Assets’ Seizure: Int’l Negotiations Not In Purview Of States, FG Warns

The Federal Government has said that the international negotiations were not within the purview of states warning that any subnational intending to do that must involve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office if the nation’s Attorney-General.

Speaking about the recent attempted  seizure of national assets by a Chinese Firm, Zhongshan Eucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar said the government was employing both legal and diplomatic measures to resolve the issue.

Tuggar, while commenting on the asset seizure ruling in favour of the Chinese Firm in Malabo where he accompanied President Bola Tinubu on  a three-day state visit, said “the Attorney General and I are working on it, both diplomatically and then from the legal perspective as well, to ensure that this issue is resolved.

“But you see again, this is part of the problem when sub national actors like state governments take it upon themselves to go into agreements, go into international arrangements, without recourse to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without recourse to the federal government, and then when it goes awry, we are left with the with the problem to deal with.

“And that is why it’s always important that such arrangements should be registered with the mission there, with the embassy, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with the federal government.

“This is something that Ogun state, under a different administration, not this governor, entered into that we’re not aware of.

“All we know is that you know they’re going after Nigerian assets. That’s why, really, foreign or international negotiations is not the purview of subnational actors.

You should always have those that are experienced in such an area that have the necessary skills and the necessary training to negotiate these sort of agreements, negotiations.”

On level of negotiations to get the jets released, he said “The negotiation efforts is in progress. We will come back to you and give you an update as and when.”

The Minister equally said that the President on his visit secured beneficial deals, especially on gas, with Equatorial Guinea.