Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has rejected claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the Mambilla arbitration award found him culpable of corruption.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku challenged the APC to identify the specific paragraph in the arbitration award where he was found to have solicited or received a $500,000 bribe, influenced the Mambilla contract or conspired corruptly in its award.
Atiku said the arbitration concerned Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, Leno Adesanya and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, stressing that he was not a party to the proceedings.
He argued that his position as Vice-President under former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not automatically make him responsible for every decision taken by the administration.
“I was not a member of the technical process that evaluated the competing proposals and recommended Sunrise. I did not sit on the procurement panel. I did not award the contract,” he said.
Atiku also addressed the $500,000 transfer made by Adesanya through China Castle Investments to Jennifer Douglas. According to him, the tribunal rejected Adesanya’s explanation of the transaction because of inadequate documentary evidence, but that did not amount to a finding that the money was a bribe paid to him.
He said the distinction between an unsuccessful explanation by Adesanya and a corruption finding against him was important.
Atiku further disputed claims that he ignored a summons from the tribunal, saying he was not a party to the arbitration and did not testify in the proceedings.
He noted that Obasanjo and former President Muhammadu Buhari testified for Nigeria, while former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu also participated in Nigeria’s defence.
Atiku said the tribunal ultimately dismissed Sunrise Power’s claims and ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, adding that no damages, costs or liability were imposed on him.
He therefore urged the APC to produce the precise portions of the award supporting its allegations.
“An allegation is not a finding. Suspicion is not proof. The rejection of one man’s explanation is not the conviction of another man,” Atiku said.