Former Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja, that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) did not approve the $6 billion Mambilla power project contract awarded to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

Imoke, who testified as the sixth prosecution witness in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, said the contract award was invalid because it was not approved by the council.

According to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Imoke gave the testimony on Monday while being cross-examined by Adeola Adedipe, counsel to Agunloye. 

Agunloye is facing an amended seven-count charge bordering on official corruption and the alleged fraudulent award of the Mambilla power project contract to Sunrise Power while he served as Minister of Power and Steel between 2002 and 2003.

At an earlier sitting on October 19, Imoke told the court that the FEC never approved the contract. He said he reached that conclusion after reviewing the minutes of the May 21, 2003 meeting at which the project was deliberated.

However, during cross-examination on November 2, Adedipe questioned whether the minutes were subsequently adopted by the succeeding council, noting that the May 21 meeting was the last FEC meeting before the cabinet was dissolved.

Imoke had said he was not privy to the adoption of the minutes because he was not a member of the council at the time.

During Monday’s proceedings, however, Imoke clarified that he was sworn in on July 15, 2003, and not in August, as he had earlier stated. He said he attended an FEC meeting in July 2003, where the minutes of the May 21, 2003 meeting were adopted.

“My Lord, as I mentioned at the beginning of today’s proceedings, I was sworn in on 15th July, 2003, not August as earlier mentioned. When I checked my records, I saw that I participated in the FEC meeting of July, 2003, where the minutes of the 16th FEC meeting of May 21, 2003 was adopted,” he said.

He added that the proceedings of the July meeting were not included in the exhibit file before the court.

Explaining the difference between extracts of FEC meetings and the full conclusions of the council, Imoke said extracts are usually forwarded to the relevant ministries, while the full conclusions are kept or distributed to offices under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

When shown exhibits EFCC 3K and EFCC 3D, comprising letters from the Ministry of Power forwarding the FEC conclusions and extracts, respectively, Imoke said both documents were the same in substance and form.

The witness was also asked whether, during his tenure as minister, he had proposed awarding contracts on a build-operate-transfer basis or through outright purchase. He said he could not recall.

At the end of the cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, sought an adjournment to address fresh issues raised during the proceedings.

The presiding judge, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, subsequently adjourned the case until November 19 for re-examination.

In a related development, Nigeria in September won a separate arbitration case against Sunrise Power over the Mambilla project, with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal in Paris dismissing the company’s $2.35 billion claim against the country.

The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria 75 per cent of the legal fees and expenses it incurred during the arbitration.