- Ogun State Has Created Problem For FG To Deal With, Foreign Affairs Minister Laments
- State Govt Should Never Sign International Agreements Without Recourse To Foreign Affairs Ministry
- Chinese Firm To Release One Jet For President Tinubu’s Trip To France
The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed willingness to negotiate with the Chinese Firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd over the $70m investment treaty award won by the firm.
Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister Of Foreign Affairs made this known while
speaking with reporters in Malabo, the capital city of Equatorial Guinea, on Friday.
The Matrix reports that Nigeria ran into troubled waters recently when a French court recently ordered the seizure of three presidential jets belonging to Nigeria over a contract dispute between the Chinese firm and Ogun state government.
The court ruled that the firm should use Nigeria’s jets at the Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse international airports as security for its claim of its treaty award.
All efforts by the Nigerian government to vacate the judgement has proven abortive so far as a US appeal court also ruled that Nigeria’s claim to sovereign immunity cannot stand in a commercial venture.
Addressing the issue with reporters on Friday in far away Malabo, the capital city of Equatorial Guinea, on Friday, Tuggar said he and Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-general Of The Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, are on top of the situation.
READ ALSO: Chinese Firm Releases Seized Presidential Jet Ahead Of Macron Meeting
He warned that this was one of the reasons why sub-national governments should never enter international agreement without recourse to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
He lamented that the Ogun State Government has created a problem for Nigeria to deal with.
“Yes, the Attorney General and I are working on it both diplomatically and then from legal perspective as well to ensure that this issue is resolved”.
“This is part of the problem when sub-national actors like state governments take it upon themselves to go into agreements, go into international arrangements, without recourse to the ministry of foreign affairs, without recourse to the federal government, and then when it goes awry, we are left with the problem to deal with”.
“That is why it is always important that such arrangements should be registered with the mission there, with the embassy, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with the federal government.
“This is something that Ogun state, under a different administration, not this governor, entered into that we’re not aware of. All we know is that they’re going after Nigerian assets.
“That’s why, really, foreign or international negotiations are not the purview of sub-national actors”.
“You should always have those that are experienced in such an area that have the necessary skills and the necessary training to negotiate these sorts of agreements” he lamented.
The minister added that updates would be provided on the matter in due time.
READ ALSO: Diplomatic Row Looms As Outrage Trails Seizure Of Nigeria’s Presidential Jets
Meanwhile, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gets prepared for his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron next week, the Chinese firm has expressed willingness to release one of the seized presidential jets.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the firm told another platform that the firm has been informed that President Bola Tinubu needs one of the seized jets — Airbus A330 — to travel for a meeting with his French counterpart.
“Zhongshan has consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute with Nigeria which was not of its making,” the official said.
“It (Zhongshan) has now been made aware that an Airbus A330, currently detained in France as a result of a French court order obtained by Zhongshan, is needed for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to travel to a scheduled meeting with President Macron of France early next week.
“As a gesture of goodwill, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure of that aircraft immediately. This will allow it to be used for the President’s trip.
“Zhongshan remains committed to talks with representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, this time serious and substantive on both sides, with a view to reaching a reasonable compromise settlement rapidly.”
The company did not disclose the time the other two presidential jets with be released.
