A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a former Minister of Power and Steel Development, Dr. Olu Agunloye, has told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, that neither former President Olusegun Obasanjo nor the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the controversial contract awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited for the Mambilla Power Project.
Testifying before Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie on Monday, June 16, 2025, the third prosecution witness (PW3), Umar Babangida, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said the award of the contract by Agunloye in May 2003 was unauthorised and violated express presidential directives.
According to Babangida, a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a letter written by former President Obasanjo to the Attorney General of the Federation on November 27, 2023, confirmed that Obasanjo did not give approval for the contract.
The letter, obtained by the EFCC and presented in court, stated that the former president only directed the then minister to submit the memorandum to the FEC for deliberation, but no approval was granted during the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003.
“The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who presided over the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, wrote that he did not give approval to the Minister of Power and Steel to award the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited,” Babangida testified.
The witness further told the court that the EFCC team met with former President Obasanjo on February 7, 2024, during which he reiterated, both orally and in writing, that he neither approved nor authorised the contract.
Obasanjo reportedly told investigators that the minister was directed to withdraw his memorandum from the FEC and explore competitive bidding for the hydro-power project.
Despite this directive, Babangida said, Agunloye went ahead to award the multi-billion dollar contract to Sunrise Power just 24 hours later, on May 22, 2003, without the necessary approvals.
“The defendant, who was then Minister of Power and Steel, defied a clear directive to withdraw the memorandum and open up the bidding process. Instead, he awarded the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without authorization from the President or the FEC,” the EFCC investigator stated.
Babangida also informed the court that financial investigations revealed suspicious inflows into Agunloye’s accounts.
According to him, the former minister received millions of naira from one Shotire Jide Abiodun, a representative of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
Dr. Agunloye is currently standing trial on a seven-count charge brought against him by the EFCC, bordering on the fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption to the tune of $6 billion. The case continues.
