Presumes $ 6 billion dollars fraud of the project: Obasanjo did not approve the contract at the Sunrise Power Company, says witness – Thage

Agunloye

The Third ProsColution Witness, Pw3, Urar Babangida in The Trial of the Formers Minister of Power and Steel Development, Olu Agunloye, On Monday, June 16, 2025, Told Justice Jo Owuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, That former president OULUSEGUN Obasanjo and the Federal Executive Council, Fec, Did Not Grant Any Contract Approval to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, The Company That Lifted the contract of the Potenza Mambila project.

According to the witness, “the former president, chief OlushiGun Obasanjo, who chaired the FEC meeting of 23 May 2003, wrote to the Prosecutor General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice on November 27, 2023, where he provided the details of what happened at the FEC meeting and confirmed that he did not confirm the approval of federal minimum. And he received the response of said letter.

“We examined the CTC of the document in which the former president said he had received a memorandum from the former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye and minimized the document and directed the Minister of Power and Steel to present the Memo to the FEC for the resolution, but did not give the approval to the Minister for the contract prize and the approval was given to the FEC at 21 May, 2003.

Tirgarling further, he said: “In support of the response of the former President Obasanjo, on February 7, 2024, the investigative team met the former president in which he further informed the team that did not give the approval to the then Minister of Power to assign the contract to the power of Alba and the transmission company limited to writing the former president and signed.

“The former president told us that he did not give the approval to the then Minister of Power and Steel, that the Minister was directed by the FEC meeting on May 21, 2003 to withdraw his Memorandum; that the letter issued on May 22, 2003, by the then Minister, assigning the contract to the power of Alba and the Limited transmission company was not pleased by the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he said.

The witness also informed the Court who, despite a presidential directive to the defendant to withdraw and cancel the Memorandum of understanding, the produced formulated with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and opened the space for a more competitive offer for the Mambilla Hydrower project, produced the Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited project, after the board.

“The defendant who was the then minister of power and steel was aimed at collecting his memorandum and inviting multiple investors for the Potenza Mambilla project, but 24 hours later, on May 22, 2003, he assigned 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”, said.

Agunloye is facing a judicial proceeding by the Commission for economic and financial crimes, EFCC, on charges of seven counts, at the limit of the fraudulent prize of the contract and official corruption for an amount of $ 6 billion (six billion dollars).

The witness, an Investigator of the FCC, also informed the court that his team while examining the financial registers of the former minister discovered he had received money, running in millions of Naira from a Shoire Jide inhabita of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.

“We examined the financial registers of the defendant, Olu Agunloye and we discovered that we had managed several bank accounts. We have discovered in particular an account in Guaranty Trust Bank where on August 10, 2019, he received the sum of N3, 600,000 (three million, six hundred thousand Naira) through a transfer through the account of a shot by Jide Abiedun. Even on October 22, he received the sum of N500 (five hundred Naira) through a transfer of Naira) through five hundred hundred nunderfolds from the report of the SHOire Jide inhabitants itself and on November 13, 2019, he received another payment of N1.121.000 (one million, one hundred and twenty thousand Naira) from the same Shoire Jide inhabedun, “he said.

He revealed under the guidance of the accusation consultant, Abba Muhammed, in San that inhabitu is a personal assistant of Leno Lainesi Adesanya and director of the Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, owned by Adesanya.

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