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Two former governors of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and Gbenga Daniel, have pledged to support the Federal Government's efforts to recover the national assets seized by a French court.
A Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited, had obtained a court judgment, leading to the seizure of three presidential jets– a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 330.
In 2007, the Ogun State Government entered into a joint venture agreement with Zhongshan and another company to create the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone Company.
However, in the first half of 2016, the agreement between the parties broke down, prompting Zhongshan to file lawsuits in Nigerian federal and state courts to seek reinstatement of its contractual rights, which were unsuccessful.
The Chinese firm was awarded damages by the French court, which prohibited Nigeria from moving or selling three presidential jets until the $74.5m awarded was paid.
The former governors, in separate statements on Saturday, described Zhongshan as a scammer, adding that there was no basis for the company’s claims to compensation.
Amosun, in a statement he signed on Saturday, said Nigeria should not give Zhongfu (also called Zhongshan) any listening ear, as doing so would amount to encouraging “an unlawful entity without locus standi to appropriate our common patrimony.
He insisted that there was no basis for negotiation.
He said, "Government is a continuum at different levels, and the various segments of events leading to this unfortunate situation occurred before, during and after our administration.
Our administration assumed office on May 29, 2011. Very shortly after we took office, two different sets of Chinese companies, Messrs China Africa Investment FXE and Zhongfu International Investment FXE laid claims to management rights over the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.
The business dispute and rivalry between the Chinese concerns soon became fierce, grounding seamless business activities and threatening public peace and safety within the zone and neighboring communities.
There were claims and counter-claims as to who between the two was the lawful representative of the original joint venturer, Guangdong Province, China, and consequentially who had the right to manage the zone.
Zhongfu International Investment FXE, pretending to be a concerned and genuine tenant and zone stakeholder, volunteered very damaging and destructive information about the official representatives of Guangdong Province, the Joint Venturer and lawful zone managers, China Africa Investment FXE, and subsequently requested to be appointed as interim zone managers."
The state government appointed Zhongfu as an interim zone manager on March 15, 2012 to prevent unwholesome development in the zone pending the completion of a fact-finding exercise.
However, the state later discovered that Zhongfu's claims against China Africa were lies, and Zhongfu's actions were aimed at de-marketing China Africa and converting state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China.
After receiving a diplomatic note from the Government of China dated March 11, 2016, the state government discovered that China Africa was the rightful investor.
