The former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has described the Chinese company, Zhongshan’s seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets as an “international embarrassment.”
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said that the seizure of the presidential jets has also exposed multiple dimensions to Nigeria’s leadership failure and the country’s insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor class in the midst of Nigerian leaders.
Media earlier reported that the Chinese company, Zhongshan, successfully petitioned for the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets.
The company’s export processing zone management contract was terminated by the Ogun State government in 2016.
The seized jets, which are part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet, are a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737 and an undelivered Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland, which was purchased by Nigeria but not yet received.
The seizure is a result of the contractual dispute between Zhongshan and the Ogun State government and the government’s failure to honour a $74.5 million award granted to Zhongshan by an independent arbitral tribunal, chaired by the former President of the UK Supreme Court.
A French court authorized the seizure of the three presidential jets due to the ongoing dispute between Zhongshan, a Chinese company, and the Ogun State government.
Reacting to the reports of the seizure, Obi in a series of posts on his X account on Thursday said that the fact that President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government went ahead with the jet deal despite the cacophonous cry against the purchase of a presidential jet at a time when Nigerians are going through a horrifying economic hardship showed the insensitivity of the current administration.
Obi said, “The trending international news on the seizure of three Jets belonging to Nigeria’s Presidential fleet is yet another of many embarrassing things exposing our failed leadership and our attitude to the rule of law even in a democracy.
“It has also exposed multiple dimensions to our leadership failure and our insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor class in our midst.
“The fact that the federal government went ahead with the jet deal despite the cacophonous cry against the purchase of a Presidential jet at this time when the people are going through a horrifying economic hardship shows the insensitivity of this administration.
“Added to it is the embarrassing aspect of our country’s Presidential jets being held for contractual breaches arising from yet another dimension of inadequate leadership tidiness.
“I have been loud in my demand over time that the government at all levels should be accountable to the people, meaning that they must be very transparent in all their dealings.”
According to him, “Until a court in France prohibits Nigeria from moving or selling these three jets, Nigerians have no iota of information about both the buying and selling of these aircraft.
“It has been done in secrecy. Federal Government property, which belongs to the people, is being managed as a personal family asset.”
He said “Paying as much as $100m dollars for a Presidential jet for a country that is the poverty capital of the World and has more out-of-school children with over 40% food inflation is the height of concern for the people’s feelings.
“This incident has also opened up an aspect of indiscipline that is copiously embedded in our country which is the abuse and disrespect for the rule of law.
“Here are questions begging for answers: To what extent did the Ogun government follow its agreement with the Chinese firm?
“After the UK court ruling that prohibited some Nigeria building in Liverpool, what did both the Ogun state and Federal government do before the French court action?
“I would like to, therefore, challenge the federal government to come clean and transparent on this matter and tell Nigerians how we got to this latest international mess.”
Leave a Reply