Presidential jets Seize: Ex-Ogun Govs Unite Against Chinese Company, Tag Firm Scammer
Two former governors of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and Gbenga Daniel, have vowed to support Federal Government’s efforts to recover the national assets seized by a French court.
A Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited, had got judgment from the court, which led to the seizure of three presidential jets– a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 330.
In 2007, the Ogun State Government entered into a joint venture agreement with Zhongshan and another company to create the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone Company.
But in the first half of 2016, the agreement between the parties broke down, leading to Zhongshan filing lawsuits in Nigerian federal and state courts to seek reinstatement of its contractual rights, which failed.
However, after taking the case before the French court, the company was awarded damages. The court prohibited Nigeria from moving or selling three presidential jets until the Chinese firm was paid the $74.5m awarded by the court.
The former governors, in separate statements on Saturday, described Zhongshan as a scammer, adding that there was no basis for the company’s claims to compensation.
Amosun, in a statement he signed on Saturday, said Nigeria should not give Zhongfu (also called Zhongshan) any listening ear, as doing so would amount to encouraging “an unlawful entity without locus standi to appropriate our common patrimony.”
He insisted that there was no basis for negotiation.
He said, “At different levels, government is a continuum and the various segments of events leading to this unfortunate situation occurred before, during and after our administration.
“Our administration assumed office on May 29, 2011. Very shortly after we took office, two different sets of Chinese companies, Messrs China Africa Investment FXE and Zhongfu International Investment FXE laid claims to management rights over the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.
“The business dispute and rivalry between the Chinese concerns soon became fierce, grounded seamless business activities and threatened public peace and safety within the zone and neighboring communities.
“There were claims and counter-claims as to who between the two was the lawful representative of the original joint venturer, Guangdong Province, China, and consequentially who had the right to manage the zone.
“Zhongfu International Investment FXE, pretending to be a concerned and genuine tenant and zone stakeholder, volunteered very damaging and destructive information about the official representatives of Guangdong Province, the Joint Venturer and lawful zone managers, China Africa Investment FXE, and subsequently requested to be appointed as interim zone managers.”
The politician noted that on March 15, 2012, the state government appointed Zhongfu as an interim zone manager.
He said the decision was to prevent unwholesome development in the zone pending the completion of a fact-finding exercise.
However, the former governor said the state later discovered that Zhongfu’s claims against China Africa were lies.
According to him, Zhongfu’s actions were aimed at de-marketing China Africa and converting state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China.
Amosun added that after receiving a diplomatic note from the Government of China dated March 11, 2016, the state government discovered that China Africa was the rightful investor.
“After due consultation with the relevant organs of government, we gave effect to the request of the Chinese government.
“We do recall that Zhongfu International Investment FXE approached Nigerian courts in different jurisdictions to ventilate its legal and business rights. They lost all their four cases in court.
“We also consulted with and took advice from the State Security Services and the supervising agency, NEPZA, on the best way to proceed. Accordingly, we served Zhongfu International Investment FXE with a formal termination notice dated 27 May, 2016,” he noted.
Amosun insisted that a final judgement delivered on March 29, 2017 indicated the matter was a trade dispute between two Chinese entities without connection with either Ogun State or the Federal Government.
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