ABUJA — A political firestorm is erupting over the staggering concentration of Nigeria’s national wealth as reports reveal that one man, Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, has quietly cornered over $12.7 billion in federal contracts since President Bola Tinubu took office.
The sheer scale of the awards—equivalent to nearly ₦20 trillion—has sent shockwaves through the construction and engineering sectors. The crown jewel of this massive haul is the controversial $11 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which was handed to Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company without a single day of competitive bidding.
The “Chagoury Monopoly” doesn’t stop at highways. His empire, through subsidiaries like ITB Nigeria, recently grabbed a $700 million contract for the Lagos Ports renovation and a massive 45-year concession for the Snake Island Port Terminal. Critics are pointing to the President’s long-standing personal ties with the tycoon, dating back to his days as Lagos Governor, as the engine behind this unprecedented streak of luck.
The optics have turned even more explosive with the recent conferment of the GCON—Nigeria’s second-highest national honour—on Chagoury, a move many see as a formal “thank you” from the presidency. Adding fuel to the fire are confirmed links showing the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, holding board positions within the Chagoury corporate web, raising massive red flags over conflict of interest.
While the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, continues to defend the awards by citing Hitech’s “unique concrete technology,” local engineers are fuming. They argue that by handing the nation’s biggest public works to a single foreign-linked interest, the government is effectively devaluing Nigerian firms and exporting billions in capital flight while the masses struggle with a 300% drop in purchasing power.
