In an alleged breach of contract case against the federal government over the Mambilla Power Project, former Nigerian Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari have presented a strong defense for Nigeria before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
A corporation called Sunrise Power filed a $2.3 billion arbitration suit against the federal government, alleging that the nation had failed to fulfill its end of the bargain.
However, Sunrise Power’s defense and attempts to win an award against Nigeria in the ICC arbitration proceedings may have been hampered by the absence of its witnesses at the current hearings in Paris.
Sources claim that Obasanjo and Buhari, who are renowned for speaking “forthrightly” and “unequivocally,” delighted the international team of Nigerian lawyers by demonstrating these traits in Paris, where the two former presidents performed remarkably well.
Based on the facts that have come to light from Paris, Nigeria had a pretty excellent outing, even though the chairman and other tribunal members will have to judge who is right or wrong.
Buhari testified on Thursday after Obasanjo on Wednesday. Although factual witness hearings took place from Monday, January 20, to Thursday, January 23, the panel’s sessions started on Saturday, January 18. Only expert opinions will be heard going forward, even though the sittings will extend until next week.
The sources added that the equally impressive testimonies of former ministers Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Minister of Power under Buhari’s government, and Engr. Sulaiman Adamu, the Minister of Water Resources, reinforced the excellent performance overall.
According to the sources, the parties to the arbitration would present their written arguments to the tribunal after expert witnesses were invited. Following that, a date will be set for these submissions to be adopted. The panel will then schedule a time to deliver its ruling. Arbitration sessions are governed by confidentiality restrictions, which are not meant to be widely publicized.
Sunrise, a business supported by Leno Adesanya, suffered a serious blow when its principal witnesses did not show up to take their statements, so abandoning and making their submissions moot. In 2003, the Sunrise contract was controversially handed to Olu Agunloye, the Minister of Power, barely one day after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) rejected it. Despite being listed as a witness, he never showed up.
Similarly, Michael Aondoakaa, a former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and another witness Sunrise mentioned, reportedly made a brief appearance in Paris before leaving for Nigeria without providing a statement. A Senegalese, a third important witness, did not show up either.
Additionally, Sunrise was hoping that Abubakar Malami, Buhari’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, would testify, but he was not called as a witness and instead lined up alongside his former employer (Buhari). attempted to contact Sunrise Power yesterday night by sending emails to the company’s addresses, but as of the time this report was filed, no answer was received.
The business alleges that the federal government broke a 2003 contract for the Mambilla Project, which was originally intended to be a “build, operate, and transfer” plan. The Buhari administration had hired Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese company, as the project’s Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor, according to then-Minister of Power, Works, and Housing Babatunde Fashola, who referred to Sunrise Power as a “middleman” in 2017.
Sunrise Power, however, filed a fresh claim for $400 million at the ICC, claiming the government had defaulted on the terms of the $200 million out-of-court settlement that was supposedly reached in 2020. For the updated $5.8 billion Mambilla Project, the business also requested to be reinstated as the local partner; it said that this need had been lifted during later discussions.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
