Mambilla: IMPI seeks review of $500,000 transaction

Group urges authorities to examine financial records cited in ICC arbitration By Joseph Erunke, Abuja ABUJA — The Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI, has called for further examination of a $500,000 transaction referenced in the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, arbitration proceedings over the long-running dispute surrounding Nigeria’s Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, the group said the transaction, which featured in the ICC tribunal’s final award, warranted further clarification by relevant Nigerian authorities.

According to the group, the payment was made on January 30, 2003, through China Castle Investments Limited, a company controlled by Sunrise Power promoter Leno Adesanya, to a United States bank account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, who was then married to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. The transaction was made about four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a Build, Operate and Transfer, BOT, contract for the Mambilla project. The details were examined by the three-member ICC tribunal in its final award. IMPI said the timing of the payment and questions surrounding the documentation supporting the transaction warranted closer institutional examination. The group, however, acknowledged that the ICC proceedings were arbitration proceedings and did not amount to a criminal trial or establish a criminal conviction against Atiku. It said its concern was primarily to ensure that financial transactions connected to major public infrastructure projects were properly documented and subjected to appropriate regulatory scrutiny. Akinsiju urged relevant authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the transaction, including its source, purpose,…