ABUJA IS NOT LAGOS: Assessing reports of leaked documents that reveal President Tinubu’s son, Seyi, co-owned company with Chagoury

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTERS, Lagos, Abuja

Those, who complained before now, had insisted that Tinubu had no other source of income other than the state’s wealth he uses their Lagos political power to gather for himself. No thanks to Afenifere, they said…

After two decades that many Lagos State indigenes had cried over Bola Tinubu’s use of official cover to cart away their patrimony as well as marginalise and persecute them while usurping their constitutionally granted rights and benefits of statehood, plights of the Lagos indigenes and land owners are now gradually becoming the responsibility of the entire Nigerian people and members of the international community to defend.

This is as more and more authorities and official sources are coming up, openly and anonymously, to say something because they have seen something. They are now revealing documents that those, who hitherto dismissed Lagos indigenes’ claims as mere rumour, are now seeing the truth they used to deny.

Those claims included how, as sitting Governor, Tinubu allegedly owned Alpha Beta as conduit pipe to siphon Lagos State money through acclaimed tax collection commission believed not subjected to public scrutiny.  They said this is to the extent that he is today richer than Lagos State, whereas the state, from which he made and still makes his money, is not only “poor” but also striken with debt profile that makes it the most indebted state in Nigeria, according to official records.

The take over of many Lagos publicly and privately owned property include the Eti-Osa Local Government Secrerariat that was later converted to a high rising building and leased to Microsoft at Golden Gate junction, on Alfred Rewane Road in Ikoyi, Lagos. All taken over by Tinubu, who allegedly converted them to personal ownership and use and cries against it by indigenous owners were never listened to, because of what our checks revealed to be South West Yoruba sentiment.

Those, who complained before now, had insisted that Tinubu had no other source of income other than the state’s wealth he uses their Lagos political power to gather for himself. No thanks to Afenifere, they said, whose sentimental support to make Alliance for Democracy (AD) capture all Yoruba states of South West upturned Funsho Williams’ victory in the 1999 goveenorship election, despite convincing revelations that Tinubu is not indigene of Lagos and not entitled to governing the state.

“People blame Lagos indigenes for not standing up to their rights but that is not true. Go to Federal High Court Ikoyi abd you will see that Lagos indigenes have a case file there that the judge has continued to keep under the table because of the influence he has used Lagos money to have on the judiciary,” a source said in Abuja.

The leaked documents

However, since moving further up to launch himself into national politics and still not changing his style of playing politics as done in Lagos State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been told point blank that “Abuja is not Lagos” and, to prove to him why it is so, more and more of things he did unchecked in Lagos and continues to do in Abuja are now being brought to public glare with sound rejection by his “masters in the political football pitch”, we gathered.

Lately, there have been media reports of leaked corporate documents unveiling that Seyi Tinubu, son of the Nigerian President, co-owned an offshore company with Ronald Chagoury Jr., son of billionaire tycoon Ronald Chagoury.

This company, incorporated eight years ago in the British Virgin Islands, has come under scrutiny following the awarding of a $13 billion contract to build a 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal highway to Hitech Construction Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group,

The contract for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a project of immense national significance, was awarded without a public bidding process, raising eyebrows and sparking allegations of favoritism and corruption.

The young Tinubu is also a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, another subsidiary of the Chagoury Group.

Critics argue that the longstanding business and personal relationships between the Tinubu and Chagoury families have unduly influenced the awarding of the contract.

Minister of Works David Umahi, however, has defended the process, stating that it followed due procedure and that the matter is currently before the courts.

The leaked documents, part of a larger investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reveal that Oluwaseyi Tinubu was a majority shareholder in the offshore company alongside Ronald Chagoury Jr.

The British Virgin Islands, known for its corporate anonymity, provided a veil of secrecy over their business dealings until now. The current ownership status of the company remains unclear, as neither party has responded to requests for comment, according to reports.

In 2000, Gilbert Chagoury was convicted in Switzerland for laundering money on behalf of Nigeria’s former military dictator, Sani Abacha.

The relationship between the Tinubu and Chagoury families is not new. The Chagoury brothers, Ronald and Gilbert, have long been associated with President Bola Tinubu, with their business empire benefiting from various government contracts over the years.

While flagging off the controversial coastal highway in May, the president applauded” the Chagoury brothers “for being worthy stakeholders and for believing in the future of Nigeria.”

This latest revelation adds to a series of controversies surrounding Tinubu’s administration, which has been criticised for its handling of economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the rising cost of living.

President’s son in controversies

Seyi Tinubu’s business ventures have consistently drawn attention, not only for their success but also for their timing and the networks they involve.

His advertising company, Loatsad Promomedia, has become a dominant player in Nigeria’s outdoor advertising industry, with allegations that its rise was facilitated by his father’s political clout.

In February 2021, The People Gazette published bank documents highlighting Seyi Tinubu’s exploits in Lagos’ advertising market, alongside his father’s ex-aide-turned-sports minister, Sunday Dare.

BusinessDay had earlier reported how tongues wagged on social media over Seyi Tinubu’s acquisition of a luxury timepiece, a Richard Mille RM 055 watch worth $550,000 or ₦825 million at ₦1,500 to a dollar.

Pictures from his social media handles showed that the young Tinubu owns not less than three Richard Mille wristwatches, amounting to billions of naira.

The watch was part of the custom series on sale in the name of professional golfer and Masters giant Bubba Watson.

Nigerian Afrobeat star, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, said in his rap track ‘Big 7′ on his most recent eponymous album, “I really, really spent a milli’ on just two Richard Milles And I wear ’em willy-nilly through the city, ayy”

A Bloomberg investigation in May 2023 linked Seyi to the acquisition of a $10.8 million London property reportedly associated with fraud.

The property was purchased in 2017 through Aranda Overseas Corp., an offshore company where Seyi is listed as a principal shareholder.

It was reported that his father, Bola Tinubu, resided at the property during a medical visit to London in 2021.

The property had previously been seized by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2016. The seizure was part of an investigation into Kola Aluko, a close associate of former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was implicated in large-scale corruption.

A few months ago, the president’s son was roundly criticised for flying a presidential jet to watch a polo match in Kano while many Nigerians struggled to feed.

In November 2023, the president stopped his son and others from attending the weekly meetings of the Federal Executive Council, the highest decision-making body of the government.

“Last week I noticed the undue access of people sneaking in and out of this council, including my son, Seyi, sitting behind the cubicle there. That is not acceptable,” the President declared.

In the context of the leaked documents, Seyi’s partnership with Chagoury in an offshore company appears particularly problematic. Offshore entities are often used to shield assets from taxes, legal scrutiny, and public accountability.

For the son of a sitting president to be involved in such dealings raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability, particularly in a country like Nigeria, where corruption and illicit financial flows are major issues.

In its latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the Transparency International, ranked Nigeria 145th out of 180 countries evaluated, underscoring the deep-rooted corruption in the most populous black nation.