Bayo Onanuga has accused a Chinese company of misleading a Paris court to seize Nigerian assets, specifically presidential jets, in a dispute involving Ogun State. He vowed that the Nigerian government would protect its assets from exploitation and accused the company of attempting to embarrass President Tinubu.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, has raised concerns over a Chinese company’s alleged attempts to seize Nigerian assets. Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. reportedly misled the Judicial Court in Paris to secure an order to attach Nigeria's presidential jets, which were undergoing routine maintenance in France. Onanuga argued that the jets, being sovereign assets, are protected by diplomatic immunity, making any foreign court order against them invalid.
The root of the issue lies in a long-standing dispute between Zhongshan and the Ogun State government. The conflict began after a 2007 contract for managing a free trade zone was revoked in 2015. According to Onanuga, the Chinese company made only minimal progress on the project, constructing just a perimeter fence. Despite this, they secured a substantial arbitration award in 2019, which Ogun State has actively resisted in various international courts.
Onanuga accused Zhongshan of engaging in "arm-twisting tactics" by pursuing enforcement of the arbitration award in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK and the US, where they were unsuccessful. He also suggested that the company’s actions are part of a broader strategy to embarrass President Tinubu and extort the Nigerian government. Despite the ongoing legal battles, Onanuga assured that the Federal Government, in collaboration with Ogun State, would continue to defend Nigeria’s assets against what he described as predatory actions by unscrupulous foreign entities.
