How $13bn Contract was Awarded to Company Co-owned by Seyi Tinubu – Report  

A $13 billion contract to build a massive coastal highway in Nigeria recently went to Hitech Construction Company Ltd., but it didn’t exactly go through the usual public channels. The company behind this, Hitech, is owned by the Chagoury brothers, big names in the construction sector, and interestingly, buddies with Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu. 

Here’s what went down, the deal was snagged without any public bidding, which is raising a lot of eyebrows across the country.

This link has people talking because it turns out, that the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu, and Ronald Chagoury Jr, the son of one of the Chagoury brothers, co-owned a mysterious offshore company together.

This connection came to light thanks to some documents that found their way into the hands of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). 

These documents weren’t just any old papers; they showed that back in the day, Seyi Tinubu and Ronald Chagoury Jr teamed up in the British Virgin Islands, known for keeping company secrets… well, secret.

Fast forward to now, and this $13 billion project is supposed to stretch 700 kilometers from Lagos to Calabar, starting at a fancy new development called Eko Atlantic City, which also has ties to the Chagoury group. 

The government threw in 1 trillion Nigerian naira (that’s about $670 million) to kick off the first 47-kilometer segment. The plan? The government foots 30% of the bill, and Hitech covers the rest.

The project is supposed to be a game-changer for Nigeria, linking millions to key economic areas, boosting trade, and all that good stuff. President Tinubu himself has been all praises, calling the Chagoury brothers “worthy stakeholders.”

Yet, not everyone is buying this story. Critics and activists are up in arms about the lack of a public tender. 

They argue that such a massive project going to a pal’s company without any competitive bidding smells fishy. It’s like handing over a huge piece of the national pie without asking who else might want a slice.

David Umahi, the Minister of Works, insists everything was by the book, claiming the project followed all the rules and the president didn’t play favorites. But with Nigeria’s track record on corruption (spoiler alert: it’s not great), and past scandals involving the Chagourys, people are skeptical.