APC calls on Atiku to withdraw from Nigeria’s elections — Premium Times Nigeria
In Nigeria, the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential election. The council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, said in Abuja that the APC considers arbitration materials concerning the Mambilla hydropower project to be grounds for this.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the case was heard by an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris. The dispute concerned the suspended project in Taraba State and a claim by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd. and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, against the federal government of Nigeria.
Payment to Atiku’s former wife
The tribunal dismissed Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse the country for 75% of its legal fees and expenses. The APC campaign council drew attention to a $500,000 transfer that Adesanya made to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, on January 30, 2003.
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According to tribunal materials, the money reached Douglas’s account at Citibank in the United States through the offshore company China Castle Investments Ltd., controlled by Adesanya. The APC claims that the payment was connected to the subsequent award to Sunrise of a build-operate-transfer contract under the Mambilla project.
Positions of the parties
According to the publication, the tribunal noted the temporal proximity between the payment on January 30, 2003, and the alleged award of the contract on May 22 of the same year. At the same time, Adesanya explained the transfer as a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. Reports on the arbitration decision state that this explanation was not supported by documents, including naira payment records or instructions from Atiku or his aides.
At the same time, the arbitration did not find that the former vice president received a bribe. The APC, however, interprets these circumstances as evidence that Atiku acted against Nigeria’s interests. The council also stated that the 2003 contract was not approved by the Federal Executive Council and resulted in substantial financial claims against the country. Atiku has previously denied any wrongdoing related to corruption allegations concerning this payment and related matters.
