Former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has cautioned the Federal Government against engaging in negotiations with Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, amid the ongoing controversy over the seizure of three presidential jets in Paris.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Amosun, who served as Ogun State Governor from May 2011 to May 2019, described the Chinese firm as an “impostor” and urged the government to avoid falling victim to a potential scam.
The controversy erupted after a French court ruled in favor of Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co., allowing the firm to seize three Nigerian presidential jets undergoing routine maintenance in Paris. The seizure was granted as “security” in a decades-long arbitration dispute involving the Chinese company and the Ogun State government.
The Nigerian Presidency has accused the Chinese firm of attempting “to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.” The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, announced that diplomatic and legal efforts were underway to resolve the matter amicably.
Amosun, however, urged the government to exercise caution, recounting a history of disputes involving the company. He explained that in 2011, two Chinese companies, Messrs China Africa Investment FXE and Zhongfu International Investment FXE, laid competing claims to management rights over the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ).
“The business dispute and rivalry between the Chinese concerns soon became fierce, grounding seamless business activities and threatening public peace and safety within the Zone and neighboring communities,” Amosun stated.
He revealed that Zhongfu International Investment FXE was appointed as Interim Zone Manager in March 2012, pending further evaluation, but subsequent investigations revealed that the company’s claims against China Africa Investment FXE were unfounded. Amosun further noted that the People’s Republic of China, in a diplomatic note to the Ogun State Government in 2016, clarified that China Africa Investment FXE was the rightful investor.
Amosun emphasized that Zhongfu International Investment FXE had previously lost four court cases in Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to disregard the company’s claims, likening the situation to the P&ID case that nearly cost Nigeria billions in arbitration.
“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 standi to appropriate our common patrimony,” he warned.
He added, “This matter should be treated the way Nigeria treated the P&ID case. There is no basis for negotiation. I am ready to work with the government to ensure that Nigeria is not scammed by Zhongfu International Investment FXE or any other entity.”
Amosun concluded by expressing concern that a business dispute between two Chinese companies had escalated into an unlawful attempt to seize Nigeria’s sovereign assets, calling it “unacceptable” and urging that it “must not be allowed to stand.”
