Nigeria Law
Oil Boom — Failures & Good Spending

Buhari II2017Documented failure· $5.8bn FEC approval· Chapter I · Money

Mambilla Hydropower (3,050 MW)

First conceived 1972. Contract awarded 2017 to Chinese consortium. International arbitration with Sunrise Power (Kano) outstanding; project not commenced.

FEC approved a $5.79bn contract to a CGGC/Sinohydro/CGCOC consortium for the 3,050 MW Mambilla project in November 2017. Sunrise Power (Leno Adesanya) commenced ICC arbitration claiming wrongful displacement. As of 2024 no civil works had commenced.

Sources

  • · FEC Memorandum Nov 2017
  • · ICC Arbitration ICC Case No. 24076/MK

What it cost — political & economic reality

The political and economic reality

Nigeria in 2017: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period.

President · Fourth Republic

Muhammadu Buhari

2015–2023· APC

National reality

Two recessions (2016, 2020). Multiple naira devaluations. ASUU strike of 2022 closed federal universities for ~9 months. End SARS protests (Oct 2020); Lekki Toll Gate incident. Out-of-school children >18 million by 2022.

Crises of the period

  • 2016 recession + FX crisis
  • End SARS + Lekki Toll Gate (Oct 2020)
  • COVID-19 lockdown (2020)
  • 9-month ASUU strike (2022)
  • Naira redesign chaos (Q1 2023)

GDP (World Bank)

$494 bn (2015) → $477 bn (2022)

Cabinet (selected portfolios)

  • Finance

    Kemi Adeosun (2015–18); Zainab Ahmed (2018–23)

  • Justice (AGF)

    Abubakar Malami (SAN)

  • Education

    Mallam Adamu Adamu (2015–23)

  • Petroleum

    Muhammadu Buhari (concurrent); Min. of State Ibe Kachikwu then Timipre Sylva

Source: Federal Gazette 2015–23; CBN; NBS

Methodology

Tier 1 · primary

Courts. Gazettes. National archives.

Tier 2 · corroborating

OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.

Redline

Wikipedia is never a source.