The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Olu Agunloye, a former Minister of Power and Steel, wanted due to alleged fraud.Â
The EFCC, through its verified Facebook page, has urged Nigerians to report to the nearest police station or inform the EFCC about Agunloye’s whereabouts.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused Agunloye of mismanaging the power project during his tenure from 1999 to 2003.
According to Obasanjo, Agunloye is accused of engaging in fraudulent activities by allegedly granting a $6 billion contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd for the Mambilla Power Project.
Notably, this awarding of the contract is said to have occurred without obtaining the necessary approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The claim suggests a serious breach of protocol and potentially raises concerns about the legitimacy of the procurement process for the Mambilla Power Project under Agunloye’s involvement.
Obasanjo challenged Agunloye to explain the authority behind such a decision.
In response, Agunloye clarified that the initial contract for the Mambilla Power Project was awarded as a Build, Operate and Transfer contract in May 2003 under his watch.
He mentioned that the government is not required to pay any money to Sunrise according to the build, operate, and transfer (BOT) agreement.
This is because the agreement specified that the funding for the project would be entirely covered by the recently established company. It’s worth noting that this company had declared assets valued at less than $2,000 at the initial stages.
Agunloye did not provide information regarding the specific authorization or approval he received to commit the government to a $6 billion project.
This raises questions, especially considering Obasanjo’s assertion that during his presidency, ministers were restricted from approving amounts exceeding N25 million.
The lack of clarity on the source of Agunloye’s authority for such a substantial project adds a layer of uncertainty to the situation.
