By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA FCT – Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 general election, Peter Obi has reacted to the seizure of the presidential jets order by French Court, saying until the court prohibition of Nigeria from moving or selling these three jets, Nigerians have no iota of information about both the buying and selling of these aircraft.
Obi made the revelation against the backdrop of news making rounds to the effect that a French court has authorized the seizure of three presidential jets linked to the Federal Government of Nigeria as part of a legal battle involving Zhongshan, a Chinese company and Ogun state government. The company had a business dispute with the Ogun State government, which led to this significant legal action,
Disclosing this in a statement released on his X account on Thursday, titled “Seizure of Presidential Jets- An International Embarrassment,” Obi said:
“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. – PO
Precise Post recalls that the three seized jets include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 located at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland. The three aircraft are part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet and are currently undergoing maintenance.
Two of the jets were recently put up for sale, while the Airbus 330 was purchased by Nigeria but had not yet been delivered. The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100 million for the Airbus.
The seizure stems from a 2016 decision by the Ogun State government to revoke Zhongshan’s export processing zone management contract.
Following this revocation, an independent arbitral tribunal, chaired by a former UK Supreme Court President, awarded Zhongshan $74.5 million in compensation.
The French court’s order prohibits the movement, sale, or purchase of the seized jets until the $74.5 million compensation is paid to Zhongshan.
Bailiffs have already served legal papers for each aircraft, signaling a significant escalation in the ongoing legal dispute.
This development follows a similar incident in which Nigerian-owned properties in Liverpool, England, were seized by a UK court in connection with the same dispute.
Zhongshan secured charging orders against two properties in Liverpool—15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road—which are estimated to be worth between £1.3 million and £1.7 million.
However, the Ogun State government in a statement on Thursday stating her stand as follows:
OUR STAND ON ZHONGSHAN’S SUBTERFUGE AND PARIS COURT’S SEIZURE ORDER—-OGUN STATE GOVERNMENT
On 14 August 2024, the attention of the @OGSG_Official was drawn to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian government owned aircrafts in France by the Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. (“Zhongshan”). Ogun State also learned of two orders of the Judicial Court of Paris dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024 respectively, both obtained by Zhongshan without notice being duly given to the Federal Government or Nigeria, Ogun State or their legal counsel. 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.
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.
Ogun State in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay.
Just like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.
It should be recalled that the underlying contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the present administration, 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 hearing at the arbitration had been all but concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) 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. The resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions. Currently, 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. In cases similar to the present one where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, Ogun State has successfully set aside the orders.