“Cabinet Affairs Office Holds FEC Records” — Witness Confirms Origin Of Key Document In $6bn Case

The fourth prosecution witness, PW4, in the trial of the former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, on Monday, April 27, 2026, confirmed to Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, that the extract of minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting emanated from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The former minister is facing prosecution on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract to the tune of $6 billion (six billion United States dollars) to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

At Monday’s proceedings, the witness, Ugochukwu Christian Okoli, while being cross-examined by prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, stated that between 2016 and 2023, he was on posting from the Federal Ministry of Justice to the Office of the Secretary to the Government as an Assistant Legal Adviser, when he acted upon a memo from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requesting the extract of the minutes of the FEC meeting held on May 21, 2003.

“Sometimes in September 2022, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation received a letter from the EFCC requesting the extract of the minutes of the FEC meeting held on the 21st of May, 2003, regarding the memo presented by the then Minister of Power on the construction of a 3,960-megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a build, operate, and transfer basis. The letter also requested confirmation of the approval or otherwise.

“The letter was received in the office of the AGF and minuted to the Permanent Secretary. It was also minuted from the Permanent Secretary’s office to the Legal Department, where it was assigned to me to handle. I requested the file from the Cabinet Affairs Office, went through it, and replied on the minutes of the FEC meeting held on May 21, 2003. I confirmed that the document is domiciled in the Cabinet Affairs Office,” he said.

Continuing, the witness explained that, “I recommended that the extract of the minutes as it relates to the deliberation on the memo presented by the then Honourable Minister be certified, and the memo was forwarded to the Permanent Secretary. The recommendation for the Certified True Copy was approved by the Permanent Secretary with the directive of the Head of my Department, and he certified the extract, which contains the deliberation and conclusion of the Federal Executive Council held on May 21, 2003.”

Okoli further added that the file was returned to the Cabinet Affairs Office and a forwarding letter to the EFCC was issued, which was signed by A. M. Oyinoye, a Deputy Director in the Cabinet Affairs Office.

He clarified that the usual practice is that after every FEC meeting, the Cabinet Affairs Office, which is the secretariat of the FEC, extracts portions of the minutes affecting relevant ministries, departments, or agencies of government.

He concluded by stating that he processed the EFCC’s request, compiled the documents with the forwarding letter, and dispatched them to the EFCC in response.

The witness was shown the documents marked Exhibits 3C and 3E, which he confirmed as the documents in question.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter to Thursday, April 30, 2026, for cross-examination of the witness.

The post “Cabinet Affairs Office Holds FEC Records” — Witness Confirms Origin Of Key Document In $6bn Case appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.