EFCC stalling progress on $6bn Mambilla Power Project,says minister

 

.As agency storms Abuja Bureaux de change offices, arrests suspects

 

The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu,says ongoing probe and litigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is Hampering work on the Mambilla Power Project.

 

The EFCC had commenced investigation into the $6 billion Mambilla Power Project following controversies surrounding the completion of the project.

 

Aliyu,who spoke on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power to defend the 2023 budget,said his Ministry has met with stakeholders and all issues of concern are currently being resolved adding that the issue of litigation on the Mambilla power project is hampering the project .

 

He added:”Regarding Mambilla, we have met with stakeholders and we are resolving the situation. It has something to do with litigation, there is nothing going on as regards moving to site by the contractor.

 

“EFCC has stepped into the matter and we have given them information about it, we have given them the history of the Power Project, our lawyers had interfaced with the anti-graft agency, and unless we are able to pull out of litigation, we can’t do anything.I don’t think the investor will bring their money where there is encumbrance.” the minister said.

 

The Chairman Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswan had earlier raised concern over the situation of the Mambilla Power Project.

 

He said that the project is a mirage as far as the National Assembly is concerned, adding that money has been budgeted year in year out and there is nothing on ground to show for it.

 

He added: “To us in the National Assembly, the Mambilla Power Project is mirage , there is nothing to show for it despite the money that has been provided year in , year out.It is clear that the Mambilla power project will not be able to start before the end of this administration.” he said.

 

The federal government had awarded a $6 billion- Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Co. Limited and its Chinese consortium partners on May 22, 2003.

 

Sunrise consortium had secured $5.5 billion in Chinese Eximbank loans in 2005, while the Nigerian government, on May 28, 2007, signed a $1.46 billion civil works contract with the Chinese firm, Messrs China Gezhouba Group Corporation/China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGGC/ CGC), in clear violation of Sunrise’s BOT contract.

 

In November 2007, Sunrise filed a petition to then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the $1.46 billion EPC contract was terminated in 2009.

 

Accordingly, the Nigerian government signed a General Project Execution Agreement (GOEA) with Sunrise and its Chinese consortium partners for the execution of the Mambilla hydropower project.

 

On November 12, 2017, the government signed a $5.8 billion EPC contract with another Chinese Consortium, despite numerous written warnings from the current Attorney-General of the Federation to the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in 2016 and 2017 to respect the GPEA contract with Sunrise. Sunrise resorted to arbitration against the Nigerian State and Sinohydro consortium of China in 2018, claiming $2.3 billion in damages.

 

Following the intervention of the Chinese president, who sent a special envoy to President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2019, Federal Government and Sunrise signed a settlement agreement in January 2020 and this settlement was advised to both the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria and Chairman of China Eximbank, who had made the settlement condition precedent to any loans for the project.

 

But the Federal Government defaulted. Sunrise, in September 2021, withdrew the $500 million settlement arbitration on the condition that the Federal Government makes a financial commitment towards the project and respects its right as the exclusive local content partner, but the Federal Government failed again to make any payments to the EPC contractors and/or the counterpart funds to China Eximbank.

 

While the Federal Government has been unable to defend its failure to honour its agreements to Sunrise, however, the government requested that the ICC should direct “that Sunrise produce certain information showing its true legal and beneficial ownership.”

 

Also, Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission raided the offices of black market currency dealers in Abuja on Tuesday,  arresting an unconfirmed number of suspects.

 

It was gathered that the officials, armed to the teeth, stormed the Sheraton Hotel area of Abuja to arrest some Bureaux De Change operators.

 

An eyewitness noted that the arrested suspects were dragged into waiting vehicles, as pedestrians trudged the scene.

 

During the week, the naira had depreciated further against the dollar at the parallel market as it exchanged for N880 per dollar as of Monday, October 31

 

This follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s announcement that the proposed newly-redesigned naira notes would be in circulation from December 15, 2022.

 

The Spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren could not confirm the operation when contacted.

“I will check and get back to you,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, the commission expresses concern about the rising spate of cyber-attacks on banks and the reluctance of the institutions to report such breaches to law enforcement.

 

While warning that such reticence would only embolden the criminals, the EFCC appeals to financial institutions to collaborate with it to secure the financial sector from threats of cyber-attacks.

The EFCC had in the wake of the recent announcement by the Central Bank Nigeria of plans to redesign and re-issue higher denominations of the naira, warned Bureau de Change operators to be wary of currency hoarders who would attempt to seize the opportunity to offload the currencies they had illegally stashed away.