Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • ‘We’re Fighting Poverty, Not Wars’, Shettima Reasserts Nigeria’s Position On Nuclear Test Ban
    • PDP BoT Member, Adamu Waziri, Defects To ADC
    • Governor Mbah Unveils State-Owned Airline, Enugu Air
    • ADC Website Crashes Thrice In 48 Hours Amid Surge For Membership
    • BRICS: Tinubu Seeks Review Of Global Governance Structure, Others
    • Ex-Vp Sambo Commends Governor Yusuf For Declaring State Of Emergency On Kano’s Education
    • Nigeria Faces New Economic Storm As Trump Hits BRICS Nations With 10% Tariff Increase
    • Olubadan Oba Olakulehin Dies 48 Hours After 90th Birthday
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    NEWS POINT NIGERIANEWS POINT NIGERIA
    UBA 720X90
    • HOME
    • NEWS

      ‘We’re Fighting Poverty, Not Wars’, Shettima Reasserts Nigeria’s Position On Nuclear Test Ban

      July 7, 2025

      PDP BoT Member, Adamu Waziri, Defects To ADC

      July 7, 2025

      Governor Mbah Unveils State-Owned Airline, Enugu Air

      July 7, 2025

      ADC Website Crashes Thrice In 48 Hours Amid Surge For Membership

      July 7, 2025

      BRICS: Tinubu Seeks Review Of Global Governance Structure, Others

      July 7, 2025
    • COLUMN

      There Is Pain Behind That Smile. Just Do Your Bit – By Dr Hassan Gimba

      July 6, 2025

      What Can Nigeria Learn From China’s Electricity Revolution? – By Dr Dakuku Peterside

      July 6, 2025

      Amaechi: Nigerian Politicians And Doublespeak – By Kazeem Akintunde

      July 6, 2025

      Remembering ‘Watergate Scandal’ And Danger Of Crippling Opposition – By Martins Oloja

      July 6, 2025

      Don’t Kill Yourself Because He’s Cheating – By Funke Egbemode

      July 6, 2025
    • EDUCATION

      13 Countries Offering Free Or Low-Cost PhD Programmes For Non-Citizens

      January 25, 2025

      NECO: Abia, Imo Top Performing States In Two Years, Katsina, Zamfara Come Last

      October 3, 2024

      NBTE Accredits 17 Programmes At Federal Polytechnic Kabo

      August 20, 2024

      15 Most Expensive Universities In Nigeria

      May 19, 2024

      FULL LIST: Tinubu Appoints Former SGF Yayale, Ex-Governor Yuguda, Muhammad Abacha, Jega In Universities’ Governing Councils

      May 18, 2024
    • INTERNATIONAL

      Israeli Army Targets Gaza City With Heavy Strikes, Killing 39

      July 6, 2025

      French Intelligence Claims China Trying To Foil Global Sale Of Rafale Jets

      July 6, 2025

      Israel Sending Negotiating Team To Qatar For Gaza Ceasefire Talks

      July 6, 2025

      Texas Flood Kills 24 As Rescuers Search For Children Missing From Girls’ Camp

      July 6, 2025

      UN Says 613 Gaza Killings Recorded At Aid Sites, Near Humanitarian Convoys

      July 5, 2025
    • JUDICIARY

      FULL LIST: Judicial Council Recommends Appointment Of 11 Supreme Court Justices

      December 6, 2023

      Supreme Court: Judicial Council Screens 22 Nominees, Candidates Face DSS, Others

      November 29, 2023

      FULL LIST: Judicial Commission Nominates 22 Justices For Elevation To Supreme Court

      November 16, 2023

      Seven Key Issues Resolved By Seven Supreme Court Judges

      October 26, 2023

      FULL LIST: CJN To Swear In Falana’s Wife, 57 Others As SANs November 27

      October 12, 2023
    • POLITICS

      What Peter Obi May Lose If He Joins Coalition As VP Candidate

      May 25, 2025

      Atiku Moves To Unseat Wike’s Damagum As PDP Chairman, Backs Suswam As Replacement

