The Traffic

Former Governor Amosun Admits to Signing Away Ogun Trade Zone to Dubious Chinese Investors

Yakubu Haruna Yakubu 

Ibikunle Amosun, the former governor of Ogun State, has confessed to mistakenly handing over a multibillion-naira free trade facility to Chinese investors in 2012. Amosun admitted that he was deceived into appointing Zhongfu International Investment Ltd as interim managers of the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, without conducting a thorough assessment of the facts.

The free trade zone was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Ogun State and Guangdong Xinguang International China Africa Investment Ltd (China Africa) to facilitate trade between Nigeria and China. However, Amosun's decision to appoint Zhongfu as interim managers led to a protracted legal crisis, resulting in Chinese investors targeting Nigeria's assets abroad.

Amosun revealed that Zhongfu had provided false information about China Africa, leading him to believe that the company was poorly managing the trade zone. He later discovered that Zhongfu's claims were untrue and that the company was attempting to take over the trade zone and its assets.

The former governor urged the federal government and Ogun State to be cautious in dealing with Zhongfu, stating that they should not negotiate with the company or recognize its claims. He compared the situation to the P&ID case, emphasizing that Nigeria should not indulge Zhongfu's unlawful attempts to appropriate its assets.