Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, yesterday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started investigating the $6bn Mambilla Power Project which is a subject of litigation already.

He made this known when he appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Power to defend the 2023 budget .when the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Gabriel Suswan raised concern over the situation of the Mambilla Power Project.

The Minister said the Ministry had met with stakeholders and all issues of concern was currently been resolved.

He added that the issue of litigation on the Mambilla power project was hampering the project.

The Federal Government voted N2bn for the Mambilla project in the 2020 budget. The project got N425m in 2021; N650m in 2022 and N1.1bn in 2023.

Aliyu said, “Regarding the Mambilla project, we have met with stakeholders and we are resolving the situation. It has something to do with litigation, nothing is going on regarding moving to the site.

“EFCC has stepped into the matter and we have given them information about it, we have given them the history of Power Project, our lawyers have interfaced with the anti-graft agency, unless we can pull out of litigation, we can’t do anything. I don’t think the investor will bring their money where there is an encumbrance.”

Speaking on the project, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswan, described the project as a mirage as far as National was concerned.

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He lamented that money had been budgeted a year in and year out but there was nothing on the ground.

Suswam said, “The Mambilla power project has become a mirage to us at the National Assembly and to Nigerians. Monies are provided year in, and year out, but nothing is certain about Mambilla.

“The initial scope of the project was slightly about 3,000 megawatts. There were issues and we were told that it was going to be recouped. Even the re-scoping of the project has not been done.

“In essence, it means that there is no project that is on the ground like Mambilla. It’s all about talks and lips service. That is why we are concerned about the money that is provided for consultancy and the money used for the training of staff that was supposed to be utilised if Mambilla was in place.

“Why provide monies all these years when nothing is on the ground.”

He, however, said his committee has directed the Minister of Power to ask the ministry’s permanent secretary and other desk officers to appear before it to explain how the yearly budgetary allocations for Mambila have been utilised.

He said, “Since 2017, monies have been provided for Mambila but nothing has been done on the project despite the pressure we have been mounting on Federal Government from the National Assembly.”

The Federal Government awarded a $6bn Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Co. Limited and its Chinese consortium partners on May 22, 2003.

Sunrise consortium had secured $5.5bn in Chinese Eximbank loans in 2005, while the Nigerian government, on May 28, 2007, signed a $1.46bn civil works contract with the Chinese firm, Messrs China Gezhouba Group Corporation/China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGGC/ CGC).

This was in clear violation of Sunrise’s BOT contract