The Federal Government has secured victory in a nearly nine-year international arbitration dispute with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited over the delayed 1,500MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, avoiding potential claims of more than $3.38 billion.
The Mambilla project was initially designed as a 3,050MW hydroelectric facility in Taraba State. However, the government later scaled down the proposed capacity by about half to 1,525MW before further revising it to approximately 1,500MW in an effort to make the project financially viable and attractive to lenders.
President Bola Tinubu announced the outcome in a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, saying an International Arbitration Tribunal operating under the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris had ruled in favour of Nigeria and dismissed the claims brought by Sunrise Power.
President Bola Tinubu described it as a major victory for Nigeria and commended the country’s legal team for defending the government’s position.
“Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,” President Tinubu said.
According to him, the ruling affirmed Nigeria’s determination to resist what he described as “predatory and exploitative claims by corrupt local and international entities and their enablers and funders.”
The President lauded the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice for their efforts in the case.
He equally showered praise on Nigeria’s defence team, led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP, for their “professional and excellent defence” of the country.
Tinubu acknowledged former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who testified in the case, as well as former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu, and other witnesses and experts.
He stated that the dispute dates back to a 2003 contract for the construction of a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
“While our country remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring its legal obligations, it will continue to defend all opportunistic claims instituted against our commonwealth strongly,” he added.