      April 15, 2024

      Edo’s Senator Matthew Uroghide, Others Defect To APC

      April 13, 2024

      Finally, Wike Opens Up On Rift With Peter Odili

      April 2, 2024

      El-Rufa’i’s Debt Burden: APC Suspends Women Leader For Criticising Kaduna Gov

      March 31, 2024
    • SPORTS

      THROWBACK: How I Became Known As Dodo Mayana – Peter Rufai

      July 6, 2025

      Zubimendi Joined Gunners For £60m – How Arsenal Signed Arteta’s ‘Obsession’

      July 6, 2025

      Best Of African Women’s Football On Display As WAFCON Kicks Off

      July 6, 2025

      Mbappe Scores As Real Madrid Beat Dortmund To Set-Up PSG Semi-Final

      July 6, 2025

      Super Eagles’ Captain, Ahmed Musa Named General Manager Of Kano Pillars

      July 5, 2025
    • MORE
      • AFRICA
      • ANALYSIS
      • BUSINESS
      • ENTERTAINMENT
      • FEATURED
      • LENS SPEAK
      • INFO – TECH
      • INTERVIEW
      • NIGERIA DECIDES
      • OPINION
      • Personality Profile
      • Picture of the month
      • Science
      • Special Project
      • Videos
      • Weekend Sports
    NEWS POINT NIGERIANEWS POINT NIGERIA
    UBA 720X90
    Home - Inside Details Of The $6bn Mambilla Power Project Dispute

    Inside Details Of The $6bn Mambilla Power Project Dispute

    By Sadiq MuhammadJanuary 20, 2025
    Mambilla Power Project

    IN a saga that has left Nigeria’s energy sector grappling with uncertainty, the long-running legal dispute surrounding the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project continues to threaten the nation’s energy future, keeping millions of Nigerians in the dark.

    The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, located in the Taraba State region of Nigeria, is envisioned as a key piece in the country’s energy future. Once completed, it is expected to generate 3,050 megawatts of electricity, making it one of the largest power plants in Africa.

    For context, it was potentially the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa before Ethiopia’s more recent Grand Renaissance Dam of 6,450MW.

    UBA

    However, more than two decades since its inception, the project has been bogged down by endless delays, funding issues, and most notably, a bitter legal dispute that has paralyzed its progress.

    The journey of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power project began in 2003 when the Federal Government of Nigeria, following an international bidding process, awarded a $6 billion Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) contract to Sunrise and its consortium of Chinese partners. With the project now on the horizon, the Sunrise consortium secured a loan of $5.5 billion from the China Eximbank in 2005 to fund the venture.

    WIDGET ADS

    However, in 2007, the Federal Government annulled the original contract and instead entered into a $1.46 billion civil works agreement with the Chinese firm China Gezhouba Group Corporation/China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGGC/CGC). This decision was made in direct violation of the existing BOT contract with Sunrise.

    In response, Sunrise initiated multiple legal actions to challenge the termination of the contract, which resulted in a drawn-out 14-year delay, preventing the new contractor from moving forward with the project. In November 2007, Sunrise filed a formal petition with President Umaru Yar’Adua, and, by 2009, the $1.46 billion EPC contract was rescinded.

    Thomas Sankara African Leadership Prize

    A breakthrough came on November 23, 2012, when the Nigerian government signed a General Project Execution Agreement (GOEA) with Sunrise and its Chinese consortium partners, authorizing them to proceed with the Mambilla project.

    Despite this, the Federal Government, on November 12, 2017, entered into a separate $5.8 billion EPC contract with another Chinese consortium. This move took place despite multiple written cautions from the Attorney-General of the Federation in 2016 and 2017, advising the Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing to honor the GOEA agreement with Sunrise.

    Nigerian TAX Reform - Federal Goverment

    In 2018, Sunrise took the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), seeking $2.3 billion in damages from both the Federal Government and the Sinohydro Consortium.

