The $5.792bn Contract that Turned Obasanjo against President Buhari

A top presidency source who pleaded anonymity stated that "Obasanjo was neck deep interested in the Mambilla power project. He brought in some companies and wanted President Buhari to use his veto power to authorize the minister in charge to hand over the project to his preferred companies, but President Buhari declined and insisted that due process is followed."

The source further added that the position of President Buhari didn’t go down well with Obasanjo, who was livid when the contract was eventually awarded to China Gezhouba Corporation, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and CGOC Group Limited. “ Obasanjo was livid that the president didn’t dance to his tune despite the pressure he mounted.

At some point, Obasanjo accused some close confidants of the president as being the brain behind the refusal of the president to grant him the concession, which wasn’t the case. President Buhari wanted due process to be followed and wondered why Obasanjo was so interested in the project.” The source stated.

A source knowledgeable in the history of the Mambilla power project hinted that the idea of the Mambilla plateau was first conceived in 1982 during the time of President Shehu Shagari.. he said that “the project was planned to consist of 2,600MW base-load hydroelectric power to be implemented in 5 years. The first phase of the project was planned to span the period 1982 – 1985.

It consisted of two stages, the pre-feasibility and feasibility stage. The Project was first awarded by the former President Shehu Shagari’s administration in 1982. However, in the first stage, the soil investigation was never completed, and the whole project came to a halt for financial reasons and political changes.” He said.

“In 2005 former President Olusegun Obasanjo resuscitated the Mambilla hydropower project and placed it and the supervisory Ministry of Power under the Presidency so that it could be accelerated.

A German company, Lahmeyer International was invited to review the previous work that had been carried out, which included the geotechnical work. After this, the company (Lahmeyer) was awarded a $3.2 billion contract in 2005 to conduct feasibility studies on the multi-billion naira Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.”

In a related development, it was gathered that former president Obasanjo became overbearing with demands as he is used to and the president felt uncomfortable with him and at some point tried to distance himself from him, which didn’t go down well with Obasanjo.

This much was gathered from a top security source who stated that “Obasanjo for some strange reasons feels a sense of entitlement in this government which he thinks he is not getting hence the open letter.”

“One would have reasoned that Obasanjo would have written a personal letter to President Buhari if indeed he meant good. What stops him from seeking an audience? But he chooses to do a publicity stunt to create an impression that he meant well for Nigeria.”