Fresh details emerged on Monday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja in the ongoing $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project trial, as an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator testified that key decisions on the project were taken before former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, assumed office.
Proceedings resumed at about 9:00 a.m. but the matter was not called until 11:00 a.m., with Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie limiting cross-examination to one hour.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness (PW3), Senior EFCC Investigation Officer Umar Babangida admitted under cross-examination that the recommendations leading to the award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company were based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the company, its partners and the Federal Government before Agunloye’s appointment as minister.
Babangida also told the court that former President Olusegun Obasanjo approved the details of the Mambilla contract prior to Agunloye’s assumption of office. He further confirmed that discussions on government equity participation in the project also predated Agunloye’s tenure, noting that while Agunloye and Sunrise initially proposed 35 per cent government participation, Obasanjo approved not more than 25 per cent before Agunloye became minister.
According to the EFCC witness, Agunloye’s role after assuming office was limited to presenting already agreed terms to the Federal Executive Council (FEC). He said Agunloye complied with presidential directives when he presented the memo on the project to the FEC.
When asked about cabinet support for the memo, Babangida initially said he did not know what “support” meant, but after being directed by the court to read from the EFCC’s tendered “Executive Conclusions” document, he confirmed that FEC members supported the memo.
The witness also disclosed that funds had already been appropriated for the project before the May
