Seized Presidential Jets: ‘Ex-Gov Amosun Also Cancelled My Contract with Ogun Govt.’ – Pat Utomi

Seized Presidential Jets: ‘Ex-Gov Amosun Also Cancelled My Contract with Ogun Govt.’ – Pat Utomi

“The Chinese were not the only victims. One prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide with similar Amosun action. I too was a victim”

Nigerian renowned political economist, Pat Utomi, on Sunday, revealed how he suffered to pay back millions of naira in loans after former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, allegedly cancelled a contract he had with the state government.

Utomi disclosed this while reacting to Amosun’s admission that a contract he cancelled while he was Ogun governor has now led Nigeria to an embarrassing situation in which the country’s presidential jets are being seized in Europe.

Amosun in a statement published by this online medium said he cancelled the contract with the Chinese firm in 2016 after the Ogun government discovered that the firm’s claims were false.

The Chinese firm Zhongfu International Investment FXE recently secured a French court order to seize three Nigerian presidential jets over its business dispute with the Ogun government.

Utomi in his reaction in a post on X wrote, “The Chinese were not the only victims. One prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide with similar Amosun action. I too was a victim.

“I had leased OPIC land in Lagos in a BOT agreement under Gov Daniel. Amosun stopped all such on being sworn in.”

Utomi said he met with Amosun over the issue and the governor promised to resolve it but it was never resolved. He said he also sought the intervention of Bola Tinubu, who was not Nigeria’s president then, but to no avail.

“I lost my weary SA partners who owned a successful regional chain across Southern Africa and Asia. I licked my wounds and Slaved to pay off the loans. The Chinese had better leverage,” he wrote.

The full statement reads, “So it was Gov Amosun’s violation of contract terms signed by his predecessor that brought the shame of seizure of jets from the Presidential fleet. I hope he is happy at his achievement’.

“The whole matter is Khama at work. The Chinese were not the only victims. One prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide with similar Amosun action. I too was a victim.

“I had leased OPIC land in Lagos in a BOT agreement under Gov Daniel. Amosun stopped all such on being sworn in. I called him. He said he did not see my name on the list. I went to Abeokuta and he called in Yewandw Amusan who said mine was a straight forward deal they did not include it.

“He asked that all be included but mine be quickly sorted. That began a rigmarole that went on for years. I made another trip to Abeokuta. He drove me back to Lagos at the wheels with my driver trailing along with the escorts and sirens.

“He had earlier asked that I make a request for refund of what I paid even though my South African partners and I had invested 200m in addition to the lease amount at the time.

“With just two of us in the car he advised I make a claim for 100m and write for additional payments the day after I cash the cheque. It was surreal but if I got nothing more it would be better than being in court until we both retire.

“I took the case to APC leader BAT and Baba Akande. No result. Took it to Dapo Abiodun when he took over. Nothing came of it. If this happened to Frieda I wondered what enemies were going through.

“I lost my weary SA partners who owned a successful regional chain across Southern Africa and Asia. I licked my wounds and Slaved to pay off the loans. The Chinese had better leverage.

“They took it and all are shamed. My new book Power Policy Politics and Performance documents a similar case study in Enugu involving SA investors as the gubernatorial batons changed hands. When shall we learn. Values shape human progress.”