A faction of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has asked the National Assembly to begin impeachment proceedings against President Bola Tinubu.
They made this call over claims that the President awarded a major road project to a company owned by his associate.
The group’s leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, raised concerns about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. He said Tinubu admitted that the contractor, Mr Gilbert Chagoury, was his “partner”, which he believes shows a clear conflict of interest.
Olaitan said, “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.”
The 700-kilometre coastal highway is being built by Hitech Construction Company, a part of the Chagoury Group, which is also behind the Eko Atlantic City project. The President recently praised the firm while commissioning a 30-kilometre section of the highway.
“To the contractors and my partner in daring, it was tough for us… We came together to tame the Atlantic,” Tinubu said during the inauguration.
But Olaitan believes this comment is troubling. He said the road contract was not publicly advertised or opened to other bidders, and the part completed mainly leads to the Eko Atlantic City development.
“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,” he said. “This is a clear conflict of interest.”
He then called on lawmakers to hold Tinubu accountable.
“If we had a truly independent and vibrant National Assembly, they would have begun impeachment proceedings immediately,” he said. “We can’t condone such a thing. This is not how to run a democracy. The president has admitted to a breach of public trust.”
However, the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed the impeachment call. The party described the claim as a “joke taken too far”.
The APC spokesperson in Lagos, Seye Oladejo, said Tinubu’s use of the word “partner” was misunderstood.
“Maybe they need to consult their dictionary to understand what ‘partner’ means. Did he say business partner? No. He said ‘partner in daring’—people who believed in his vision and helped him pursue it,” Oladejo said.
He added that the contract followed all legal procedures and was handled by the relevant government agencies.
“If there’s any issue, it should be addressed through the proper channels, not through careless calls for impeachment,” he said.
