A prosecution witness in Abuja, Umar Babangida, testified on Monday that former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, did not exceed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s financial directive during the awarding of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power project. Babangida explained that no minister was permitted to approve contracts worth more than N25 million without explicit written presidential consent, and Agunloye adhered to this rule in recommending Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL).

The witness, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, told the court that both SPTCL and Tafag Nigeria Limited were treated equally following Obasanjo’s instruction that the Federal Government’s participation should not exceed 25 percent. He added that Agunloye presented the memorandum to the Federal Executive Council, and other members supported it, with N6 billion appropriated in the 2003 budget for the project’s takeoff.

Babangida also disputed claims that the financial decision of China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and the China Import and Export Bank bound the Nigerian government in the project. He emphasized that there was no record showing these entities were parties to the agreement or had consented to it.

Agunloye is facing seven amended charges, including conspiracy, disobeying presidential directives, forgery, and receiving gratification over the alleged $6 billion fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie adjourned further cross-examination of the witness until Wednesday.