By Lateef Adegbite
The Battle line appears to have been drawn between Pat Utomi, a Professor at the Lagos Business School, LBS, Chieftain of Opposition Labour Party, LP, and Ibikunle Amosun, a former governor of Ogun state. This is coming on the heels of the Nigerian Government going into talks with Zhongshan Fuchen, a Chinese Company which had seized its fleet of Presidential Jets undergoing service and maintenance in France due to the legal dispute with Ogun, home state of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, over abrupt termination of the interim Management rights of the Gundong Free Trade Zone, Igbesa.
. The source of quarrel between the was LBS, professor and the former Ogun state governor was not unconnected to the recent remarks made by the Professor on the termination of the Mullti-million, United States , US, dollars, Gungdong Ogun Free Trade Zone, OGFTZ , Igbesa, interim Management contract. The project was said to have been initiated by Otunba Gbenga Daniels’s Administration in the south western state in 2007.
The interim Management of the OGFTZ, was said to have been won by the Asian country of China firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited. The Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, which oversees the country’s Free Trade Zones, was said to have delegated control and Management of the OGFTZ, to the Chinese Company.
This may have informed why in 2010, the OGFTZ, Authorities, contracted Zhongshan’s parent company to develop an industrial park for the free trade zone. The goal, according to a top Ogun state government official, who spoke to The Value News on condition of anonymity was ‘’to embark on construction of an Industrial park for the, Zone and build factories for other Companies to use to do their business but that was how far it could go.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Assistant to the President had said that the Chinese had done nothing other than perimeter fence of fence of the Zone which does not give the Company ownership rights of the OGFTZ, Igbesa.
Amosun, an ex- Ogun state governor, who had succeeded Daniel, in 2011, may have hit the nail on the head when he said that the award of the interim Management contract to the Chinese firm to build the industrial park for the Zone was fraught with illegalities which had to be probe to get to the root of the matter and tidy up the records . The probe team may have discovered some shady deals in the contract and thus, recommended termination of the Contract which had the backing of the state House of Assembly.
In 2016, the Ogun state government terminated the, interim Management contract of the Chinese firm over the OGFTZ, Igbesa. Amosun, the then governor of Obasanjo, home state, had attributed the termination of the multi-million US, dollars, interim Management contract of the OGFTZ, that had been won by Zhongshan, the Chinese Company on grounds that ’’it has been disowned by the home government’’.
The former Ogun state governor, who could not hide his feelings had said that the Administration was further encouraged to terminate the OGFTZ, interim Management contract with the Chinese firm, because there were two different Chinese Companies , China African Investment FXE and Zhongshan Fuchen International Investment FXE, which had laid claims to Management rights of the Zone, which was said to have grounded seamless business activities and threatened peace and safety within the Zone and the neighbouring Communities .
The former Ogun state governor may have shocked Nigerians when he disclosed that’’ all the information that had been supplied by Zonghhshan Funchen, International Investment FXE, to win the OGFTZ, contract were false’’.
Describing it as destructive information by the Company that had claimed o be the Representative of Guangdon Province, the Joint Venturer and Lawful Managers of the Zone, China African Investment which was said to have taken advantage of it was said to have requested to be appointed interim Managers of the Zone pending further evaluation and got it.
He had said that the Chinese firm was appointed the interim Managers of the Zone ‘’to ensure that someone was in charge ‘’to prevent unwholesome and untoward development in the area pending the completion of the state government finding exercise’’.
The then governor of Ogun state had alluded to the fact that Zonghshan Fuchen International Investment FXE, was merely out’’ to de-market China African Investment to surreptitiously convert the state – owned assets of Guangdong Province in China together with the OGFTZ, ownership and Management rights of their business rival.
Indeed, the Chinese firm which had gotten the interim Management rights of the OGFTZ, that was terminated which could not take it had dragged the Ogun state government to Court, both within and outside Nigeria to get Justice.
