● Tinubu says ruling removes major legal obstacle to long-delayed hydropower project
Nigeria has secured a major legal victory against Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited after an International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Paris rejected the company’s claims arising from the controversial Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
President Bola Tinubu announced the decision in a State House statement issued on September 17, 2026, saying the award was delivered in Nigeria’s favour.
Sunrise had demanded about $680 million, including interest, over an alleged breach of a settlement arrangement relating to the power project. The claim was connected to a separate arbitration in which the company was seeking more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest from Nigeria.
The dispute originated from a purported 2003 agreement under which Sunrise was to develop the Mambilla project in Taraba State through a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
According to the Presidency, the Federal Executive Council did not approve the 2003 contract, despite Sunrise’s insistence that it possessed enforceable rights over the project.
Tinubu described the arbitration as an attempt to impose a “predatory and exploitative” claim on Nigeria and said the government would continue to resist questionable demands against the country’s resources.
The President commended Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi and officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice for Nigeria’s defence.
He also praised the country’s external legal team, led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP.
Tinubu said former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari provided testimony in the proceedings. Former Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola and former Water Resources Minister Suleiman Adamu were also among Nigeria’s witnesses.
He acknowledged the involvement of the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which investigated aspects of the dispute.
“Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,” Tinubu declared.
The proposed 3,960-megawatt plant has been presented for decades as one of Nigeria’s most important prospective power projects. Its completion could substantially increase the country’s electricity-generating capacity.
However, the ruling does not automatically mean construction will begin. The Federal Government must still resolve financing, engineering, environmental, community-compensation and procurement questions before work can resume.
The government has also not released the full arbitral award, making it difficult to independently examine all the tribunal’s findings, costs orders and the precise effect of the decision on the related multibillion-dollar claim.
