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NO MATTER the negative baggage that President Tinubu’s critics say he carries, this much you cannot take away from him. He knows how to keep friendship and nourish it. As a colleague of mine who has covered Tinubu’s political activities since 1999 told me last week, “when Asiwaju likes you and considers you as a close ally, you will lack nothing that money can buy. He will take you with loving arms. He will be with you all the way, in storms and in good times. But if he hates you, you stay hated”. That, as they say in the movies, marks the beginning of his beautiful friendship with the Nigerian-born- Lebanese billionaire business brothers, Gilbert and Roland Chagoury.
Life is very revealing, and even more rewarding. While the older Gilbert turned 80 in January, Roland is three years younger. Together, the trio – Tinubu, Gilbert and Roland, are said to be ahead of their time. Money doesn’t seem to mean anything to these pals. No limit to their wealth. They are loaded with dough. That Tinubu is the smartest and most sophisticated politician in Nigeria right now is no longer in doubt. While he has a great memory for the details of politics, the Chagoury brothers are the most sophisticated business tycoons in the country. They know how to steamroll deals and wield significant influence between foreign investors and the federal government of Nigeria. They are not like the hearty, noisome, extroverted businessmen who have dominated Nigeria’s public space for a long time. How many times have you seen them in public? It’s a strategy that works for them.
Gilbert and Roland established the Chagoury Group around 1971, with interests spanning flour mills, construction, hospitality and transportation. The Group owns the landmark Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. But that’s just a fraction of their business empire, courtesy of their chummy relationships with Tinubu that dates back to over 30 years ago. During the inauguration of the Phase One section of the N11 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway by Hitech construction company owned by the Chagoury Group, President Tinubu described Gilbert as “my partner in daring”. No wonder he honoured him with Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger(GCON), Nigeria’s second-highest national honour via an instrument dated January 8, 2026. The award was made to mark Gilbert’s 80th birthday. An honour well-deserved ? You answer. Until now, GCON is typically reserved for top officials like vice presidents and Senate presidents. What president Tinubu cannot do, does not exist.Tinubu used the same superlative metaphor, “my partner in daring” to describe Roland, an engineer, who heads ITB Nigeria Limited, the construction firm that built the sprawling Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. Formerly, known as Bar Beach, it’s now a massive, multi-purpose, luxury, mixed-use development project built on reclaimed land off Victoria Island. It’s designed as a modern, financial and residential hub featuring high-rise residential apartments, commercial office spaces, retail areas, and creative facilities often referred as the “Dubai of Africa”. To Roland, Tinubu said, “it was tough for us.
We came together to tame the Atlantic, something my leaders in Lagos thought was impossible for us to do. So many leaders wanted us to abandon it, and the federal government rejected the idea that they would take responsibility then. But I said, we will do it and we will succeed with it. Today, a disaster greater than Tsunami that would have consumed Victoria Island and Ikoyi is now a statement of fortune. Thank you, Roland. I appreciate you”. Isn’t this a daring partnership? Such profound words are not uttered for nothing. It is a testament to an enduring friendship that began to take shape when Tinubu became Governor of Lagos state in 1999.
he friendship is reported to have solidified in 2007 when the Lagos state government under Tinubu granted the Chagoury Group the title deed of 10 million square meters of land on the seashore for the Eko Atlantic City project. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2009. This is just one of the key aspects of their longstanding relationship. Today, the Chagoury brothers are not just “partners in daring”, they have become key power brokers in Tinubu presidency since post-2023 election. Following Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election, their friendship became more noticeable, with the President describing Gilbert Chagoury as a “confidant”.
In the last three years since Tinubu became president, the wealthy allies have been shaping immense influence around Nigeria’s most powerful office. When two billion vans were spotted moving into Tinubu’s swanky Bourdillon Residence in upscale Ikoyi on Election Day in 2019, journalists present pressed Tinubu about the bullion vans. He brushed aside the speculation about what the large volumes of ‘cash’ was meant for. His reply, “Is it my money or the government money? I don’t work for the government. Even if I have money to spend on my premises, what’s your headache?”, he asked the inquisitive journalists.
