The presidency has said that it found it strange that former vice President Atiku Abubakar could accuse President Bola Tinubu of conflict of interest in the award of Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway to Hitech Construction Company.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in a statement issued Monday wondered how Seyi’s membership of the board of CDK conflicts with Hitech Construction Company’s work on Lagos-Calabar Coastal superhighway.
He said it was important to state clearly that Seyi Tinubu is a 38 year-old adult who has a right to do business and pursue his business interests in Nigeria and anywhere in the world within the limits of the law.
Onanuga noted that the fact that his father is now the President does not disqualify Seyi from pursuing legitimate business interests.
He noted: “For the records, Seyi joined the Board of Directors of CDK in 2018, more than six years ago. He is representing the interest of an investor company, in which he has interest. He is not a board member because his father is a friend of the Chagourys.
“Information about owners and shareholders of CDK is a matter of public record that can be openly accessed from the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission and CDK’s.
“Atiku and his proxy did not need a little-known journal to recycle open-source information to make a fallacious argument.
“The Chairman of CDK and the highest shareholder of the company is respected General TY Danjuma (rtd). The Chagourys are minority shareholders in the company, and only one member of the clan is on its five-man board.”
Onanuga added that Nigerians should, by now, be well accustomed to Atiku’s hypocrisy on many national issues.
He stressed: “Is it not amusing that the former Vice President, a man who openly said he formed Intels Nigeria with an Italian businessman when he was serving in the Nigeria Customs Service, a clear breach of extant public service regulations, is now the one accusing someone else of conflict of interest?
“When he was Vice President of Nigeria between 1999-2007, he maintained his business links with Intels that won major port concession deals.
“Was this not an abuse of office, a flagrant violation of his oath, that a company where he was a co-owner won major government contracts and concessions when he was vice president?
“As Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, he approved sales of over 145 State-owned enterprises to his known friends and associates and openly said during his failed campaign for the presidency last year that he would do the same, if elected.”
