Utomi already in Ogun’s black book before I became governor — Amosun

Former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has replied to Professor Pat Utomi over his attack directed at him, stating that the renowned economist’s problem is purely one of entitlement.

In a post on X on Sunday, Utomi claimed it was Amosun’s violation of contract terms signed by his predecessor, Gbenga Daniel, that led to the seizure of jets from the Presidential fleet by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, following an order by a Paris court.

Amosun said he cancelled the 2016 contracts after finding out the firm’s claims were not true.

Reacting to the post by Utomi via X, Amosun said that the Ogun State House of Assembly had already declared the economist an enemy of the state as a result of his involvement in shoddy business deals in the state.

“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,” Amosun said.

“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 to ambush the state government under my watch and present us with a fait accompli, a situation that would have generated a controversy about the demolition of an ongoing 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 plaque 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 so 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 status, religion, or tribe.

He insisted 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, mischaracterization, and dubious tales by moonlight, it will be unfortunate.