THE CABLE
Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says President Bola Tinubu placed his personal business interest ahead of Nigerians with the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.
Abubakar said the 700-kilometre (km) Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech), owned by Gilbert Chagoury.
He spoke in a statement signed by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, on Sunday.
Abubakar, who said Tinubu’s administration has inadvertently revealed its penchant for “dubious and shady deals” through the project, described Chagoury as “Tinubu’s business partner”.
“More curious is the fact that the entire pilot phase of this project begins and ends in Lagos, especially within the axis of Bola Tinubu’s business interests. It is no secret that both Tinubu and Chagoury are business partners,” Abubakar said.
“This same Hitech, owned by Chagoury, was unable to complete the 50km Lekki-Epe Expressway. Despite installing two tollgates along the axis, Hitech which was part of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) consortium was only able to construct about 20km, forcing the Lagos State Government to buy it back at the cost of N7.5 billion ($50 million at the time) in 2013 which came at a loss to the people of Lagos.
“Tinubu has once again put his personal business interest ahead of that of the Nigerian people in violation of his oath of office where he swore that “I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions”.”
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