Tinubu’s China visit presents opportunity to resolve $70m dispute

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is set to visit China from September 4 to 6, representing the fifteen West African countries of ECOWAS at the China–Africa Cooperation Summit.

The Nigerian president will attend in his capacity as the Chairman of the Authority of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government to discuss regional peace and security with President Xi Jinping, Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson told State House correspondents on Tuesday, further stating that the meeting could yield significant economic benefits for Nigeria.

This visit comes at a critical time, as Nigeria and its regional partners face mounting tensions over an unresolved $70m dispute with the Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment which led to the seizure of the nation’s properties including three of its presidential jets in France and Switzerland under a UK High Court order.

The seizure is part of Zhongshan’s attempt to retrieve its $70m in an arbitration award against Nigeria in a botched 2013 deal with the Ogun State government to build a free trade area in the state, Zhongfu stated that the state, through a “campaign of illegal acts” backed out of the agreement and wanted to overturn their 60 percent investment in the project.

Nigeria’s previous attempts to challenge the arbitration in the past two years have been largely unsuccessful. Last year, the country was denied state immunity by the a UK High Court, which ruled that it had exceeded the time limit for appealing arbitral awards. The arbitration was further enforced by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which said that it held the jurisdiction under the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Tinubu’s visit to China presents a new opportunity to address these issues, particularly as he seeks to broker peace talks with the sovereign leader of the second most powerful country in the world.

The Nigerian government has already said that it is “not under any contractual obligation” with Zhongshan and accuses them of using the case to “strip our offshore assets.”

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated that the dispute is between Zhongshan and Ogun State, asserting that the company had no solid ground for restitution, as their only accomplishment in the free trade area was erecting a perimeter fence.

The presidency promises to work with the Ogun State Government to “discharge this frivolous order in Paris.” “Nigerian Government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors,” Onanuga said.

Tinubu will hope to leverage bi-national connections and previous cooperative agreements to advocate for a resolution during his visit in September.