Newsone Nigeria reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, after declaring him wanted over an alleged $6 billion fraud related to the controversial Mambilla hydropower project.
This online news platform understands that former Minister Agunloye served as minister during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration (1999-2003) and was at the centre of the Mambilla project controversy, which involved the award of a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd, was arrested on Monday, December 18, 2023, according to a statement by Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.
In the statement titled, “In pursuit of justice, productivity, under the rule of law,” Soyinka questioned why Former Minister Agunloye was arrested and detained by the EFCC after the former minister had issued a statement on his visibility and his readiness to comply with the agency after he was declared wanted.
The playwright said Former Minister Agunloye appeared at the EFCC office in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital the following day he was declared wanted and was promptly arrested and detained by the Nigerian ant-graft agency.
According to him, “Agunloye, as a dutiful citizen, issued a statement on his visibility and ready compliance. He promised to show up at the EFCC offices in Abuja the following day. He appeared, and was promptly arrested and detained. The information I have been able to obtain during the past two days of my return to the country is that the head of the EFCC declared that he would release him only on the instructions of the President of the nation.
“True or false? I am not in the game of “He said, I said. What matters is the murky exercise of power. I have had cause to intervene before this, all the way from Are, through Ribadu and Magu, that last until he stopped taking my calls. The present however transcends all other interventions, as it involves certain issues of national interest, in tandem with the evident issues of fundamental citizen rights.
“I wish to claim that finally, after many years of frustration, the nation was being offered an opportunity to put the Mambilla project to rest, be it through terminal abandonment or resuscitation, corralling its lessons in fulfilling one of the most basic conditions for national industrial development with private creative input – addressing frontally and holistically the basic question of sustainable supply of power. In addition – and I concede that this is a personal, yet national concern.’’
Meanwhile, Newsone Nigeria reports that the Mambilla project was intended to be a major hydroelectric power plant in Nigeria, but it has been plagued by delays and controversies since its inception. In 2003, Agunloye awarded the contract for the project to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd, a company with questionable credentials and limited financial resources.
Obasanjo raised concerns about the project, questioning Agunloye’s authority to approve such a large contract and demanding explanations for the discrepancies. Agunloye defended himself by claiming that the contract was a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) agreement, meaning that the government would not incur any financial obligations.
However, doubts remained about the legitimacy of the contract and Agunloye’s actions. He was subsequently investigated by the EFCC for alleged mismanagement and questionable financial transactions linked to the Mambilla project.
The EFCC’s investigation focused on several key points, including the nature of the contract awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd.; Agunloye’s authority to approve such a large contract without proper authorization; the source of funds used for the project; A suspicious payment of an unknown amount received by Agunloye with the description “FRM LENO.”
The investigation reportedly revealed that Agunloye used the “FRM LENO” funds for personal expenses, including shopping and transportation in the United States, instead of the intended purpose. This discovery further raised suspicions and led to renewed investigations into Agunloye’s financial activities during his time as minister.