Alleged $2.3bn fraud: ‘I’m ready to testify in court’ – Obasanjo tells FG

• The Mambilla power plant project has been dogged by controversy and litigation for years now

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo says he is willing to testify for Nigeria in the $2.3 billion disputed Mambilla power contract.

The Mambilla power plant project has been dogged by controversy and litigation for years now. At the center of the decade-long dispute is the former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, who allegedly signed off on the contract during the government of Obasanjo.

Sunrise Power and Nigeria have been engaged in legal tussle at the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, Paris, France, as the company alleges a breach of contract.

Sunrise Power claimed it was awarded a $6 billion contract to build, operate, and transfer in May 2003 by the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The company is alleging that the Federal Government of Nigeria breached the agreement and is asking for compensation of $2.3 billion.

The company is further claiming that it had already spent millions of dollars on financial and legal consultants before the contract was abandoned.

However, in its defence, the Nigerian government is alleging fraud and corruption of public officials in the award of the contract.

In his letter to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, the counsel to the Nigerian government, the former President declared his readiness to testify on behalf of the Nigerian government “in any form.”,