Sunrise chief rejects claims of political links in Mambilla dispute

Leno Adesanya, chief executive of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company, has denied having political ties to former vice-president Atiku Abubakar or former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki. Adesanya said his involvement in the dispute surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project reflected his interest in seeing the development completed, rather than political patronage. He made the comments in a statement reported by The Punch, according to Premium Times.

The Sunrise promoter said professional relationships with people from different political and professional backgrounds should not be treated as evidence of political allegiance. He described attempts to connect him to Atiku and Dasuki as the work of “mischief-doers and political detractors”. “I am a Yoruba man and more Tinubu than Atiku,” Adesanya said.

He added that his support for President Bola Tinubu was based on their longstanding relationship and said he had repeatedly sought an amicable resolution to the dispute. His response followed reporting on a final award issued by the International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Paris. The tribunal examined a $500,000 payment made by Adesanya to Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, Atiku’s then-wife, and a $1.74m payment made in 2014 to Abubakar Dasuki, one of Sambo Dasuki’s sons.

Sunrise and Adesanya said the first payment was a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. The tribunal, however, rejected that explanation and said both transactions contained significant red flags that had not been dispelled by the evidence before it. The Mambilla project has faced contractual and legal disputes for decades.

The tribunal ruled that Sunrise could not enforce a $400m settlement against Nigeria, citing a lack of presidential approval and finding that the agreements resulted from corruption. President Tinubu said the ruling removed the biggest legal obstacle to developing the project.