TheCable

Contrary to media reports, the International Court of Arbitration administered by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris, France, has not made any pronouncement on the case filed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) over the disputed contract for the $5.8 billion Mambilla hydro-electric power project.

TheCable can report that a tribunal is yet to be constituted to hear the arbitration.

Nigerian lawyers had written to ICC to inform them of some procedural aspects in view of the investigation of Sunrise and persons related to it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They asked ICC to direct Sunrise to disclose vital information about the ownership.

In its response, ICC said it had taken note of the issues raised by the lawyers but that they are best determined by the tribunal which is yet to be constituted, according to documents seen by TheCable.

ICC, which is an administrative body and is not responsible for the determination of the matter in dispute, said the tribunal should be constituted so that it can take a decision on the issues.

The body said its legal services department had conducted internal compliance verifications but has not found sufficient sensitive elements to prevent this arbitration from being administered by the ICC.

It also said such indications “do not constitute a legal opinion on the part of the ICC”, adding that it “endeavours” to comply with relevant and applicable compliance rules and regulations at all times “and will monitor this matter with the utmost vigilance”.

A Nigerian government official familiar with the development told TheCable that the letter to ICC was “purely procedural” in the event that the case finally goes before the tribunal.

Nigeria is trying to prove that the reported award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise in 2003 was illegal, inchoate and corrupt.

THE MAMBILLA DISPUTE

Sunrise, promoted by Leno Adesanya, had on October 10, 2017 taken Nigeria to arbitration for “breach of contract” in relation to a 2003 agreement to construct the 3,050MW plant in Mambilla, Taraba state, on a “build, operate and transfer” basis for $6 billion.

Nigerian authorities insist that the contract award was irregular and did not pass through due process while the EFCC has since opened investigations into the conduct of the government officials involved.

Olu Agunloye, the minister of power at the time, awarded the contract a day after the federal cabinet reportedly told him to step down his request for approval and explore other sources of funding for the project.

In his letter to Sunrise, he also listed pre-conditions for the contract to be consummated and none was met by the firm.

But Sunrise headed to court when a bid process for the civil works was announced by the government in 2007 and a series litigation has stalled the project.

To get the project off the ground, the federal government had attempted to settle the arbitration in 2020 with a compensation offer of $200 million but a lack of funds is believed to have truncated it.

The investigation of government officials by the anti-graft agency has also introduced a new dimension to the case.

In the P&ID arbitration, a fine rising up to $10 billion was awarded against Nigeria but there was some respite after the EFCC charged several officials involved in the failed gas processing agreement to court on allegations of corruption. Some have been convicted.