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 is currently standing trial in Abuja for forgery, disobedience of a presidential order and corruption in respect of the power plant project.
His prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accused him of awarding a contract entitled “Construction of 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on Build, Operate and Transfer Basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, approval or cash backing.
The former minister in his own defence accused his erstwhile boss of distorting the facts with a view to obscuring his (Obasanjo’s) own role in the matter.
Agunloye said in a statement that he was a victim of personal conflicts between Obasanjo and “two of his associates: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Leno Adesanya, owner of Sunrise Power Company.
His words: “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 honour 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.”
Only last Thursday, the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja granted the request of EFCC to amend the charges it filed against Agunloye.
Agunloye is facing a seven-count charge of forgery, disobedience of a presidential order, and corruption in respect of the Mambilla power plant project.
According to the commission, Agunloye in May 2003 awarded a contract titled “Construction of 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on Build, Operate and Transfer Basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, approval, or cash backing.
It claimed to have traced suspicious payments made by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited to accounts linked to Agunloye.
Agunloye, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
