Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has described the attachment of three Nigerian presidential jets as international embarrassment. He also urged the Federal Government to tell Nigerians how we got to this “embarrassing” stage as a nation.
The former Anambra State Government in a series of tweets spoke in response to the Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, which got a court injunction to ground three presidential jets belonging to the Federal Government in Europe.
The firm has also initiated plans to seize other Nigerian assets in the United Kingdom, United States of America and in six other countries.
Reports state that the company had instituted legal proceedings in about eight jurisdictions globally, regarding the dispute. The other countries include Belgium, Canada, France, Singapore and the British Virgin Islands.
This comes as the Federal Government vowed to protect its foreign assets from “predators.”
It may be recalled that, in 2001, China and Nigeria signed a bilateral investment treaty aimed at promoting commercial investment between the two countries.
In 2007, Ogun State reportedly entered into a joint venture agreement with a Chinese company and another company to create the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone Company. The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, a Federal Government entity that oversees free-trade zones in Nigeria, then delegated control and operation of the free-trade zone to the company.
In the first half of 2016, however, Ogun State terminated its agreements with Zhongshan, claiming that a different Chinese company was legally entitled to Zhongshan’s share of the free-trade zone and that Zhongshan had defrauded Ogun.
Things continued to deteriorate. One Ogun official texted a Zhongshan executive, urging him ‘as a friend’ to ‘leave peacefully when there is opportunity to do so, and avoid forceful removal, complications and possible prosecution.’ The following month, Ogun issued an arrest warrant for two executives, alleging a ‘criminal breach of trust.’
Nigerian federal police arrested one Zhongshan executive at gunpoint and held him for 10 days, reports added. During that time, the police denied the executive food and water, beat him, intimidated him, and questioned him about the whereabouts of the other executive.
Based on these findings, the arbitral tribunal found that Nigeria had breached its obligations under the Investment Treaty and that Zhongshan was entitled to $55.6m in compensation from Nigeria and $75,000 in moral damages, along with interest and legal and arbitral fees.
Responding to the issue, Peter Obi had stated, “The trending international news on the seizure of three Jets belonging to Nigeria’s Presidential fleet is yet another of many embarrassing things exposing our failed leadership and our attitude to the rule of law even in a democracy.
“It has also exposed multiple dimensions to our leadership failure and our insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor class in our midst.
“The fact that the federal government went ahead with the jet deal despite the cacophonous cry against the purchase of a Presidential jet at this time when the people are going through a horrifying economic hardship shows the insensitivity of this administration.
“Added to it is the embarrassing aspect of our country’s Presidential jets being held for contractual breaches arising from yet another dimension of inadequate leadership tidiness.
“I have been loud in my demand over time that the government at all levels should be accountable to the people, meaning that they must be very transparent in all their dealings. Until a court in France prohibits Nigeria from moving or selling these three jets, Nigerians have no iota of information about both the buying and selling of these aircraft.
“It has been done in secrecy. Federal Government property, which belongs to the people, is being managed as a personal family asset.
“Paying as much as $100m dollars for a Presidential jet for a country that is the poverty capital of the World and has more out-of-school children with over 40% food inflation is the height of concern for the people’s feelings. This incident has also opened up an aspect of indiscipline that is copiously embedded in our country which is the abuse and disrespect for the rule of law.
“Here are questions begging for answers:
“To what extent did the Ogun government follow its agreement with the Chinese firm?
“After the UK court ruling that prohibited some Nigeria building in Liverpool, what did both Ogun state and Federal government do before the French court action ?
“I would like to, therefore, challenge the federal government to come clean and transparent on this matter and tell Nigerians how we got to this latest international mess.”