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Also, ahead of his swearing in as President in May 2023, his wife, Oluremi said, “God has blessed my family. We don’t need the wealth of Nigeria to survive”. If she was bragging, she knows why. She perhaps knows the family net worth. Her comment was seen a political version of a businesswoman’s interest in balance sheets. However, the First Lady needs reminding that money is a temporary visitor rather than a permanent resident in our lives. Success isn’t about how much money you have, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives. Perhaps with the Chagoury brothers by their side as business associates,the first family has tons of money for a lifetime. Now fast forward to last week’s state visit to the United Kingdom by President Tinubu, and the gains of the Chagoury Group in it. For sure, the use of presidential state visits and foreign diplomacy to advance private business interests is not unusual. It represents a significant departure from traditional presidential ethics. The UK visit by president Tinubu was dubbed as “historic”, being the first of a Nigerian leader in about 37 years. Many deals were signed. Among them was the £746 million(about $999 million) deal for the upgrade of two Lagos ports – the Apapa quays and the Tin Can Island port complex.
Nigerians were told the upgrade of the two ports will, among other aims, boosts trade, create jobs, reduce poverty, and deepen economic ties between Nigeria and the UK. Sounds nice, isn’t it? Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, signed the deal on behalf of Nigeria, while the UK Parliamentary Under- Secretary, and Minister for Small Businesses and Economic Transformation, Mr. Blair McDougall, signed on behalf of the British government. Edun says the agreement is consistent with Nigeria’s priority on infrastructure, energy, and industrial development.
The financing package for the ports’ modernisation will be guaranteed by the UK Export Finance(UKEF) through a Buyer Credit Facility, to be coordinated by Citibank. Here is where the Chagoury’s business empire comes in. Under the deal, at least £236 million worth of contracts will go to British firms, including a record £70 million steel supply agreement awarded to British Steel. The company will provide 120,000 tonnes of steel billets to Hitech and ITB, a subsidiary of Chagoury Group. According to financial experts, and unknown to many Nigerians, behind the veils of the agreement, it’s either that the Chagoury Group is leveraging on its friendship with the president, or the president is using his pals and business associates to expand his own business empire.
Don’t forget, we are told that the president’s son, Seyi is on the Board of Hi-tech even before his father became President. U.S. President, Donald Trump has done much more than that, leveraging on his ties with the Middle East countries – United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia to corner massive investment projects in Real Estate and Crypto business. They are being managed by his sons, Donald Jr, and Eric. But the mask is breaking as regards the deals on the two Lagos ports. Here’s the puzzle. Last year, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gbeyoga Oyetola disclosed that the federal government had approved the sum of US$1bn(about N1.4trn) for the modernization of the Apapa and Tincan Island ports.
He said the upgrade will improve cargo handling and expand capacity to meet global standards. He added that the goal was part of the ministry’s 10-year plan. An earlier report in March 2025, said the Federal Executive Council(FEC) had approved $700 million contract to ITB Nigeria Limited for the renovation of the two ports in Lagos. And you begin to ask, Is the £746m deal in the UK different from the $700m for the upgrades of the same seaports in Lagos? Is it a ‘double contract’ award or an easy money for the British firms and government from Nigeria? Something is not adding up. The upgrade of the two ports was supposed to begin in the second Quarter of 2025, with a loan from Nigeria Citibank, backed by UK Export Finance.
Why hasn’t it taken off almost a year after? Also recall that APM Terminal, the operator of Apapa port and a subsidiary of Maersk, had proposed a $500m investment in the ports. In 2006, APM Terminal reportedly paid nearly $1bn for a 25- year concession at Apapa port. While many issues surrounding the upgrade of the ports remain unclear, the Chagoury-owned ITB is reported to have cornered a mouth-watering, multimillion dollar contract to rebuild the Nigerdock (Snake Island) Port Container terminal in Lagos. Original contract price of $1bn was awarded to Swiss Shipping giant MSC Group for a concession agreement spanning 45 years. While MSC Group will operate the terminal for the duration of the concession, ITB Nigeria Limited and DEME Group have been tapped to build the new container, which is expected to be completed by 2028. All of this shows how the Chagoury brothers, Gilbert and Roland, are wielding awesome influence in the commanding heights of Nigeria’s political sphere. There are genuine concerns that by the time Tinubu presidency is over, the Chagoury Group may own a great part of Nigeria’s choice businesses. Who says Nigerian politics has not undergone a sea change, of breathtaking scope since President Tinubu came to power? Is a relationship with the President the most important relationship anyone can have in Nigeria?
