The Nigerian Presidency has strongly condemned the ongoing attempts by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company, to seize Nigeria’s offshore assets through what has been described as “deceptive and unorthodox means.” According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the Federal Government has no contractual obligations with Zhongshan, with the ongoing dispute being solely between the company and the Ogun State Government.
Onanuga clarified the situation by stating, “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.” He further noted that the Federal Government is well aware of the Ogun State Government’s efforts to reach an amicable resolution regarding the matter.
The origins of the dispute date back to a 2007 contract between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government for the management of a free-trade zone. Onanuga emphasized that when the contract was revoked in 2015, the only work completed by Zhongshan was the erection of a perimeter fence around the proposed zone. Despite this, the company pursued legal action, leading to a 2019 Arbitral Panel awarding over $60 million against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).
Despite several attempts at mediation, including a notable meeting in London in September 2023 involving Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Attorney General/Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, negotiations have repeatedly broken down. Zhongshan has persistently sought to enforce the arbitration award in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, USA, and more recently, France, where they obtained two court orders from the Judicial Court of Paris on March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024.
Onanuga criticized the company’s tactics, likening them to the infamous P&ID case, where foreign entities sought to exploit African governments through dubious legal maneuvers. He accused Zhongshan of misleading the Judicial Court in Paris by withholding critical information and misrepresenting the nature of the assets it sought to attach, including Nigeria’s presidential jets, which are protected by diplomatic immunity.
“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,” Onanuga asserted, adding that the Nigerian government is determined to protect its assets from such predatory actions.
He further warned of a concerning pattern where foreign companies attempt to defraud Nigeria with the collusion of certain bureaucrats. “Zhongshan appeared to have sold the judgment they got to a venture capitalist seeking to make money by embarrassing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu,” Onanuga stated.
In response to these aggressive legal tactics, the Presidency has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is working closely with the Ogun State Government to nullify the questionable court orders from Paris. “The Nigerian Government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors,” Onanuga concluded.
- Tags: arbitration award, asset protection, Bayo Onanuga, deceptive tactics, diplomatic immunity, Federal Government of Nigeria, foreign companies, free-trade zone, Nigerian government, offshore assets, Ogun State, Ogun state government, P&ID case, Paris Judicial Court, President Bola Tinubu, Presidential jets, Zhongshan Fucheng
