Nigeria has secured a major legal reprieve in the long-running dispute over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project after an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris dismissed a $680 million claim filed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The ruling, announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, comes amid a separate arbitration in which Sunrise is seeking more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over the controversial power project.
The latest decision means Nigeria will not have to pay the $680 million settlement sum demanded by Sunrise in connection with the separate proceedings.
The Federal Government described the ruling as a significant development in its effort to resolve the legal disputes surrounding the stalled 3,960-megawatt Mambilla project in Taraba State.
Tinubu said the tribunal’s decision had removed what he described as “the single biggest legal hurdle” that had prevented the project from moving forward.
The President said the Federal Executive Council had never authorised the 2003 contract at the centre of the dispute, which was originally designed for the construction of a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
He commended Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Federal Ministry of Justice for their handling of the arbitration.
Tinubu also acknowledged former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari for appearing as witnesses during the proceedings.
Former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu were also commended, alongside other witnesses and experts who contributed to Nigeria’s defence.
The President further credited the National Security Adviser and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with supporting the government’s handling of the matter.
The Nigerian legal team was led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP.
The Mambilla project has remained stalled for years, with contractual disagreements and arbitration proceedings creating uncertainty around one of Nigeria’s most ambitious planned power projects.
Tinubu said the Federal Government remained willing to work with genuine investors while meeting its legal obligations.
He added that the government would continue to defend Nigeria against claims it considers opportunistic.
The latest ruling, however, relates specifically to the $680 million claim and comes against the backdrop of the separate arbitration in which Sunrise is pursuing more than $2.7 billion.
The development therefore removes one major legal obstacle but leaves the broader dispute over the Mambilla project subject to the outcome of the remaining proceedings.