Start the impeachment process now -Afenifere tells National Assembly

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According to the Punch, a faction of the Yoruba socio-political organization Afenifere has sparked a political uproar by calling for President Bola Tinubu to be removed from office for his public statements that directly connect him to the contractor working on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

Tinubu’s announcement, according to the group, was a self-destructive admission of conflict of interest that reignited the discussion over accountability and transparency in the awarding of federal contracts.

The Afenifere faction’s leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, chastised Tinubu for publicly calling Gilbert Chagoury, the project’s contractor, his “partner in daring” at the recent opening of a 30-kilometer section of the contentious coastal route.

The road’s procurement procedure and possible advantage to private interests have drawn more attention than ever before. Hitech Construction, a division of the Chagoury Group and the same company that worked on the Eko Atlantic City project, is in charge of the project.

The president’s acknowledgement, according to Olaitan, is a flagrant admission of exploiting public office to further personal connections. He said it was unjustifiable and possibly unlawful to grant a multibillion-naira federal infrastructure project without holding an open and competitive bidding process. According to him, the route serves corporate interests under the pretense of national growth. Critics say it seems to lead directly to the Eko Atlantic City, a real estate megaproject connected to Chagoury.

“This is no longer speculation; the president himself has called the contractor his partner. That effectively means he awarded a federal project to himself,” Olaitan said. He added that with only a small fraction of the road commissioned—roughly four per cent—it raises fears that the government may abandon the rest of the coastal highway once it reaches the private development site.

“The government has no interest in completing the entire project,” he asserted. “It’s a strategic ploy to pave access to a private enclave disguised as a national road. If the National Assembly fails to act, then they are complicit in this abuse of power.”

He urged the legislature to start the impeachment process right away, claiming that Tinubu’s admission is an abuse of power and a betrayal of the public trust.

He said; “I am calling on the National Assembly to start the impeachment process now if they are a truly independent and vibrant national assembly and if they are not equally complicit.”

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