By BONIFACE AKARAH

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has called on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over revelations surrounding a $500,000 payment made to his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, during negotiations over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The council made the call in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, following revelations from the final award of a three-member International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris over disputes arising from the Mambilla project. The tribunal rejected Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited’s claims against Nigeria, while its findings examined a $500,000 payment made by Sunrise promoter Leno Adesanya to Douglas in January 2003.

The APC Campaign Council accused Atiku of compromising Nigeria’s interests for personal and financial gain.

“Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress candidate, is unfit to be President of Nigeria because he has once again proven he will compromise Nigeria’s best interests for personal, fiduciary gain.

“Abubakar’s legendary corruption reverberated in Paris at the International Arbitration Tribunal under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Hearings in the arbitration filed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd (Sunrise) and Leno Adesanya over the stalled 3960mw Mambila Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State revealed that Abubakar and former power minister Olu Agunloye worked in cahoots to sign an illegal power contract with Sunrise,” the statement said.

According to the council, the contract was signed during the final days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term despite objections attributed to Obasanjo and the Federal Executive Council.

“The backdoor signing of the contract in the dying days of then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term, when Atiku wielded enormous power, put Nigeria in a serious financial peril, despite President Obasanjo’s objection and reservations at the Federal Executive Council meeting,” Alake said.

The council also linked the payment to Douglas with the Mambilla contract, alleging that the transaction raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the award.

“By collecting a $500,000 bribe from Leno Adesanya to approve a Build-Operate-Transfer contract to a company with no scintilla of experience in hydro power generation, Atiku has proven he is one of the enablers of local and international predatory and exploitative entities out to defraud our country,” the statement said.

The ICC award, however, did not find that Atiku personally received a bribe. According to reports based on the tribunal's final award, Adesanya acknowledged transferring the $500,000 to Douglas and maintained that it was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. The tribunal said it could not accept that explanation because there was no contemporaneous documentary or witness evidence from Atiku or Douglas supporting it.

The tribunal also examined the timing of the payment, which was made on January 30, 2003, less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded the Mambilla Build-Operate-Transfer contract.

The APC Campaign Council nevertheless called on Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race, describing the payment as part of what it alleged was a wider pattern of corruption.

“The APC Campaign calls on Abubakar Atiku to do himself a rare honour by bowing out of the presidential race, as the $500,000 bribe is just the tip of the iceberg of the revelations to come about his monumental corruption,” Alake said.

The council further criticised Atiku over the stalled Mambilla project, arguing that the proposed hydropower development would have generated significant economic benefits for Taraba State and the wider country.

“The people of Taraba State should also note that the ADC candidate, who plans to pull wool over our eyes and bamboozle his way to the presidency as a pro-petrol-subsidy candidate, is one of the people responsible for the stalled kick-off of what would have been the biggest hydro-power project in Nigeria, with many economic spin-offs for the people of the state,” the statement said.

The ICC tribunal ultimately rejected Sunrise Power’s claims against Nigeria in the arbitration concerning the Mambilla project. Reports on the award said the tribunal also ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for most of its legal costs.

The APC Campaign Council also referred to criticisms of Atiku contained in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s book, My Watch, as part of its argument against his presidential candidacy.

Atiku has previously denied wrongdoing in connection with the Mambilla matter. The latest ICC findings have renewed political arguments over the project and the $500,000 payment, with the APC using the disclosure to intensify its criticism of the ADC presidential candidate.