Professor Ademola Abbas, an expert in International Law, has called on the Federal Government to reassess the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) it signed with China in 2001, aimed at promoting investment between both nations.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s “Inside Sources” with Laolu Akande, Abbas also advised the Federal Government and state authorities not to lower their standards in pursuit of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“When countries seek investment, they sometimes compromise their standards, becoming less strict than necessary,” Abbas remarked.
He cautioned that while Nigeria should welcome foreign investors, it must not “harm itself out of politeness, which it eventually did.”
This follows a recent ruling by a French court in favor of Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd., permitting the seizure of Nigerian presidential jets as “security” in an ongoing legal dispute between the Chinese company and the Ogun State government.
Abbas criticized Article 9 of the Nigeria-China BIT, describing it as a “misnomer” and a “serious mistake” that should not have been included in the treaty. He explained that this article grants rights to third parties who were not signatories to the treaty, even though it was only between the two countries.
