The promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited, Leno Adesanya, has been declared wanted by the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission for an alleged consipiracy and corrupt offer to public officers.
According to The PUNCH, EFCC made this disclosure in a statement on Tuesday.
Adesanya was mentioned in three of seven count charges against a former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, who is being prosecuted by the EFCC over the $6bn Mambilla hydropower contract.
Agunloye was arraigned on seven charges, bordering on the fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption in January 2024.
The anti-graft agency alleged that on May 22, 2003, Agunloye awarded a contract, titled ‘Construction of 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer Basis’ to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, without any budgetary provision, approval, or cash backing.
The former minister was also alleged to have on August 10, 2019, corruptly received the sum of N3.6m from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, and Leno Adesanya for having conveyed the ‘approval of the Federal Government for the construction of the 3,960 megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station’ in favour of SPTCL, which was done without the approval of the Federal Executive Council.
Meanwhile, Sunrise Power is in arbitration with Nigeria at the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, France, alleging a breach of contract, according to reports by The Cable.
The company disclosed that it was awarded a $6bn build, operate and transfer (BOT) contract in May 2003 by the Obasanjo administration but noted that the federal government at the time, rejected the agreement.
Sunrise is now seeking a compensation of $2.3bn, claiming it had spent millions of dollars on financial and legal consultants before the contract was discarded.
In its defence at the arbitration hearing, the Nigerian government is alleging fraud and corruption of public officials in the award of the contract.
