The Return of Gilbert Chagoury
Gilbert Chagoury, a business magnate of Lebanese descent, was an all-powerful figure in the Nigerian business climate. His phenomenal influence started during the late General Sani Abacha era but it peaked during the President Goodluck Jonathan-led government.
During that time, Chagoury, alongside his brother, Ronald, was effervescent. They were not only stupendously and monstrously wealthy, but also titans who command a staggering fortune. The influence of the Chagourys transcends a single sector. They have their hands in so many pies, such as oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, among several others.
The group’s net worth, according to Forbes, is about $4.2 billion. The Chagoury brothers own the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites, Hitech Construction Company and ITB Construction Limited. They are also behind the over $6 billion Eko Atlantic project, which is an entirely reclaimed coastal city built also in the upmarket Victoria Island area of Lagos and is reserved exclusively for high net-worth individuals and corporate entities, including some embassies. Its grand cheerleaders boast that on completion, the new Eko Atlantic would match that of New York’s Manhattan Island.
They were not only close to the Abacha and Jonathan families but also chummy with many other socialites, celebrities and power brokers. The two brothers also built a reputation as giants of global philanthropy, and are among Africa’s richest men with generous donations to charitable projects around the world. Their philanthropic endeavours earned them respect and recognition.
That was the situation until power changed hands in Nigeria in 2015. They mellowed for some time and recoiled into their cocoon before Gilbert finally left Nigeria.
It was alleged back then that the main reason Gilbert fled from Nigeria was because they supported the former President, Jonathan. They were allegedly said to have splashed a huge sum of money in support of the then incumbent President Jonathan against his rival, Buhari, but the turnout of the result of that election shook Gilbert, who couldn’t predict what would become of them with the new sheriff in town.
They opted to stay away to avoid having problems with the new administration. Gilbert was said to have made the US his initial new abode while his immediate younger brother, Ronald held forte in Nigeria, overseeing all the multi-billion dollar investments and projects scattered across Nigeria.
The billionaire was then shuttling to London, Beirut and Dubai to attend to business concerns personally until recently when he finally settled for Paris as his new base.
Although they returned briefly to the spotlight in April 2020 when they significantly boosted Nigeria’s fight against the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic with the donation of N1 billion to the Lagos State government, they were never involved in any known business.
However, shortly after Bola Tinubu won the February 25 presidential election, he allegedly had a meeting with Gilbert in Paris. It sounded like a rumour then, but the truth is beginning to come into the open with the current news in circulation.
It is alleged that Gilbert has been chosen to undertake a colossal project – the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He has been tasked with transforming this vision into reality through his subsidiary, Hitech Road Construction Company.
