President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to South Africa for the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa has raised eyebrows after it was discovered that the private jet he used belongs to his Lebanese ally, Gilbert Chagoury.
The Nigerian President arrived at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria on Tuesday evening aboard a Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft marked 9H-GRC. Further investigation revealed that the jet is owned by the Chagoury Group, a conglomerate owned by Gilbert Chagoury, a known business partner of President Tinubu.
Gilbert Chagoury, born in Nigeria to Lebanese immigrants, has a controversial past. He flourished in the 1990s through his close association with the late dictator, Sani Abacha, and was convicted by a Swiss court in 2000 for laundering some of the funds Abacha looted from Nigeria.
Chagoury’s company, Hitech Construction Company, was awarded the largest road construction project in Nigeria in 2023, the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which has raised concerns about conflict of interest.
This development has sparked questions about President Tinubu’s association with Chagoury and the use of his private jet for official business. The Nigerian government has yet to comment on the matter.
