The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has called on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, accusing him of compromising Nigeria’s interests for personal gain.

In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the campaign council said revelations from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration proceedings in Paris had reinforced allegations of corruption against the former vice-president.

The statement centred on the stalled 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State and the arbitration dispute involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and Leno Adesanya.

According to the APC campaign council, hearings before the ICC tribunal revealed that Atiku and former Minister of Power Olu Agunloye were involved in the signing of a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract with Sunrise during the final months of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term.

The council alleged that the contract was signed despite objections and reservations raised by Obasanjo and the Federal Executive Council.

It further linked the contract to a $500,000 payment transferred in January 2003 to an account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then-wife, through an offshore company identified as China Castle Investment.

The APC statement cited the ICC tribunal as observing: “There is a close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made to the wife of Vice-President Abubakar on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003.”

The campaign council alleged that the payment, alongside other transfers it put at about $40 million, had featured in a US Senate investigation into alleged foreign corruption.

It said the development subsequently contributed to legal claims against the Federal Government over the Mambilla project, with Sunrise and Adesanya demanding $680 million in settlement and interest in one proceeding, while another arbitration involved a claim exceeding $2.7 billion in compensation and interest.

The APC compared the dispute with the long-running arbitration involving Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID), which sought billions of dollars from Nigeria over a failed gas project.

The campaign council also criticised Atiku for not appearing in Paris to give evidence, alleging that he had been requested to provide a witness statement in the arbitration proceedings.

It contrasted this with former Presidents Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, whom it said appeared in Paris to defend Nigeria’s position.

The APC campaign council further referenced Obasanjo’s criticism of Atiku in his autobiography, My Watch, particularly allegations concerning corruption, disloyalty, lack of transparency and placing personal interests above national interest.

Alake said the latest disclosures demonstrated that the alleged $500,000 payment was only part of what he described as wider revelations concerning Atiku’s conduct.

The campaign council therefore urged the ADC candidate to withdraw from the presidential contest.

It also appealed to voters in Taraba State to consider the controversy surrounding the Mambilla project, arguing that the stalled project could have generated significant economic opportunities for the state and contributed substantially to Nigeria’s power supply.

The statement comes amid growing political contestation ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Atiku seeking the presidency on the platform of the ADC.