Fresh Bribery Allegation: Atiku Urged To Withdraw From 2027 Presidential Race
By Sunday Etuka
The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, alleging that proceedings at an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris revealed his involvement in a corrupt contract linked to the stalled 3,960 megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
In a statement issued by the Spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, the party alleged that hearings in the arbitration filed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd and Leno Adesanya showed that Atiku, working with former Power Minister Olu Agunloye, signed an improper power contract with Sunrise in the dying days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term, when Atiku served as Vice President.
According to the statement, the contract was signed despite objections and reservations raised by President Obasanjo at a Federal Executive Council meeting.
It alleged that months after the signing, Leno Adesanya, through an offshore entity known as China Castle Investment, wired $500,000 in tranches to a US Citibank account belonging to Atiku’s now divorced wife, Jennifer Douglas, a transaction the campaign said raised red flags with US banking authorities.
The statement referenced a US Senate investigation into corruption involving foreign officials, titled “Keeping Foreign Corruption out of the United States: Four Case Histories,” which it said examined the wired funds along with other suspicious transfers totalling $40 million.
It said Douglas had told investigators the money came from her husband, while stating she was unfamiliar with the offshore company involved.
The APC campaign said the dispute traces back to Nigeria’s decision not to proceed with the contract, which led Sunrise and Adesanya to pursue a $680 million claim against the Federal Government, in addition to a separate arbitration claim exceeding $2.7 billion in compensation and interest related to the broader Mambilla project.
Citing the ICC Paris Tribunal, the statement quoted the panel as noting “a close connection in time” between the $500,000 payment to Abubakar’s wife on January 30, 2003, and the alleged award of the Build Operate Transfer contract to Sunrise on May 22, 2003.
The campaign compared the case to an earlier controversial claim by Process and Industrial Development (P&ID), which had sought $11 billion from Nigeria over a gas project in Akwa Ibom State that was never executed.
The statement further alleged that Atiku did not appear before the tribunal to testify, unlike former Presidents Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, who it said travelled to Paris to defend Nigeria’s position. It claimed Adesanya maintained in his testimony that the $500,000 was a foreign exchange transaction.
The APC campaign also cited remarks from Obasanjo’s memoir, “My Watch,” in which the former president wrote critically of Atiku’s character and conduct, alleging a pattern of poor judgment and lack of transparency.
Based on these allegations, the campaign called on Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race, describing the $500,000 payment as part of broader claims of corruption it said would continue to emerge.
It also argued that residents of Taraba State should note Atiku’s alleged role in delaying the Mambilla project, which it said would have delivered significant economic benefits to the state.
