportedly raised by then President Olusegun Obasanjo during a Federal Executive Council meeting, alleging that Atiku, who was Vice President at the time, used his influence to push through the agreement.
The statement further alleged that the payment formed part of issues previously highlighted in a United States Senate investigation into alleged suspicious financial transactions involving Atiku and other public officials.
Quoting the ICC tribunal, the APC Campaign Council said: “There is a close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made to the wife of Vice-President Abubakar on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003.”
The council argued that Nigeria was exposed to significant financial risks after Sunrise initiated arbitration proceedings over the project, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation, with related claims reportedly running into billions of dollars.
It also compared the Mambilla dispute with the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) case, in which Nigeria successfully challenged an arbitration award that had initially exposed the country to an estimated $11 billion liability.
The APC Campaign Council further alleged that Atiku failed to appear before the Paris tribunal to testify in support of Sunrise’s position that the $500,000 payment was a foreign exchange transaction.
According to the statement, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari appeared before the tribunal to defend Nigeria’s interests in the arbitration.
The council maintained that the tribunal proceedings raise serious concerns about Atiku’s suitability for the nation’s highest office.