The Presidency has condemned what it called a “fraudulent attempt” by Chinese company Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited to seize the Nigerian government’s assets abroad.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Thursday, said Zhongshan recently obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris, dated March 7 and August 12, 2024, respectively, in an attempt to attach Nigerian government-owned assets, including presidential jets undergoing routine maintenance in France.
Onanuga said the court orders were obtained without proper notice being served.
He further explained that, the dispute stemmed from a 2007 contract between Zhongshan and Ogun State Government to manage a free trade zone (FTZ).
He said when the contract was revoked in 2015, the company had reportedly only erected a perimeter fence on the designated land.
Onanuga said, “the Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company. The case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State Government.
“The Federal Government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun State Government to reach an amicable resolution on the matter.
“It must be said without any equivocation that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government based on the facts regarding the 2007 contract between the company, and the State Government to manage a free-trade zone.
“When the contract with Ogun State was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for a free trade zone.
“While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is working with the Ogun State Government on an amicable resolution, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without any notice being duly served on the Federal Government of Nigeria and Ogun State Government.
“This arm-twisting tactic by the Chinese company is the latest in a long list of failed moves to attach Nigerian government-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions.
“The material facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan point to another P&ID case in which unscrupulous and questionable individuals falsely present themselves as investors, with the sole objective of undercutting and scamming Governments in Africa.”
According to him, an arbitration panel later awarded over $60 million against the Federal Government of Nigeria, a decision the government was contesting.
The Presidency likened the situation to the controversial P&ID case, suggesting that Zhongshan was attempting to “defraud Nigeria with the collaboration of some bureaucrats.”
The government asserted that, Zhongshan has no valid grounds for demanding restitution and has failed in similar attempts to enforce judgements in the UK and USA.
He stated that the federal government was working with the Ogun State government to discharge the order in Paris immediately.
He emphasised that Nigeria will “always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors.”
Onanuga also revealed that settlement discussions between Ogun State and Zhongshan broke down in September 2023, with the company insisting on full payment of the arbitration debt.
He added that the Nigerian government remained open to a “reasonable settlement option” but denounces what it sees as arm-twisting tactics by the Chinese company.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has confirmed the recent seizure of three Nigerian government presidential aircraft by a French court.
The French court grounded the jets due to a contract dispute between the Ogun State government and Zhongshan, a Chinese company that had entered into an agreement with the state government.
The contract between the two parties, however, hit a deadlock and was revoked by the state government in 2016.
Following this disagreement, the Chinese firm took both the state government and the Federal Government to court, prompting the French court to seize the three presidential aircraft within its jurisdiction.
Earlier, an independent arbitral tribunal had awarded Zhongshan approximately $74.5 million in compensation. However, the Ogun State government, which disputes this award, has yet to honour it.
In a swift response, the state government described the judicial action as unfair and threatened to contest the order.
In a statement on Thursday, signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the state government condemned the development as a new tactic by the Chinese company to seize Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, noting that past efforts had continually failed.
The statement reads in part, “Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and, as such, is immune from attachment under international and French law. In securing the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State, and their legal counsel.”
Akinmade further alleged that, Zhongshan misled the Paris court regarding the nature and use of the seized assets.
“Shockingly, it also appears to have misled the Judicial Court of Paris about the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and failed to make full disclosure to the court as required by law.
“Ogun State, in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay.”
The government likened the situation to the P&ID case, insisting that “this is another unfortunate instance of unscrupulous individuals posing as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.”
Akinmade recalled that the contract between the state and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the Dapo Abiodun-led government, for the management of a free-trade zone. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015, with arbitration commencing in 2016.
“By 2019, when the current State Administration took office, the arbitration hearing had been nearly concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over $60 million against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), which was a co-defendant, despite Zhongshan merely constructing a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone. Needless to say, this was a flawed and unfair decision.”
