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Former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has dismissed allegations of breach of contract brought by renowned economist, Pat Utomi.
Utomi claims that Amosun’s government breached a contract that led to a Chinese company obtaining a court order to seize three presidential jets in France.
Amosun on Sunday responded with a statement revealing that the Ogun State House of Assembly had earlier issued a personal non grata pronouncement against Utomi, which he chose to ignore when he was governor.
He claimed that the Utomi construction project on Ogun State property was controversial and of questionable value to the state.
Amosun alleged that the professor’s project was hastily executed to present the facts to the new administration and challenged Utomi to prove his purported investment of N200 million in the project.
He defended his decision as governor, saying he served Ogun State with passion and would not be swayed by Utomi’s claims.
The statement read: “Before I assumed office, the Ogun State House of Representatives had issued a personal non grata statement against Utomi and inserted its resolution into the state black book.
“So, I was curious when I became governor and called Utomi to ask what the problem was. This was entirely my policy and not because she contacted me. However, I thought that as a person of good standing, it should not have happened, and I wanted to know what happened.
“However, he informed me, among other things, that there was an ongoing construction on the Ogun State property that had become controversial.
READ ALSO:Ogun govt denies knowledge of court order allowing seizure of presidential jet
“I immediately formed a team to verify and find out what to do. The team I sent said that the land was not suitable because the construction was being carried out on Ogun’s car park at Mobolaji Bank Anthony Road in Lagos State. My team then suggested another site.
“But he did not want another place because, according to him, the place in question gave more visibility. After our internal assessment, my team concluded that he could not have spent more than N35 million or at most, N50 million on the construction at that time. At that point, I decided to visit him myself.
“Furthermore, it is known that the so-called work that has been done was done in haste after it was known that another political party had won the gubernatorial election and would take over the reins of leadership in the state.
“It is also clear that what is being attempted is an ambush on the state government under my watch and presents us with a Fait Accompli, a situation that will create controversy over the dismantling of ongoing projects.
“I challenge everyone, including journalists, to let us meet him at the construction site and see the N200 million investment he claims has been made there. Let them also ask what benefits Ogun State will derive from the project.
“Nobody can put me down to make me look good. I served Ogun State with passion with all my might, and I did it with passion. I stand by every decision I made, regardless of whether people like Pat Utomi agree with me or not.
“Utomi knows that his case has no legal basis. He is no different from Zhongfu International Investment FXE. He knows that he cannot claim for the legal losses incurred on his investment. All he is trying to do is ‘jump on the bandwagon’, which is very embarrassing.”
The exchange follows controversy surrounding the Chinese company’s claims of a breach of the deal by the Ogun government, which led to the seizure of the presidential jet in France.
Amosun’s swift rebuttal has added to the heat, with both sides engaging in a war of words over breach of contract and rights.
‘He is no different from Chinese company behind seized planes,’ Amosun dismisses Utomi breach of contract allegations first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.
