Economist Pat Utomi has rejected former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s allegations that he was blacklisted by the Ogun State House of Assembly.
Utomi, appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, stated he had no business dealings with Ogun State that would justify such claims.
He emphasized his policy of avoiding business with state governments, except in land-related matters.
He said, “Why would I have been blacklisted? I have never had any business with Ogun that would have led them to whitelist not to talk of blacklisting me.
“As a matter of policy, I don’t do business at all with state governments. The only time it would become necessary is when it comes to land matters because the government is the sole authority over land matters in Nigeria.
“Why would the House of Assembly blacklist me? For what? I have never had any business transactions with Ogun State until that time.
“That is what frightens me why public officials can make such preposterous accusations against me I heard that statement for the first time in my life. If I was blacklisted, for what?”
Utomi also criticized the Nigerian government’s acquisition of a large fleet of presidential jets, calling it “unnecessary” and suggesting that Nigeria should follow the example of countries like the UK, where prime ministers lease jets for official trips.
He expressed concern about the impact of inconsistent state policies on foreign investment and mentioned his own experiences of difficulties with Nigerian state governments.
“So that was my first reaction to why we would bring ourselves to this state of embarrassment.
“I have been warning about this for a long time. There are many sub-nationals in which the governors act so much irresponsibly in the way they get in and out of contracts with foreign organisations bringing great embarrassment to Nigeria.
“A lot of businesses will not come to Nigeria because they think Nigeria’s institutions are not reliable. They think because Nigeria can’t give them justice, and boundaries are not clear.
“Many state governments- a governor leaves, a new one comes, and they riff off everything the governor before him has done without thoughts for the consequences for his state and the country in terms of how seriously the world takes them.
“So when I realised that was what is prevalent, I decided to highlight my personal experience that happened as exactly as the one that led to the seizure of the presidential jets.
“This has happened to a lot of businessmen but because they don’t have the resources to approach the international court for arbitration, they just lick their wounds and let it go.
“It is not just Ogun State. I pointed out that I have a book that was published a few months ago. I published several case studies in the book. One of the cases was exactly what was done in another state in Nigeria that led to a foreign company in South Africa, leaving the country which led to so much loss because the governor decided to play games after he left office.
“After I made the remarks, I was told that the former Ogun State governor came out with thoughts against me.
“And I then thought that this is another big problem with Nigeria, where people who have held public office do not have the discipline to speak basic simple truths in conversations.
“The only time I have ever been in business with Ogun State was when we were trying to develop an agricultural value chain project”.
The economist’s remarks come in response to Amosun’s accusations related to a cancelled project with Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited.
Utomi lamented the frequent policy reversals by successive governors, which he believes contribute to Nigeria’s reputation as an unreliable business environment.
