A statement made and signed by veteran journalist Fisan Bankale has described an allegation of fraud against ex-Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye as a mere media frenzy. In the statement, Bankale, who was a retired diplomat and former Managing Director of the defunct Sketch Newspapers, discussed the controversy surrounding Dr. Agunloye and the Mambilla Power Project.
Reacting to a leaflet circulated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on social media claiming that Dr. Agunloye is being investigated for a $6 billion fraud, Bankale stated that any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part is false.
He said, "Dr. Agunloye awarded a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract for the project to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited at no cost to the government. The government has not paid any money towards the project." He therefore called on the EFCC to withdraw their publication and insist that the trial should be based on facts rather than media frenzy.
See details of the statement below...
Still on Agunloye, Mambilla, and EFCC
Still on the subject of the Mambilla Power Project, our intervention this time is triggered by an EFCC leaflet circulating on social media declaring that Dr. Agunloye is being "investigated for a $6 billion fraud".
We are not sure whether his inclusion on that list with 14 others was deliberate or if it is an error of judgment. What we know, and which is clear from the project concept and related documents, is that any narrative suggesting malfeasance on his part is false.
In office, as a true patriot and Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic, Dr. Agunloye awarded a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract for the construction of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, estimated at a cost of $6 billion, to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (Sunrise) at no cost to the Federal Government. This, in effect, meant that Sunrise would source and provide an estimated sum of $6 billion by himself to construct the dam, operate it for 35 years to recoup his investments, and then hand the dam over to the Federal Government. Under this arrangement, the Government of Nigeria would not pay the Contractor a single kobo of Nigeria's money towards the construction and operation of this hydroelectric dam. As a matter of fact, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not paid a single Naira to Sunrise up to this very hour.
So, how did Dr. Agunloye become classified as being in a "$6 billion fraud" as the EFCC tried to portray to the public? It is baffling. It sounds like this is about giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. We know, for a fact, that the Mambilla Power Project in question was awarded as a BOT, not as a procurement contract, and not one kobo of Nigerian money was ever expended for the project under Dr. Agunloye's watch as Minister of Power.
While Nigerians await the trial under Hon. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie to unfold, hopeful that the court would engage professionally, we would like to counsel the anti-graft Agency, the EFCC, to withdraw the libelous publication as it is a disservice to the cause of natural justice and a disservice to this country.
Well-meaning Nigerians and advocates of justice and fair play are keeping watch of events and shall, from time to time, intervene in the public space to ensure that Nigerians are well informed, and we shall insist at all times that the trial runs on facts and not on media frenzy based on misrepresentation aimed at public lynching.
Fisan Bankale, FGE,
Retired Diplomat/former Managing Director, defunct Sketch Newspapers
_e-signed_
_for and on behalf of_
Alpha Justice & Advocacy Group
29 January 2024