Former Governor Ibikunle Amosun confessed on Saturday that he was deceived into handing over the Ogun-Guandong Free Trade Zone to dubious Chinese investors, a decision that has since spiraled into a complex legal battle threatening Nigeria's assets abroad.
Amosun, who governed Ogun State from 2011 to 2019, admitted in a personally signed statement that he failed to conduct even a basic assessment of facts before allowing a Chinese team to take control of the trade zone in 2012. This oversight has led to aggrieved Chinese investors targeting Nigeria’s assets in Europe and the United States.
The free trade zone, initially conceived in 2007 under Governor Gbenga Daniel, was a joint venture between Ogun State and Guangdong Xinguang International China Africa Investment Ltd (China Africa). The project aimed to facilitate seamless trade between Nigeria and China in Igbesa, Ogun State, with China Africa holding a 60% stake and developing the 10,000-hectare facility.
However, in 2012, a year after Amosun took office, another firm, Zhongfu International Investment Ltd, claimed the zone was poorly managed and sought to take over its administration. Amosun, without thorough investigation, appointed Zhongfu as interim managers based on their damaging allegations against China Africa.
“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,” Amosun explained.
It was later discovered that Zhongfu's claims were false, aimed at undermining China Africa and covertly taking over the state-owned assets. The Chinese government intervened through diplomatic channels, revealing that China Africa was the rightful owner of the investment.
Despite removing Zhongfu, the company pursued legal action in various Nigerian courts but lost all four cases. Amosun urged the federal and Ogun State governments to avoid any resolutions favouring Zhongfu, comparing the situation to the P&ID case.
“Nigeria should not give Zhongfu International Investment FXE any listening ear as doing so would amount to indulging and encouraging an unlawful entity without locus standi to appropriate our common patrimony,” Amosun stated.
The ongoing legal disputes have seen Chinese investors attempting to seize Nigerian assets, including private jets used by President Bola Tinubu in France.
On August 9, an appellate judicial panel in the U.S. authorized Zhongfu’s parent firm, Zhongshan, to continue its efforts to seize Nigeria’s assets in the U.S., following a $60 million compensation judgment obtained in the UK in 2021.
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