Amid the fallout from a French court’s order to seize three Nigerian presidential jets, the Ogun State government has pointed fingers at former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, accusing his administration of terminating a contractual agreement that has now become a national embarrassment.
The state government faulted Amosun’s administration for terminating the contract signed with a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, after a failed renegotiation.
The contract earlier signed in 2007 was for the management of a free-trade zone by the Chinese.
The Ogun State government was alleged to have granted a 99-year Certificate of Occupancy to the company for over 20,000 hectares land for the scheme.
However, the contract was terminated by the Amosun Administration after the Chinese firm declined a renegotiation.
This led to a dispute between the parties in 2015, with arbitration commencing in 2016, with the Chinese country awarding $55.6 million in compensation from Nigeria and $75,000 in moral damages, alongside interest and legal and arbitration fees.
However, condemning the action in a Friday statement signed by the Special adviser on media and strategy to the incumbent governor of Ogun State, Akinmade Kayode faulted the process that led to the provisional attachment of the three aircrafts in France by the Judicial Court of Paris.
He emphasized that the government never gave up on a reasonable settlement option, with the most recent letter sent to Zhongshan, last week, but the company only responded after obtaining this latest order.
Akinmade described the whole legal process as nothing but a charade with fraudulent notion, adding that the company deliberately concealed the litigation from both the Nigerian government and Ogun State, as well as their lawyer before hurriedly securing orders of seizure.
He noted that the company must have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it sought to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law.
“This is the latest in a series of ill-advised attempts by Zhongshan to attach Nigerian-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions, none of which have to date led to the recovery of any sums from Nigeria.
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“Each of the three aircrafts is used solely for sovereign purposes and as such are immune from attachment under international and French law.
“In obtaining the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State and their legal counsel. Shockingly, it also appears to have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law,” read the statement.
He said the State in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay.
It likened the case to that of P&ID, describing it as very unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria at large.
Akinmade, who said the underlaying contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the present administration, for the management of a free-trade zone, but the parties entered into a dispute in 2015 with arbitration commencing in 2016, however added that in 2019, when the current administration took office, the hearing at the arbitration had been all but concluded.
“The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria which was a co-Defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was to build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone.
“Needless to say this was a bad/unfair decision. The present State Administration could not in all good conscience allow such an unconscionable and baseless decision, which would dissipate the commonwealth of the good people of Ogun State, to stand. Accordingly, and based on erudite legal advice, this Administration resolved to resist the enforcement of the award,” he said.
He further noted that the resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions, but there are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK.
“On the further advice of counsel, Ogun State also engaged Zhongshan in settlement discussions on reasonable terms. The last meeting attended by several officials of Ogun State, including His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun – the Governor of Ogun State, and the Honourable Attorney General/Minister of Justice lasted for three days, in September 2023 in London.
“Zhongshan’s initial reasonable readiness to consider Ogun State’s offer, was surprisingly reversed by the second day, with an insistence on the payment of the full debt.
“This led to a breakdown of the mediation, with parties agreeing to meet again in the first quarter of this year.
“Since then, Zhongshan has in bad faith been evasive and instead embarked on a series of enforcement proceedings which the legal team appointed by the FGN and Ogun State have successfully opposed,” he said.
He added that in cases similar to the present one where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, the State Government has successfully set aside the orders.
While re-affirming the government’s commitment to constantly and consistently protect the integrity of the nation and its assets, Akinmade emphasized that all necessary legal steps have been taken to ensure that “this spurious and baseless order is vacated within the shortest possible time.”
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