By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has asked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over allegations arising from the stalled Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
The council made the demand in a statement signed by its spokesman, Dele Alake, in Abuja on Friday, 18 September, 2026, citing proceedings before an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris over the proposed 3,960-megawatt project.
The arbitration involved Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, its promoter, Leno Adesanya, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The controversy centres on a $500,000 payment made by Adesanya to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, on January 30, 2003, through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company controlled by Adesanya.
According to reports on the tribunal proceedings, Adesanya acknowledged making the payment but told the tribunal that it was a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku and was unrelated to the Mambilla project.
The tribunal found that the explanation was not supported by documentary evidence showing the underlying naira payment, exchange rate, instructions or commercial purpose of the transaction.
The APC PCC alleged that the payment was connected to the award of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract to Sunrise for the Mambilla project.
It alleged that Atiku, who was Vice-President at the time, and former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, worked together to facilitate the contract despite objections and reservations reportedly raised by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at a Federal Executive Council meeting.
The council further pointed to the timing of the payment and the subsequent award of the contract, citing the tribunal’s observation that there was a “close connection in time” between the $500,000 transfer on January 30, 2003, and the alleged award of the Sunrise BOT contract on May 22, 2003.
The council also linked the transaction to a United States Senate investigation into foreign corruption involving Atiku and other individuals.
It said the investigation, contained in a report titled Keeping Foreign Corruption out of the United States: Four Case Histories, examined suspicious transfers totalling about $40 million.
According to the council, Douglas told investigators that her husband sent the money to her account but denied knowing the offshore company through which the funds were transferred.
The APC council alleged that after the Federal Government declined to proceed with the disputed contract, Sunrise and Adesanya instituted arbitration proceedings against Nigeria, including a claim for $680 million in settlement and interest and another claim exceeding $2.7 billion in compensation and interest.
The council compared the dispute with the Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) case, in which Nigeria faced a multibillion-dollar claim arising from a gas project.
It also criticised the proposed award of the Mambilla BOT contract to Sunrise, alleging that the company lacked experience in hydroelectric power generation.
The council further accused Atiku of not participating in the Paris proceedings as a witness, while alleging that Adesanya sought to explain the $500,000 payment as a foreign-exchange transaction.
It contrasted this with the participation of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, whom it said travelled to Paris to defend Nigeria’s interests in the dispute.
The statement also cited criticisms of Atiku contained in Obasanjo’s book, My Watch, including references to alleged corruption, disloyalty, poor judgment and placing personal interests above national interest.
The APC PCC subsequently called on Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race, arguing that the allegations surrounding the Mambilla project raised questions about his record.
It further blamed Atiku for the prolonged delay in the project and alleged that its stalled development had deprived Taraba State and Nigeria of potential economic benefits.
The allegations and political conclusions in the statement were made by the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Reports of the ICC proceedings also show that the tribunal examined the $500,000 payment and rejected Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria; the proceedings, however, should not be presented as a judicial finding that Atiku personally received a bribe.
