The Presidency Monday fired back at the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of hypocrisy and bad politics over his claims of conflict of interest against President Bola Tinubu.
In his latest verbal attack Tinubu’s administration and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the former nation’s number two man in a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, accused President Tinubu of being faced with the conflict of interests in the execution of the mega project.
…What Atiku said
In the statement issued Sunday, Ibe had said: “Citing a report by Paris-based Africa Intelligence News Agency where it was revealed by the Corporate Affairs Commission that Seyi is officially a business associate of Chagoury, the former Vice President said it was not surprising that the Chagoury Group had become the biggest beneficiary of the Tinubu largesse.”
He said: “Thanks to quality reporting by Africa Intelligence, our suspicions have been confirmed that Chagoury and Tinubu are indeed business partners and it has been formalised with Seyi on the board of one of Chagoury’s firms.
“The former Vice President restated that it has become obvious even to the undiscerning that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is being done in a hurry purely because of the business relationship between Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, the owner of Hitech, the contractor that was awarded the contract for the highway project in contravention of the procurement laws. It is on record that this project is the most expensive single project ever embarked upon by the Nigerian government. 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 a 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.”
…Presidency clarifies
But in a clarification issued Monday in a statement in Abuja, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Atiku’s accusation as “amusing” and “strange,” given his history of breaching public service regulations and abusing his office for personal gain.
The statement noted that Atiku had formed Intels Nigeria with an Italian businessman while serving in the Nigeria Customs Service and maintained his business links with the company even as the Vice President, winning major port concession deals.
The Presidency said Seyi Tinubu, a 38-year-old adult, has the right to pursue legitimate business interests within the limits of the law, regardless of his father’s position as president.
He said Seyi joined the CDK board in 2018, representing the interest of an investor company, and is not a board member due to his father’s friendship with the Chagourys.
The statement said: “We found it strange that Alhaji Atiku could accuse President Tinubu of conflict of interest in the award of Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway to Hitech Construction Company which he claimed is owned by Chagoury family because the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, sits on the board of CDK, a tiles manufacturing company, based in Sagamu, Ogun State.
“Nigerians should, by now, be well accustomed to Atiku’s hypocrisy on many national issues. Is it not amusing that the former Vice President, a man who openly said he formed Intels Nigeria with an Italian businessman when he was serving in the Nigeria Customs Service, a clear breach of extant public service regulations, is now the one accusing someone else of conflict of interest?
“When he was Vice President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, he maintained his business links with Intels that won major port concession deals.
“Was this not an abuse of office, a flagrant violation of his oath, that a company where he was a co-owner won major government contracts and concessions when he was vice president?
“As chairman of the national council on privatisation, he approved sales of over 145 State-owned enterprises to his known friends and associates and openly said during his failed campaign for the presidency last year that he would do the same if elected.
“It is important to state clearly that Seyi Tinubu is a 38-year-old adult who has a right to do business and pursue his business interests in Nigeria and anywhere in the world, within the limits of the law. The fact that his father is now the President of Nigeria does not disqualify Seyi from pursuing legitimate business interests.
“For the records, Seyi joined the Board of Directors of CDK in 2018, more than six years ago. He is representing the interest of an investor company, in which he has interest. He is not a board member because his father is a friend of the Chagourys. Information about the owners and shareholders of CDK is a matter of public record that can be openly accessed from the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission and CDK.”
Making further clarification, he said: “Atiku and his proxy did not need a little-known journal to recycle open-source information to make a fallacious argument. The Chairman of CDK and the highest shareholder of the company is respected General TY Danjuma (rtd). The Chagourys are minority shareholders in the company, and only one member of the clan is on its five-man board.
“We wonder how Seyi’s membership of the board of CDK conflicts with Hitech Construction Company’s work on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal superhighway.
“Alhaji Atiku has been waging an unrelenting war against this all-important and transformative project for no justifiable reasons other than bad politics. Atiku knows that it’s grand success and other projects to be unfurled, such as the Badagry-Sokoto superhighway, will be a major boost for President Tinubu and finally upend his perennial presidential ambition.
“If not blinded by political ill-will, Alhaji Atiku knows that the right thing for him to do is to applaud President Tinubu for the ambitious and audacious Lagos-Calabar Highway, which was authorised by the Federal Executive Council.
“It is important to remind Alhaji Atiku that infrastructural projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway are used to galvanise the economy. In the US, President Joe Biden has used his $2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure deal to revamp decaying American infrastructure and inject life into the US economy.
“How can an elder statesman be waging a campaign of calumny against the economic fortunes and prosperity of a country he wishes to governor trying to scuttle a project that will bring prosperity to nine coastal states and the nation in general?” Onanuga further added.
…$20bn investment in the kitty
On another leg of the ex-VP’s claims, the Presidency said the Tinubu administration had attracted over $20 billion in investments within its first year, contrary to claims made by him.
The statement also recalled that during Tinubu’s trip to India for the G20 Summit last September; Indian business leaders committed over $14 billion in new investments, with a substantial part already in the country.
It further pointed out that foreign investment in Nigeria’s stock market had also increased by 415% from N18.12 billion in Q1 2023 to N93.37 billion in Q1 2024, marking a significant vote of confidence in the economic reforms executed by the Tinubu administration.
Onanuga said: “Contrary to Atiku’s claim, the Tinubu administration, within its first year, has attracted over $20 billion into the economy. While President Tinubu was in New Delhi, India for the G20 Summit last year in August, Indian business leaders committed over $14 billion in new investments. A substantial part of this sum is already in the country.
“In an unmistakable vote of confidence in the economic reforms being executed by the Tinubu administration, foreign investment in Nigeria’s stock market has ballooned, from N18.12 billion in Q1 2023 to N93.37 billion in Q1 2024, an increase of 415%. The last time Nigeria saw such level of investment was in the first quarter of 2019, when N97.6 billion was invested. The market, since Tinubu came to power, has broken records and created more wealth for the investors.
“During President Tinubu’s recent trip to The Netherlands, the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, announced a fresh $ 250 million investment by Dutch businesses in Nigeria.
“Different sectors of the economy, especially telecoms, manufacturing, solid minerals, oil and gas, e-commerce, and fintech, are attracting new Foreign Direct Investments from discerning investors who know Nigeria is a good market for bountiful returns.”
Also on the reclassification of Nigeria’s economy to fourth largest in Africa, the statement said that “Nigeria’s economy is being reclassified by the IMF as the fourth largest in Africa is stale news. This happened because of the devaluation of the Naira and President Tinubu’s determined effort to set the economy on the path of sustainable growth.
“Under the progressive, bold, inventive, and innovative leadership of President Tinubu, Nigeria will bounce back to where it rightfully belongs as Africa’s largest market and biggest economy.
“The Tinubu administration targets a $1 trillion economy in the next few years, with audacious economic programmes and critical infrastructure projects in key sectors. With revenue rising in trillions and the creation of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, which is poised to raise over N20 trillion this year alone, we have no doubt that the $1 trillion economy is realizable.”
