The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, says the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is being done because of the business relationship between President Bola Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, the owner of Hitech, the contractor awarded the contract for the expressway.

Atiku said the project was awarded in contravention of the procurement laws, noting that the inclusion of Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, and his surrogates on the board of companies owned by Chagoury constitutes a conflict of interest.

Atiku, a former Vice President, noted that Tinubu’s son is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which manufactures ceramic tiles and sanitary towels.

He said this in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

Citing a report by Paris-based Africa Intelligence News Agency where it was revealed by the Corporate Affairs Commission that Seyi is a business associate of Chagoury, Atiku said it was not surprising that the Chagoury Group had become the biggest beneficiary of the Tinubu largesse.

“Thanks to quality reporting by Africa Intelligence, our suspicions have been confirmed that Chagoury and Tinubu are indeed business partners and it has been formalized with Seyi on the board of one of Chagoury’s firms,” Atiku said.

Atiku: N15.3trn Lagos-Calabar project, highway to fraud

The former Vice President noted that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is the most expensive single project ever embarked upon by the Nigerian government, saying the fact that it is happening at a time Nigeria is facing its “worst economic crisis ever is a red flag”.

He added: “To add insult to injury, this project that is being done in excess of $13bn was awarded without competitive bidding.

“From all indications, the so-called Badagry-Sokoto highway would be awarded in a similar fashion at an enormous cost to taxpayers purely because Tinubu has put his personal interest ahead of the Nigerian people.”

Atiku said the demolition of tourist and recreational facilities and other properties within the Oniru corridor, including parts of Landmark, without ample notice, is one of the reasons foreign direct investments continue to elude the country.

He stated: “Tinubu has been globetrotting in search of foreign direct investments. He claims to have secured over $30 billion from various companies, but none has been forthcoming.

“Rather, all manufacturing firms have been posting heavy losses while some are exiting due to his poorly implemented exchange rate unification policy with even Aliko Dangote describing it as a huge mess at the recent annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery.

“The IMF in its latest report stated that Nigeria will by the end of the year become the 4th largest economy in Africa behind South Africa, Egypt and Algeria, a disgraceful development for a nation which was the largest in Africa by a mile when the PDP left the stage in 2015.

“Investors are seeing how local businesses are being treated and will not come to a place where their investments will not be protected.

“In saner climes, businesses such as Landmark would have been given at least two years’ notice in order for effective planning. But Tinubu’s eagerness to satisfy his business partners impaired his ability to coordinate the project properly.”

The Star