A faction of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has urged the National Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu due to alleged conflicts of interest regarding the awarding of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract.
The leader of the group, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, expressed his disapproval of Tinubu’s recent public statement during a recent interview with The PUNCH, where he condemned the President’s declaration that the contractor responsible for the project, Gilbert Chagoury, was his partner during the inauguration of the 30-kilometre, Phase 1, Section 1 of the coastal highway project.
During the inauguration of the project last Saturday, Tinubu commended the Chagoury-led Hitech Construction Company for its efforts on the road, which he referred to as a “symbol of courage and commitment”.
Naijaonpoint reports that the highway is being constructed by Hitech Construction, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which also leads the Eko Atlantic City project, an ambitious real estate initiative developed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.
“To the contractors and my partner in daring, it was tough for us… We came together to tame the Atlantic,” Tinubu had said.
In response to Tinubu’s statement, Olaitan conveyed his disappointment regarding what he termed a clear acknowledgement of a conflict of interest.
He noted that the road was awarded without a competitive bidding process and seemed designed to favour the privately owned Eko Atlantic City.
“All President Tinubu is doing is building a road to his own Atlantic City.
“He openly said the contractor is his partner. That means he awarded a federal contract to himself.
“That road was not advertised for public bidding. It is a national shame. If we had a truly independent and vibrant National Assembly, they would have begun impeachment proceedings immediately,” the Afenifere chieftain noted.
Start the Impeachment Process Now
Olaitan also questioned the rationale behind commissioning just a small portion of the highway, suggesting that the government may have no further intention of pursuing the full stretch of the coastal road once the portion leading to Atlantic City is completed.
“Why commission just four per cent of the road? That road leads straight to their private development. If that part is done, they may abandon the rest. This is a clear conflict of interest,” the Afenifere leader insisted.
Calling on lawmakers to take action, Olaitan said, “The National Assembly must prove that it is not complicit. If they are truly independent, they must act now. We cannot condone this. This is not how to run a democracy. The president has admitted to a breach of public trust.
“I am calling on the National Assembly to start the impeachment process now if they are a truly independent and vibrant national assembly and if they are not equally complicit. We can’t condone such a thing.”
Reacting, the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the call for Tinubu’s impeachment process lacked substance and was “a joke taken too far.”
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, the spokesperson for the Lagos APC, Seye Oladejo, described the allegation against Tinubu as a deliberate misinterpretation of the President’s comments.
“I will just regard that as a joke taken too far. Maybe they need to consult their dictionary to understand what ‘partner’ means. Did he say business partner? He didn’t say they have any relationship or any incorporated firm where they both have shares. He called them ‘partners in daring’; people who believed in his vision and joined in pursuing it,” he said.
Oladejo said there was no basis for linking the remarks to a business arrangement, adding that due process was followed in awarding the contract.
“Relevant authorities handled the contract process. If there’s any issue, it should be addressed through the appropriate channels, not through calls for impeachment,” he added.