By Stella Odueme
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has questioned the moral standing of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the controversy surrounding the Mambilla Power Project concession, urging him to address the ethical issues raised in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration rather than focus solely on legal technicalities.
The development comes amid a growing political exchange between Atiku and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council over calls for him to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
Atiku had challenged his critics to produce explicit provisions in the ICC arbitral award showing that he was convicted of corruption.
However, in a policy statement, IMPI Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsju, argued that the former vice president's response amounted to an “escapist resort to legalese” and failed to address what the group described as troubling issues of executive conduct contained in the tribunal's ruling.
IMPI said public office holders should be judged not only against legal standards but also against broader ethical expectations of public leadership.
The group particularly raised questions over what it described as inconsistencies between evidence presented before the US Senate in 2010 and testimony during the ICC proceedings concerning the origin and purpose of a $500,000 transfer involving Jennifer Douglas, Atiku's former wife.
“When high-ranking public figures dismiss documented red flags of proxy transfers as simple non-issues because an arbitral tribunal did not issue a formal penal sentence, it erodes public confidence in political leadership,” IMPI said.
The policy group maintained that the controversy was not limited to the contractual dispute between the Federal Government and Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, but also involved questions about the circumstances surrounding the original concessioning process.
IMPI said: “We find the associated rendition of executive misconduct deeply troubling, as it smacks of corruption and breaches of the Nigerian federal government procurement processes under the direct supervision of the former Vice President.”
It further identified the $500,000 transfer to Douglas as a central issue in the controversy, alleging that the transaction was connected to efforts to secure the Mambilla Power Project concession.
“For us, the crux of the Mambilla-ICC saga is the $500,000 cash transfer made to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku's former wife and the purpose it was supposed to serve in securing the Mambilla Power project concession. It is not a surprise, therefore, that it was red flagged by the ICC Tribunal,” the group said.
IMPI argued that the tribunal's treatment of the transfer raised broader governance concerns, saying the rejection of a defence linking the transaction to a foreign exchange transfer was significant to its assessment of the administrative process.
“We therefore assert that the ICC tribunal’s rejection of Adesanya’s FX transfer to Jennifer’s foreign account defence, is a critical diagnostic indicator of a compromised administrative process,” it added.
The group acknowledged that the arbitration principally concerned contractual liabilities between the Nigerian government and the project promoter, but argued that the financial transactions examined during the proceedings had wider implications for public accountability.
“While the arbitration focused on contractual liabilities between the state and a promoter, the underlying facts demonstrate that undisclosed financial flows between project promoters and high-ranking public officials (or their proxies) undermine public trust, breach international governance norms, and justify strong suspicion of corruption surrounding the initial concessioning of the Mambilla Power Project,” IMPI said.
The organisation consequently called for greater transparency from political aspirants seeking the presidency in 2027, particularly regarding their past management of public assets and procurement processes.