The Federal Government has denied allegations that it coerced prominent Nigerians to testify for the country in an ongoing arbitration over the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Paris.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, issued the rebuttal in a statement on Saturday, January 18, 2025.
Earlier reports had claimed that the government forced former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as former Minister of Power Babatunde Fashola, to travel to Paris and testify in the arbitration proceedings.
Reacting to the claims, Onanuga dismissed the reports as fake news, stating, “The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to some fake news on social media about an arbitration proceeding in Paris to which the Nigerian Government is a party.
“The private proceeding, which should not have been reported in the media, is entirely confidential until the international arbitrators decide.
“While respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding, we wish to state categorically that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.”
He further clarified that all individuals involved in Nigeria’s defence are doing so voluntarily. “All the eminent Nigerians involved in Nigeria’s defence are doing so willingly and out of sheer patriotism and conviction,” Onanuga stated, adding, “Tinubu and the entire country are grateful to them.”
