Atiku pledges Mambilla completion, end to unnecessary taxes if elected

BAUCHI — Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to complete the long-abandoned Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba State if elected president in the 2027 general election. Atiku also promised to restore petrol subsidy, reintroduce electricity subsidy and abolish what he described as unnecessary taxes imposed on Nigerians.

He made the pledges on Saturday at the ADC presidential campaign rally in Bauchi, where he urged residents of the North-East to support his party in the forthcoming election. The former Vice-President said the North-East was endowed with enormous mineral resources, including crude oil, but successive administrations had failed to harness the region’s potential for the benefit of its people.

“I promise you that, by God’s grace, if you vote for us, we will ensure this oil work is completed for the prosperity of the North-East,” he said in Hausa. Speaking on the Mambilla Hydropower Project, Atiku recalled that successive governments had made promises to execute the project without bringing it to completion. “For those of you who are older, you will recall that since the era of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, there have been promises to build a dam called the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, which past governments failed to actualise.

“If God gives us the opportunity, and ADC is voted into power along with me, I promise you that we will continue and complete that project,” he said. On taxation, the ADC candidate pledged that his administration would eliminate taxes he considered unnecessary and unjustified. He also promised to tackle insecurity and banditry in the North-East, warning that those responsible for criminal activities would not be allowed to operate with impunity under his administration.

“Finally, we know that here in the North-East, we face insecurity issues and banditry. I swear, if the president were not somehow, nobody would dare to commit this nonsense under my watch and get away with it,” he said. Atiku urged residents to vote for the ADC in 2027 and protect their votes until they were officially recorded. The former Vice-President also thanked Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, for providing the party access to the stadium and government lodges for its campaign rally, despite the ADC being in the opposition.

“The Bauchi State governor did not take things too far, he gave us the opportunity to campaign in this stadium and provided us with all the government lodges. For doing that, we thank him, even though we remain in the opposition,” he said. Mambilla project and contractual dispute The Mambilla Hydropower Project, located in Taraba State, was conceived in 1972 under the military administration of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, but has remained uncompleted for decades.

Atiku, who served as Vice-President between 1999 and 2007, was involved in discussions surrounding the project as far back as 2001, according to proceedings before an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal. On October 18, 2001, Sunrise Power and Transmission, promoted by Leno Adesanya, wrote to then President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku, expressing interest in the project.

In July 2002, Atiku led a Nigerian government delegation to Beijing, where Nigeria and China’s state-owned National Corporation for Power Engineering (NCPEC) signed a memorandum of understanding covering the Mambilla project and other infrastructure initiatives. On January 30, 2003, an offshore company associated with Adesanya transferred $500,000 to Jennifer Douglas, Atiku’s then wife.

Adesanya reportedly told the tribunal that the payment was a foreign-exchange transaction carried out on behalf of Atiku. On May 21, 2003, then Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, presented a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), seeking approval for Sunrise to execute the project. The council, however, asked him to withdraw the memorandum.

Atiku was reported to have supported Obasanjo’s position and suggested that the ministry consider all available options. However, Agunloye wrote to Sunrise the following day, conveying approval for the project at a provisional cost of $6 billion. Sunrise subsequently commenced arbitration proceedings before the ICC on October 10, 2017, seeking $2.354 billion in compensation over an alleged breach of agreement.

In its final award dated September 16, 2026, the tribunal dismissed the company’s claims that Nigeria had breached its contractual obligations under the settlement agreement and its addendum. The tribunal also directed Sunrise and its promoter to refund Nigeria’s legal fees of $11.8 million. It further identified what it described as significant red flags surrounding the $500,000 payment and Atiku’s alleged influence in the project.

Atiku, however, has denied involvement in the contract award and rejected claims that he was indicted by the tribunal.