Former Governor Ibikunle Amosun on Saturday revealed that he was misled into transferring control of a free trade facility in Ogun State to a Chinese investment group, adding a new layer to the ongoing legal battles that risk depleting Nigeria’s assets abroad.
Mr. Amosun, who governed the southwestern Nigerian state from 2011 to 2019, acknowledged in a personally signed statement that he failed to properly vet the facts before allowing a Chinese team to take over the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone in 2012. This decision triggered a long-standing legal crisis that recently led disgruntled Chinese investors to target Nigeria’s assets in Europe and the United States.
The free trade zone was initially conceived in 2007 between Ogun State, under then-Governor Gbenga Daniel, and Guangdong Xinguang International China Africa Investment Ltd (China Africa) to facilitate seamless trade between Nigeria and China in Igbesa, Ogun State. China Africa, holding 60 percent of the stake, was developing the 10,000-hectare facility when, in 2012, a year after Mr. Amosun took office, another firm, Zhongfu International Investment Ltd, claimed that the zone was being mismanaged and sought to take over its administration.
In his statement, Mr. Amosun said he appointed Zhongfu as the interim manager of the trade zone, pending further investigation into the allegations.
“Zhongfu International Investment FXE, posing as a concerned tenant and stakeholder, provided highly damaging and misleading information about the official representatives of Guangdong Province, the Joint Venturer and rightful Zone Managers, China Africa Investment FXE, and requested to be appointed as Interim Zone Managers.
“Based on the available information, Zhongfu International Investment FXE was appointed interim zone manager on March 15, 2012, pending further evaluation. The intention was to ensure someone was in charge and to prevent any negative developments in the zone while we completed our fact-finding exercise.
“It was later discovered that the information provided by Zhongfu International Investment FXE against China Africa Investment FXE was entirely false.
“Unbeknownst to Ogun State at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE was merely attempting to undermine China Africa Investment FXE and covertly seize control of the state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China, along with the zone’s ownership and management rights,” Mr. Amosun explained.
The former governor noted that Chinese authorities later intervened directly through several diplomatic notes from their mission in Nigeria.
“It was much later discovered—through the intervention of the Chinese Government via Diplomatic Note 1601, dated March 11, 2016—that the company we had terminated was, in fact, the legitimate owner of the investment,” Mr. Amosun stated.
After removing Zhongfu International Investment, the company pursued legal action in various Nigerian courts to assert its rights but lost all four cases filed, according to Mr. Amosun, who did not specify the details of these cases.
Consequently, the former governor urged the federal government and Ogun State to refrain from engaging in any resolutions that would benefit Zhongfu.
“Nigeria should not entertain any requests from Zhongfu International Investment FXE, as doing so would be tantamount to supporting an unlawful entity without standing to appropriate our common patrimony,” Mr. Amosun stated. “This matter involving Zhongfu International Investment FXE should be handled like the P&ID case. There is no basis for negotiation.”
Mr. Amosun has recently faced criticism for being the source of Nigeria’s current confrontation with Chinese investors before international arbitration panels. The Chinese have sought to seize private jets used by President Bola Tinubu in France.
On August 9, a U.S. appellate judicial panel authorized Zhongfu’s parent firm, Zhongshan, to continue its legal efforts to seize Nigeria’s assets in the U.S. Zhongshan had secured a $60 million compensation judgment in the United Kingdom in 2021, which it has been attempting to enforce in France, the U.S., and other countries where Nigeria’s assets might be targeted.
Source: People Gazette
