The Presidency stated on Thursday, 15 August 2024, that Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company, is engaging in fraudulent activities to seize control of several aircraft from Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet.

According to a statement signed on Thursday by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, “The Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company.

“The case between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government involves the company attempting to take our offshore assets through all unconventional means. ‘Chinese company’s fraudulent attempt to strip Nigeria’s assets abroad’ is the title of the statement.

Onanuga was reacting to earlier news that, in the midst of a legal battle between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government, a French Court had approved the seizure of three Nigerian Presidential jets, including a recently acquired Airbus.

“The Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company, stated the Presidential Adviser.” Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government are involved in a legal dispute wherein the latter is attempting to seize our offshore assets through all unusual ways.

“The efforts of the Ogun State Government to find a peaceful solution to the issue are fully recognized by the Federal Government”

Under the circumstances surrounding the 2007 agreement between the business and the State Government to oversee a free-trade zone, it is unequivocally stated that Zhongshan lacks a valid basis on which to demand compensation from the Ogun State Government.

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