FG Moves to Resolve Impounded Aircraft Issue

.Blames sub-nationals for improper handling of foreign matters 

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

The federal government has attributed the dispute which resulted in the impoundment of three of its aircraft by order of a French court, to the wrong handling of international affairs by sub-national actors.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, who made this disclosure on Friday while speaking to reporters, however, said the federal government was already taking steps towards resolving the issue.

Commenting on the development at Malabo International Airport, Tuggar said his ministry is working with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to address the issue diplomatically and legally, adding that negotiations were ongoing and  update will be provided when necessary. 

The Minister attributed the predicament to a past agreement entered into by the Ogun State government, without federal government’s knowledge or recourse to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

He emphasized the importance of registering such arrangements with the relevant authorities to avoid future complications.

His words: “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 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 problem to deal with. 

“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 they’re going after Nigerian assets. 

“That’s why, really, foreign or international negotiations is not the purview of sub-national 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. 

“Well, it’s in progress, we will come back to you and give you an update as and when”.

Tuggar also described President Bola  Tinubu’s three-day state visit to Equatorial Guinea as a resounding success, yielding significant agreements and strengthening regional cooperation.

Highlight of the visit was the signing of a gas treaty, where Nigeria will supply gas to Equatorial Guinea’s liquefied natural gas plant, utilizing Nigeria’s untapped gas resources off the coast of Calabar and Akwa Ibom. 

A stretch of over 150-kilometer pipeline will be constructed to facilitate the gas transfer.

Beyond the gas treaty, Tuggar noted that the two presidents agreed to boost trade between the countries and explore joint export opportunities. 

According to him, the resuscitation of the Joint National Commission, with its first meeting scheduled for November, will facilitate cooperation on safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

He praised the precedent set by Equatorial Guinea’s 2022 arrest and extradition of a vessel involved in illicit oil activities in Nigeria, which has since reduced piracy incidents in Nigerian waters. 

Tuggar said: “It’s been fantastic. The two countries, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, have been neighbors and there have been a lot of opportunities that have been identified, but not actualized. But President Tinubu, visiting here, first and foremost, has sealed this gas treaty, it’s been signed, where Nigerian gas will be delivered to Equatorial Guinea. 

“Equatorial Guinea has a liquefied natural gas plant, it’s running out of gas, so it’s in need of Nigerian gas to keep the LNG plant going and of course we have untapped gas resources just nearby, off the coast of Calabar, Akwa Ibom. So it’s only a matter of constructing 150 kilometer or so pipeline to the LNG plant here. 

“So this is really a remarkable achievement, but that’s not all. Of course, you can see that this is a very fertile land, plantains and bananas grow in the wild and of course, there is so much trade that could be going on that is not and the two presidents have agreed to increase the trade that is going on, and also the trade that the two countries can harness together for exports to other countries. 

“So we also have a Joint National Commission that has been inactive, President Tinubu has resuscitated that, along with his counterpart, and we are going to have the first meeting in November. 

“Also within that framework, there is the issue of cooperation in terms of safety and security of the Gulf of Guinea. These are the two countries that are essentially gatekeepers of the Gulf of Guinea and that security collaboration, if you remember, in 2022 there was a vessel that was involved in illicit oil activities in Nigeria, stolen crude, and it ran here and the authorities in Equatorial Guinea arrested that vessel and handed over the crew to Nigeria. 

“So that has set a precedence, it’s in fact one of the reasons why, since 2022 Nigeria has not recorded any piracy incident within our territorial waters because the pirates know that if they do anything and they run to a place like Equatorial Guinea, they’re going to be sent back to Nigeria for trial and it signaled the same thing for other countries. 

“So this is a sort of collaboration we need in the Gulf of Guinea and the agreements that are being prepared to be signed during the Joint National Commission. So there’re different facets and different aspects of the achievement of this visit”.