By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Umar Babangida on Monday told Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, that former Minister of Power and Steel Development, Olu Agunloye defied instruction of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to award $6bn Mambila Project contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
Babangida spoke while giving testimony as the third prosecution witness, PW3, in the trial of Agunloye by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a seven-count charge, bordering on fraudulent award of the contract and official corruption to the tune of $6billion.
Babangida said the former President confirmed that neither he nor FEC approved the award of the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited by Agunloye.
According to the witness, “The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who presided over the FEC meeting of 23 May, 2003, wrote to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on 27 November, 2023 where he provided details of what happened at the FEC meeting and confirmed that he did not give approval to the then Minister of Power and Steel to award the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited. He thereafter wrote to the Federal Ministry of Justice, requesting for the Certified True Copy, CTC of the letter by Chief Obasanjo and received response of the said letter.
“We reviewed the CTC of the document where the former President stated that he received a memorandum from the former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye and he minuted on the document and directed the Minister of Power and Steel to submit the memo to FEC for deliberation, but he did not give approval to the minister for the award of the contract and neither was approval given at FEC on 21 May, 2003.
Testifying further, he said, “In furtherance of the response by the former President Obasanjo, on 7th February, 2024, the investigating team met with former President where he further informed the team that he did not give approval to the then Minister of Power to award the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited which the former President put in writing and signed. The former President told us that he did not give approval to the then Minister of Power and Steel, that the minister was directed by the FEC meeting on 21 May, 2003 to withdraw his memorandum; that the letter issued on 22 May, 2003, by the then minister, awarding the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited was not on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria”, he said.
The witness further informed the court that in spite of a presidential directive to the defendant to withdraw and nullify the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU he has formulated with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and open up the space for more competitive bidding for the Mambilla Hydro-power Project, he went ahead and yielded the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, 24 hours after the directive.
“The defendant who was the then Minister of Power and Steel was directed to withdraw his memorandum and invite more investors for the Mambilla Hydro Power Project but 24 hours after, on 22 May, 2003, he awarded the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without approval or authorization contrary to the directive of the President and the Federal Executive Council, FEC,” he said.
The witness, an investigator with the EFCC, also informed the court that his team while reviewing the financial records of the former minister discovered that he received money, running into millions of naira from one Shotire Jide Abiodun of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
“We reviewed the financial records of the defendant, Olu Agunloye and discovered that he operated several bank accounts. We particularly discovered an account in Guaranty Trust Bank where on 10 August, 2019, he received the sum of N3, 600, 000 (Three Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira) via a transfer from the account of one Shotire Jide Abiodun. Also, on 22 October, 2019, he received the sum of N500, 000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from the account of the same Shotire Jide Abiodun and on 13 November 2019, he received another payment of N1,121,000 (One Million, One Hundred and Twenty-one Thousand Naira) from the same Shotire Jide Abiodun”, he said.
He disclosed under the guidance of the prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammed, SAN that Abiodun is a personal assistant to Leno Laitan Adesanya and a director in Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, owned by Adesanya.
The court adjourned till June 18, 2025, for continuation of trial.
