Posts falsely claim Nigeria’s Tinubu awarded $7 billion port contract to ally

Social media posts claimed that, during the trip, he awarded a $7 billion port contract without public bidding to his close ally, Gilbert Chagoury. However, the claim is false.

The MoU does not amount to a binding contract, and there is no evidence that Chagoury has a vested interest in the proposed project.

“Why will the President award a contract worth $7 billion without any public bidding? No other company reportedly bid for the contract, yet it was awarded to the same person,” one post claimed.

Between August 30 and September 29, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was on a 30-day working visit to Europe.

In a statement to AFP Fact Check, DP World media relations vice president Adal Mirza clarified that the agreement signed in Paris is a non-binding MoU rather than a contract that can be executed to transfer operational rights.