Former Governor Ibikunle Amosun has said that the Chinese company that got court order to seize Nigeria’s presidential jets in France deceived him into handing over the free trade facility in Ogun State to them for development when he was the governor of the State.
The contractual agreement which was later terminated has resulted into a legal tussle that has now embarrassed the Nigerian government following the seizure of the President jets by court order.
Amosun was the governor of Ogun State from 2011 to 2019,the period during which the agreement was signed.
In a statement personally signed by him, Amosun admitted he didn’t do thorough analysis of the company’s proposed investment in the free trade zone before handing the Ogun-Guandong Free Trade Zone to them in 2012.
Though the free trade zone was conceived in 2007 during the administration of Governor Gbenga Daniel between the state and Guangdong Xinguang International China Africa Investment Ltd with the company having the 60% stake as major investors to develop the 10,000 hectares facility but n 2012, a year after Amosun took over as governor, another firm that identified itself as Zhongfu International Investment Ltd came in with tales about how the place was being poorly administered and thereafter sought to manage it, resulting in the termination of earlier agreement with the former company.
“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.
“Based on the information at the government’s disposal at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE was appointed interim zone manager on March 15, 2012, pending further evaluation. The whole idea was to ensure that someone was in charge and thereby prevent unwholesome and untoward development in the zone pending the completion of our fact-finding exercise.
“It was later discovered that the information and claims volunteered by Zhongfu International Investment FXE against China Africa Investment FXE were tissues of lies.
“Unknown to Ogun government at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE merely sought to de-market China Africa Investment FXE and to surreptitiously covert the state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China together with the zone ownership and management rights of their business rival,” Amosun wrote.
He stated further: “It was further discovered, much later, through the intervention of the Chinese Government via Diplomatic Note 1601, dated March 11, 2016 that the company I had terminated was the rightful owner of the investment.”
Amosun said that he ousted Zhongfu International Investment but the company approached Nigerian courts but lost all four cases filed.
“Nigeria should not give Zhongfu International Investment FXE any listening ear as doing so would amount to indulging and, encouraging an unlawful entity without locus stand to appropriate our common patrimony. This matter of Zhongfu International Investment FXE should be treated the way Nigeria treated the P&ID case. There is no basis for negotiation.”