The legal dispute surrounding Nigeria’s long-delayed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project is set to continue, with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited saying it is reviewing a recent arbitration decision by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying the company’s lawyers were examining the judgment of the ICC arbitration tribunal in Paris before deciding on the next legal steps.
Adesanya said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the implications of the decision until the legal team had completed its assessment.
“The battle is not over. Our lawyers are currently reviewing the arbitration decision and will advise us on the appropriate next steps,” he said.
According to him, Sunrise respected the arbitration process but was studying the tribunal’s findings, reasoning and the implications of the award for the parties involved.
The Mambilla project, one of Nigeria’s major proposed hydropower developments, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute involving Sunrise and the Federal Government over agreements connected to the project.
Adesanya said the company remained committed to protecting its rights and interests concerning the project and would pursue all lawful options available to it based on legal advice.
“Until our legal team has completed its review, it would be premature to comment extensively on the decision or the issues arising from it,” he said.
He added that Sunrise remained hopeful that the outstanding issues could eventually be resolved in a way that would protect the interests of all parties and allow the Mambilla project to contribute to Nigeria’s power sector.
“We will consider all lawful options available to us based on the advice of our lawyers,” Adesanya said.
The company said it would make further comments after its lawyers had concluded their review and advised on the appropriate course of action.