The contract was awarded without any public bidding process, and a minister told OCCRP the government is now facing a legal challenge.
In May, the government announced the first phase of building by Hitech Construction Company Ltd., which is a subsidiary of a conglomerate owned by the brothers Ronald and Gilbert Chagoury.
Hitech Construction has been awarded the contract for the entire project, which will cost an estimated $13 billion, with funding to be secured as it progresses.
Activists and opposition politicians lambasted the deal, arguing that it violated regulations because it was not done through a public tender. Minister of Works David Umahi said the government is fighting a legal battle in relation to the highway.
“The entire process is before the court,” he said in a text message to OCCRP.
Critics also highlighted the longstanding business dealings and friendship between the Chagoury brothers and President Bola Tinubu. Umahi said the relationship played…