Presidency denies forcing Buhari to testify in Paris court

The Presidency has denied reports that it “forced” former President Muhammadu Buhari to testify in an arbitration proceeding in Paris.

Although it did not deny the existence of such a proceeding, the Presidency insisted that all eminent persons testifying in Nigeria’s defence “are doing so willingly.”

Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a press statement signed and released late on Saturday, titled ‘President Tinubu Did Not Drag Any Eminent Nigerian to Paris.’

On Saturday evening, an online news platform reported that former President Buhari had been summoned before a court in Paris to testify in an arbitration proceeding over the $6bn Mambilla power contract dispute.

The report claimed that Buhari had been “hauled before the court on Saturday for breaching the terms of a power generation and distribution contract awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.”

The report further claimed that Buhari was “grilled for hours on Saturday and would continue his testimony on Sunday before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris in case number 26260/SPN/AB/CPB.”

It quoted sources who said President Bola Tinubu approved the decision to push his predecessor before the foreign arbitration panel.

However, the Presidency described the reports as “fake news.”
It clarified that the private proceeding, which should not have been reported in the media, remains entirely confidential until the international arbitrators make a decision.

According to Onanuga, “While respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding, we wish to state categorically that President Bola Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or against Nigeria.

“All the eminent Nigerians involved in Nigeria’s defence are doing so willingly and out of sheer patriotism and conviction.

“President Tinubu and the entire country are grateful to them.”

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