Political economist Pat Utomi has condemned ex-Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s characterisation of him as having “entitlement mentality” and suggested that the former Ogun honcho is a desperate and lying politician.

“He (Mr Amosun) said that I was one of those ‘entitlement’ people wanting government to give me. I don’t do business with governments. Go and check; I’ve never done business with government just because I hate the business of bribes. 

“Only when it comes to land where you have no choice, government is the only one who has the authority to issue certificates of occupancy. Check my business career, nothing with government,” Mr Utomi stated in an interview with News Central on Sunday.

Mr Amosun had, on Saturday, accused Mr Utomi of organising a fake leadership award to extort money from him during his tenure as an Ogun governor.

“So, for him to say ‘entitlement’ and government, it’s very funny because the irony there is that when Lagos state came back to democracy, the governor then (Tinubu), who is in Abuja now, had me helping out. I used to organise quarterly retreats for the government. I charged Lagos state government nothing. 

“In fact, I can tell you one particular three weeks stretch (sic), I did a retreat for a well-known bank, charged them over N20 million, did for NIMASA, charged them over N20 million, did for Lagos state government, charged them zero. The man in charge was Yemi Cardoso who is governor of central bank. He can corroborate that anytime,” Mr Utomi stressed.

The economist-cum-politician added, “So, to wake up and Amosun decides that I’m ‘entitlement’ trying to use influence, it’s so preposterous, I don’t even know where to start to look at the issue. But it shows the character of our politicians and what they try to invent.”

Mr Utomi denied ever being declared persona non grata by the Ogun House of Assembly.

“It shows you how they can say anything in their desperation. It’s really sad for the country. That’s why investors are worried about Nigeria,” Mr Utomi pointed out.