Former Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, has maintained that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) never approved the $6 billion Mambilla hydroelectric power project contract awarded to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.
Imoke made the clarification while testifying in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja.
The former governor, who is the sixth prosecution witness, spoke on Monday while being cross-examined by Adeola Adedipe, counsel to Agunloye.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement, said Imoke explained that although the minutes of the May 21, 2003 FEC meeting were subsequently adopted, the adoption did not establish that the council approved the controversial contract.
Agunloye is standing trial on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and fraudulent award of the Mambilla power project contract to Sunrise Power when he served as Minister of Power and Steel between 2002 and 2003.
At the October 19 sitting, Imoke had told the court that the FEC did not approve the contract, citing the minutes of its May 21, 2003 meeting at which the project was considered.
His testimony came under scrutiny on November 2 when Adedipe questioned whether the minutes had been adopted by the succeeding council, given that the May 21 meeting was the last before the dissolution of the cabinet.
At the time, Imoke said he was not privy to the adoption of the minutes because he was not a member of the council.
However, during Monday's proceedings, he corrected his earlier account of his inauguration, stating that he was sworn in on July 15, 2003, and not in August.
He disclosed that he subsequently attended an FEC meeting in July 2003, where the minutes of the May 21 meeting were adopted.
"My Lord, as I mentioned at the beginning of today's proceedings, I was sworn in on 15th July, 2003, not August as earlier mentioned. When I checked my records, I saw that I participated in the FEC meeting of July, 2003, where the minutes of the 16th FEC meeting of May 21, 2003 was adopted," he told the court.
The witness, however, noted that the records of the July meeting were not included in the exhibits before the court.
He also explained the administrative process for handling FEC decisions, distinguishing between extracts of council meetings and their full conclusions.
According to him, extracts are usually sent to the relevant ministries, while the full conclusions are kept or circulated to offices under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
When confronted with exhibits EFCC 3K and EFCC 3D, comprising correspondence from the Ministry of Power forwarding the FEC conclusions and extracts, Imoke said the two documents were the same in substance and form.
The former governor was further questioned on whether he had proposed awarding contracts through a build-operate-transfer arrangement or outright purchase while serving as a minister.
He responded that he could not remember making such proposals.
At the conclusion of the cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, asked the court for an adjournment to enable him to respond to fresh issues raised during the proceedings.
The presiding judge, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, adjourned the matter until November 19 for re-examination.
In a related development, Nigeria secured a favourable outcome in a separate arbitration involving Sunrise Power and the Mambilla project in September.
An International Chamber of Commerce tribunal sitting in Paris dismissed the company's $2.35 billion claim against Nigeria.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to refund 75 per cent of the legal fees and expenses incurred by Nigeria in defending the arbitration.
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