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Three Presidential jets, including newly purchased one impounded in France
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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Three Nigerian presidential jets, including a newly purchased Airbus, have reportedly been seized by a French court amid legal dispute.
Three aircraft associated with the Nigerian government have been seized under the authority of a French court following a protracted legal battle between a sub-national and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese company, according to a Premium Times report.
The seizure includes a newly acquired Airbus A330 valued at over $100 million.
The aircraft in question—a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330—had either been part of the Nigerian presidential fleet or were recently purchased by the government.
The report says the Dassault Falcon 7X was undergoing maintenance at Paris-Le Bourget airport, while the Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 were stationed at Basel-Mulhouse International Airport for similar reasons.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Presidency until a presidential media aide advised that the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, was in the best position to speak on the incident.
Keyamo’s media aide Tunde Moshood refused to confirm or deny the report but also advised that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, would be in a better position to speak on the matter.
Attempts to reach Fagbemi have been futile as at press time but a spokesperson asked for time to make findings and promised to revert once he had more information.
According to the report, the seizure of the presidential jets is a result of an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.
Despite an arbitral tribunal, chaired by a former President of the UK Supreme Court, ruling in favour of Zhongshan and awarding them €74,459,221 in compensation, the decision has yet to be honoured.
As a result, Zhongshan sought enforcement of the arbitral award through the French legal system. The enforcement judge at the Paris Judicial Court granted the company authority to seize the aircraft, stating in the court order, “This protective seizure will take place to secure and preserve the claim arising from the arbitration award dated 26 March 2021, made by an ad hoc arbitral tribunal.”
The court further ordered that the aircraft be secured in such a way as to prevent their movement, saying, “The aircraft… will be positioned so that the cockpit faces a wall or building or in any other way that prevents it from taking off again autonomously.”
The report further adds that Zhongshan has taken similar actions in the United Kingdom, with buildings owned by the Nigerian government in Liverpool seized under the orders of a UK court in relation to the same unresolved dispute.
The Accord Party has defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the polling unit of former Osun Deputy Governor and ex-APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, in the ongoing Osun State governorship election.
According to results uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), Accord secured 131 votes at Polling Unit 003, Ife Ward 1 (Moore), St. Gabriel Primary School, in Ife East Local Government Area.
The APC polled 85 votes to finish second, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) recorded 10 votes. Other political parties obtained marginal votes at the polling unit.
The result adds to a series of early victories recorded by the Accord Party as INEC continues the uploading and collation of results across the state.
Earlier, Accord also won at the polling unit of former Osun Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in Okuku, Odo-Otin Local Government Area.
The result sheet uploaded on the IReV portal showed Accord polling 125 votes, ahead of the APC, which recorded 85 votes. The ADC secured five votes.
Meanwhile, INEC has continued to upload results from polling units across Osun State as the governorship election moves into the collation stage.
Voters across the state’s 30 local government areas cast their ballots on Saturday to elect a governor for the next four years.
The major contenders in the election include the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, and African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam.
The Accord Party has won the governorship election at the polling unit of former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in Okuku, Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state.
According to the result sheet uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) IReV portal, Accord polled 125 votes to emerge victorious at the polling unit.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) came second with 85 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured five votes.
The African Action Congress (AAC) scored two votes, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) each recorded one vote.
Other parties, including the AA, ADP, APGA, APM, APP, BP, NNPP and PRP, recorded no votes.
The result sheet showed that 228 voters were accredited, with 220 valid votes cast and eight rejected ballots.
The election was conducted at Court Hall I, Okuku, in Odo-Otin Local Government Area.
The result comes against the backdrop of Oyinlola’s reported endorsement of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, ahead of the election.
Oyinlola, who governed Osun State from 2003 to 2010, had publicly backed Oyebamiji despite the APC candidate running against incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The outcome at Oyinlola’s polling unit therefore puts the Accord Party ahead of the APC, with Adeleke’s party failing to secure the unit despite the incumbent governor’s participation in the election.
Voting was disrupted in Ejigbo, Osun State, after violence broke out at a polling unit during the ongoing Osun State Governorship election.
It was gathered that voters, residents and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fled the polling unit as tension escalated around the area.
According to Channels TV, people were seen running in different directions while motorcycles and vehicles moved through the area as residents attempted to escape the unfolding situation.
The immediate cause of the violence was not clear, as the chaos temporarily halted the ongoing electoral process.
The incident comes as voters come out in their numbers to partake in governorship election amid tight security.
Osun Election: Accord Defeats APC in Omisore’s Polling Unit
Osun election: Oyinlola Loses Polling Unit to Accord Party
Osun election: INEC officials take to their heels as violence erupts in Ejigbo
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