    After intervention by the Chinese government, a special envoy was sent to former President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2019. This led to a settlement agreement between the Nigerian government and Sunrise in January 2020. However, this agreement was conditioned on approval from the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria and the Chairman of China Eximbank, as it was tied to future project financing. Unfortunately, the Federal Government failed to honor the terms.

    To demonstrate goodwill, Sunrise withdrew its $500 million arbitration claim in September 2021, on the condition that the Federal Government make a financial commitment to the project and recognize Sunrise as the exclusive local content partner.

    National Orientation Agency Page UP
    National Orientation Agency - Down

    Yet, the Federal Government again failed to meet its financial obligations, including payments to the EPC contractors and contributions to the counterpart funds for China Eximbank. On October 13, 2022, the ICC ruled once more against the Nigerian government, dismissing its objections.

    In 2023, as the matter remained before the ICC, the Nigerian government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), levelled accusations of fraud in relation to the Mambilla Power project.

    Specifically, the EFCC alleged that Olu Agunloye, the former Minister of Power and Steel, awarded the initial $6 billion contract to Sunrise on May 22, 2003, without securing budgetary provisions, formal approvals, or the necessary financial backing.

    Additionally, Agunloye was accused of accepting a bribe of N3.6 million on August 10, 2019, from Sunrise and its Chairman, Leno Adesanya, as a kickback for the contract.

    In 2023, former president Olusegun Obasanjo challenged his former minister of power, Olu Agunloye, to tell Nigerians where he derived the authority to award the contract to Sunrise in 2003.

    “When I was president, no minister had the power to approve more than N25 million without express presidential consent. It was impossible for Agunloye to commit my government to a $6 billion project without my permission and I did not give him any permission,” Obasanjo said.

    “If a commission of inquiry is set up today to investigate the matter, I am ready to testify. I do not even need to testify because all the records are there. I never approved it.

    “When he presented his memo to the federal executive council (on May 21, 2003), I was surprised because he had previously discussed it with me and I had told him to jettison the idea, that I had other ideas on how the power sector would be restructured and funded.

    “I told him as much at the council meeting and directed him to step down the memo. I find it surprising that Agunloye is now claiming he acted on behalf of Nigeria. If I knew he issued such a letter to Sunrise, I would have sacked him as minister during my second term. He would not have spent a day longer in office.”

    This newspaper’s findings showed Buhari is expected to appear in court on Monday to testify in international arbitration over breaches of the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project contract.

    Obasanjo is also in France to give his testimony.

    Buhari Mambilla Power Project Obasanjo
    Share. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp LinkedIn Telegram Email

    Related Posts

    ‘We’re Fighting Poverty, Not Wars’, Shettima Reasserts Nigeria’s Position On Nuclear Test Ban

    July 7, 2025

    PDP BoT Member, Adamu Waziri, Defects To ADC

    July 7, 2025

    Governor Mbah Unveils State-Owned Airline, Enugu Air

    July 7, 2025

    ADC Website Crashes Thrice In 48 Hours Amid Surge For Membership

    July 7, 2025
    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Latest Posts

    ‘We’re Fighting Poverty, Not Wars’, Shettima Reasserts Nigeria’s Position On Nuclear Test Ban

    July 7, 2025

    PDP BoT Member, Adamu Waziri, Defects To ADC

    July 7, 2025

    Governor Mbah Unveils State-Owned Airline, Enugu Air

    July 7, 2025

    ADC Website Crashes Thrice In 48 Hours Amid Surge For Membership

    July 7, 2025

    BRICS: Tinubu Seeks Review Of Global Governance Structure, Others

    July 7, 2025
    Advertisement
    WIDGET ADS
    News Point NG
    © 2025 NEWS POINT NIGERIA Developed by ENGRMKS & CO.
    • Home
    • About us
    • Disclaimer
    • Our Advert Rates
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Join Us On WhatsApp