LAGOS, Nigeria – Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, challenged Nigeria‘s President, Bola Tinubu, on Monday, August 10, 2026, to explain questions regarding $20 billion in government projects linked to the Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury.
Okay News reports that the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress issued the challenge in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
“At prevailing exchange rates, $20bn is approximately ₦27tn. Nigerians deserve to know how projects of such staggering value became concentrated around businesses linked to one man who happens to be a close associate of the president,” Atiku Abubakar said. “This is not pocket change. This is an amount approaching the scale of entire national budgets. Nigerians cannot be asked to tighten their belts while those around the president appear to be tightening their grip on some of the biggest contracts in the country.”
Atiku Abubakar called on the presidency to provide answers to issues reportedly raised by The Economist regarding the award of contracts, competitive tendering, tax concessions, and company ownership.
“The questions are simple: Who awarded these contracts? Were they competitively tendered? What tax concessions, waivers or privileges were granted? Who are the ultimate beneficial owners? And why does the same presidential associate keep appearing around projects worth billions of dollars?” he said.
“President Tinubu cannot answer every allegation of corruption and cronyism by deploying presidential spokesmen to abuse critics. The Economist is not an opposition party. It is not on the ballot in 2027. The president should answer the questions it has raised,” he said.
Gilbert Chagoury is the founder of the Chagoury Group, a company with business interests spanning construction, real estate, hospitality, and infrastructure.
