By Kazeem Ugbodaga
In a significant development in the high-profile $6 billion Mambila Power Project fraud trial, a prosecution witness testified on Monday that there is no official record confirming the involvement of key Chinese financial agencies in the controversial contract agreement.
The third prosecuting witness, Umar Hussein Babangida, made this disclosure during cross-examination before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The testimony directly challenges narratives surrounding the international dimensions of the alleged fraud.
The defendant, former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, faces an amended seven-count charge of official corruption and the fraudulent award of the Mambila Hydroelectric Power Project contract, estimated at $6 billion.
Under questioning by defense counsel Adeola Adedipe, SAN, Babangida reviewed Annexure 2 of Exhibit EFCC 3d-the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project.
He stated unequivocally that he found “no record to show that MOFTEC (Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation) and the China Import Export Bank are parties to the agreement of the MoU.”
His testimony raises critical questions about the purported international financing and partnership structure that has long been associated with the scandal-plagued project.
The witness provided further insight into the deal’s mechanics, revealing that recommendations were based on capping government participation at 25%. This figure became a central point of discussion at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003.
“Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd had proposed 35% government participation, while Tafag Nigeria limited proposed 25%,” Babangida recounted.
“The then President directed that government participation should not be more than 25% for both companies, so 25% became a subject for deliberation,” he added.
He confirmed that the FEC ultimately supported the MoU. Notably, he added that ₦6 billion had already been allocated for the project’s takeoff at the time of the MoU’s presentation.
Babangida read the former President’s handwritten comment on the document: “Minister: approved. Please, give the two same parameters i.e Federal Government participation not more than 25%. Tariff not higher than prevailing tariff of thermal plant.”
Justice Onwuegbuzie has adjourned the case to Wednesday, January 21, 2026, for the continuation of the witness’s cross-examination.
The Mambila Power Project, envisaged as one of Nigeria’s largest power infrastructure ventures, has been stalled for decades amid allegations of corruption and legal battles.
Source; PM News