TD ABUJA, FCT — The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
The call followed disclosures arising from an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration over the long-running Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The APC council made the demand in a statement signed by its spokesman, Dele Alake, on Friday, September 18, 2026.
The council accused Atiku of compromising Nigeria’s interests in connection with the disputed 2003 contract and described him as “unfit” for the presidency.
The characterization is the APC campaign council’s political position, rather than a finding by the ICC tribunal.
ICC tribunal rejects Sunrise Power claims
The controversy follows a ruling by a three-member ICC arbitration tribunal in Paris in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The tribunal rejected claims brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited relating to the proposed 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
Sunrise had sought $680 million in settlement and interest in one arbitration, while a related claim involved more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over disputes surrounding the project.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for a substantial portion of its legal costs.
Reports based on the final award put the reimbursement at about $11.82 million, representing 75 percent of Nigeria’s legal expenses.
President Bola Tinubu described the ruling as clearing a major legal obstacle that had delayed the Mambilla project for years.
$500,000 payment to Atiku’s former wife examined
A central issue highlighted by the APC concerns a $500,000 payment made on January 30, 2003, by Adesanya through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company he controlled.
The payment was made to a Citibank account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, who was then married to Atiku.
The payment occurred roughly two weeks after Sunrise presented its tender for the Mambilla project and less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract.
Adesanya told the tribunal that the payment was a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku.
He said that dollars had been purchased with naira and transferred to Douglas’s account.
However, the tribunal found that the explanation was not supported by sufficient documentary evidence.
According to TheCable’s review of the award, Adesanya did not produce documentation showing the underlying naira payment, exchange rate, instructions from Atiku or his aides, correspondence concerning the transaction or another record establishing its commercial purpose.
The tribunal also noted that neither Atiku nor Douglas gave evidence in the arbitration and that no witness statement from either was submitted to corroborate the foreign-exchange explanation.
Importantly, the tribunal’s findings do not amount to a finding that Atiku personally received a bribe.
The payment was made to Douglas’s account, and the tribunal examined the credibility of Adesanya’s explanation in the context of the arbitration.
Atiku was not a party to the arbitration and did not testify.
Tribunal examined timing of payment and contract
The APC campaign council placed particular emphasis on the proximity between the payment and the purported contract award.
According to the council, the tribunal observed a “close connection in time” between the January 30, 2003 payment to Douglas and the May 22, 2003 purported award of the BOT contract to Sunrise.
The tribunal’s broader examination found that Atiku had been directly involved in discussions concerning Mambilla from at least 2001, including meetings with Sunrise and its Chinese partner and a 2002 Nigerian delegation to China.
TheCable reported that the tribunal concluded Atiku possessed a considerable degree of political power and influence within the federal government during the first half of 2003.
However, its report also noted that the tribunal did not establish that Atiku personally directed the $500,000 transfer.
Dispute over whether Mambilla contract was authorised
The arbitration also examined the circumstances surrounding the purported May 22, 2003 award.
According to the tribunal record reviewed by TheCable, a technical committee recommended Sunrise for the 3,960MW project after assessing competing proposals.
Then-Power Minister Olu Agunloye subsequently submitted a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council on May 15, 2003. The matter was considered at the council’s May 21 meeting.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s position was that the council did not approve the contract and that he directed that the memorandum be withdrawn.
Sunrise, however, relied on a letter issued by Agunloye on May 22 as evidence that it had been awarded the project.
That disputed letter eventually became the basis for Sunrise’s arbitration claims against Nigeria.
APC alleges Atiku and Agunloye acted together
In its statement, the APC council alleged that Atiku and Agunloye worked together to facilitate the controversial contract despite objections from Obasanjo.
The council described the contract as illegal and argued that the episode exposed Nigeria to substantial financial liability.
These are allegations by the APC campaign council.
The ICC arbitration itself concerned contractual and financial disputes involving Sunrise, Adesanya and Nigeria; the tribunal’s rejection of Sunrise’s claims should not be presented as a criminal conviction or a judicial finding that Atiku committed bribery.
Atiku’s previous denial
Atiku has previously denied wrongdoing in relation to allegations surrounding Jennifer Douglas, offshore transfers and the wider corruption investigation involving former US Congressman William Jefferson.
TheCable reported that it contacted Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, and senior public communications aide Phrank Shaibu for comments on the latest disclosures.
At the time of its report, no response had been published.
APC asks Atiku to withdraw
The APC Campaign Council said the latest disclosures reinforced its argument that Atiku should not continue his presidential campaign.
Alake accused the former vice-president of placing personal interests above Nigeria’s national interest and called on him to withdraw from the 2027 contest.
The council also linked the Mambilla controversy to the project’s prolonged delay and argued that Taraba State had lost potential economic benefits from the stalled hydropower development.
The latest development has therefore transformed the conclusion of the long-running Mambilla arbitration into a fresh political controversy ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The APC is using the tribunal record to challenge Atiku’s political record while the available arbitration reporting does not establish a finding of personal bribery against him.
