A professor of political economy and management expert, Utomi had accused Amosun of violating contract terms signed by his predecessor, leading to the controversial seizure of jets from the presidential fleet.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former Governor of Ogun State, has fired back at Prof. Pat Utomi for his criticism, accusing the professor of harbouring a sense of entitlement.
A professor of political economy and management expert, Utomi had accused Amosun of violating contract terms signed by his predecessor, leading to the controversial seizure of jets from the presidential fleet.
Utomi also alleged that a prominent Ogun indigene committed suicide as a result of actions similar to those taken by Amosun.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that the Ogun State Government had vowed to resist any attempts at blackmail and theatrics aimed at extorting or embarrassing Nigeria in connection with the recent seizure of presidential aircraft.
The controversy stems from an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company, whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.
A French court recently impounded three Nigerian government-owned jets due to the protracted legal dispute with a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment.
The dispute originated from a 2007 agreement between the Chinese company and Ogun State, Nigeria, to establish a free-trade zone and industrial park.
However, the contract was terminated between 2015 and 2016, leading to a prolonged legal battle.
Utomi, in a statement posted on his X account on Sunday, said, "The whole matter is Khama at work. The Chinese were not the only victims; a prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide due to similar actions by Amosun.”
According to Utomi, he was also a victim.
Amosun defended his decision to cancel the 2016 contracts, stating that he did so upon discovering the firm's fraudulent claims. He implied that Utomi's disapproval stems from a mentality of entitlement, which he refused to indulge during his tenure as governor.
In a response to Prof. Utomi's claims on social media, Amosun not only refuted the allegations but also revealed that the Ogun State House of Assembly had previously designated Utomi as persona non grata, effectively declaring him an enemy of the state.
This designation was reportedly due to Utomi's involvement in questionable business dealings in the state, which the assembly deemed detrimental to Ogun's interests.
Amosun explained, “Before I came into office, the Ogun State House of Assembly had passed a personal non grata on Utomi, and put its resolution in the state’s black book.
“So, I was curious when I became governor and called Utomi to ask what the issue was. This was entirely at my discretion and not because he reached out to me. But I reckoned that as one with some degree of name-recognition, that should not be, and I wanted to know what happened.
“He, however, told me, amongst other things, that there was an ongoing construction in an Ogun State property that had become controversial.
“I immediately raised a team for verification and to know what to do. The team I sent said the land was inappropriate because the said construction was being done in the car park of the Ogun property on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Road in Lagos State. My team then suggested somewhere else.
“But he didn’t want another place because, according to him, the place in question gave more visibility. After our in-house assessment, my team concluded he could not have spent more than N35m or at most, N50m on the construction as of then. At that point, I decided to visit myself.
“In addition, it was discovered that the so-called work done was hurriedly executed in the wake of the realisation that another political party had won the governorship election and would take over the reins of leadership in the state.
“It was also obvious that what was being attempted was a move at ambushing the state government under my watch and presenting us with a Fait Accompli, a situation that would have generated a controversy about demolition of an on-going project.
“Just so that his investment in the state would not go to waste, I committed to making a refund of N100 million as against his claim of N200 million. He pressured me ceaselessly to pay him N200 million, but I did not yield.
“As part of his determination to sway me, he deployed his Centre for Value in Leadership, CVL, through the instrumentality of an Award. At first, it all looked curious that I’d just been in office for about two years, and here I was being given an award, so I rejected it.
“But he insisted that I honour his CVL Solution Conference Series with my presence, which I did, and I was given a plague for participating. But I did not change my position on the refund of N100 million as against his N200 million claim.
“A few years later, he complained to some people with the sole intent to malign me. When I heard, I called to tell him off because his problem was purely one of entitlement mentality. He even boasted, asking me: ‘Do you know who I am?’ Imagine! But I ignored him because I immediately saw through his true colour. In my book, it’s one law for everyone, no matter who you are.
“I challenge everyone, including journalists, to let us meet at the construction site and see the N200 million investment he claimed to have made there. Let them also ask what benefit the project would have been to Ogun State.
“Nobody can talk me down in order to look good. I served Ogun State passionately with all my strengths, and I did with my shoulders high. I stand by every decision I took, whether or not people like Pat Utomi were in agreement with me.
“Utomi knows his case did not even have any legs to stand on. He is not different from Zhongfu International Investment FXE. He knows he cannot lay claims to any lawful damage done to his investment. All he has tried to do is a ‘me too’, which is very disgraceful.”
The former governor, however, contended that, for “Nigeria to become a better country, one law must be applied to every Nigerian, irrespective of your status, religion, or tribe”, insisting that “if Nigerians truly want a great nation, they should hold their leaders accountable for every action. But, if Nigerians allow people to hoodwink them with misinformation, mischaracterisation, and dubious tales by moonlight, it will be unfortunate.”