The said Chinese firm was said to have targeted Nigerian government assets in the UK, US, Canada, Belgium, France and Singapore to seize as a way to draw the Federal Government attention into the legal dispute with the ogun state government and possibly get instant compensations. It was said to have also moved to seize the £20million Judgment cost awarded in favour of the Nigerian Government against P&D by the UK, appeal Court.
As a prelude to getting compensation from Ogun state government over the termination of the interim Management contract of OGFTZ, igbesa in 2011, to build an industrial park for, by the Zone by the Ogun state government, may have encouraged the Chinese firm to head to a UK, arbitration Court where it believes it could get Justice compared to the Nigerian Courts.
True to the Company’s believe, the arbitration Court, which was said to have been chaired by the former President of the UK’s Supreme Court, was said to have awarded the Chinese firm $74.5 million compensations to be paid by the Ogun state government which was said to have dragged on to the present Administration of Gov.Dapo Abiodun.
Angered by the continued reluctance of the Ogun state government to make the $74..5 million payment awarded to the Company by the UK, Court, may have encouraged the Chinese firm to further head to another Court in Paris, France, where it was said to have obtained an order to seize to Nigerian Government fleet of Presidential Jets currently being service and maintaintenance in the country.
The seizure of the Nigerian Government fleet of Presidential Jets due to the long standing dispute with the Ogun state government may have informed why the government to pile up pressure on the Chinese firm to release the Jets to enable President Bola Ahmed Tinubu honor his international invitations.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, the Nigerian President was said to have also used the released new Airbus , A30, by Zhongshan Fuchen, purchased by the Nigerian Government with the sum of $100million Which Onanuga , the Presidents Information and Strategy Aide, had said was purchased far below the market price , to travel to France. The plane was said to have malfunctioned during a trip to Saudi Arabia that it had to be flown to France for routine service and maintenance, noting that it would save the country huge fuel costs , running into millions dollars yearly.
The Chinese Company may have bowed to the pressure from the Nigerian Government to release Airbus A30, one of the Nigerian Government Presidential serviced and maintained in France on Friday, August 18, 2024, described as a ‘’gesture of goodwill’’ to allow for talks between the two parties to resolve the conflict .
The Chinese Company had said hat it had lifted the seizure of the Nigerian Presidential airbus A330 to show it has consistently sought ‘’to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute that was not of its making but that of the Ogun state government in Nigeria’’.
Note that Zhongshan Fuchen, the Chinese Company, had obtained two Court orders from a French Court in March and August, 2024, to seize more than US $0 million Nigerian assets overseas, including the country’s Presidential Jets undergoing service and maintenance in France due to the legal dispute.
I apparent reaction to the seizure of the Nigerian Government Presidential Jets by Zhongshan, the Nigerian Government, on Thursdday, August 15, 2024, had accused the Chinese Company of mounting a smearing image Campaign to seize the country’s assets overseas , including its Presidential Jets due to the Legal dispute with the Ogun state government .
Despite the release of one of the Nigerian seized Presidential Jets, Airbus, A330 by the Chinese firm, Prof. Utomi, of the LBS, recent remarks that the seizure of three Nigerian Government Presidential Jets by a Chinese Company due to Ogun state contract violation speaks volume.
Describing the Chinese Company action as an ‘’embarrassment to Nigeria’’ which he had blamed on a breach of contract, by the south western state of Ogun state, the Professor had said that his own Company suffered same fate like Zonghshan Fuchen , under the Amosun’s government. He had recalled the state government cancellation of his Company’s Agriculture-related project.
The LP, Chieftain may have used the opportunity provided by the seizure of the Nigerian Government Presidential Jets in France to hit at the state governors, noting that ’’some of them act so much irresponsibly in the way they get in and out of contracts with foreign Organizations bringing great embarrassment to Nigeria’’.
The Delta state born politician had confirmed that a lot of businessmen had suffered in the hands of some of these irresponsible state governors because they don’t have the resources ‘’ to approach the Foreign arbitration Courts as Zonghshan Fuchen, FXE, the Chine Company had done to win the award of US $74.5 million Compensation from the Ogun state government and subsequent seizure of Nigeria fleet of Presidential Jets in Paris, France.
