A report indicates that a Lebanese-Nigerian businessman and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s longtime associate, Gilbert Chagoury, will handle the renovation project for Lagos Tin Can and Apapa Ports.
Last week, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, during a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Tinubu at Downing Street in London, sealed a £746 million export finance deal to support the refurbishment of the two major ports in Lagos.
Checks by Daily Trust showed that Chagoury, whose company ITB Nigeria operates through the Chagoury Group, was part of the delegation to London, where the financing agreement for the Lagos ports refurbishment project was sealed during President Tinubu’s two-day state visit to the UK.
Under the agreement, the UK Export Finance (UKEF) will guarantee loans for the upgrade of the Apapa and Tin Can Island port complexes.
Tinubu had, in January, conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Nigeria’s second-highest honour, on Chagoury “because of his contributions to the country.”
A report by Africa Intelligence in March 2025 had revealed that the Federal Executive Council’s meeting in February 2025 selected Chagoury Group and its subsidiary, ITB Nigeria, for the contract.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, had also confirmed on October 22, 2025, that the federal government approved $1 billion (N1.4 trillion) for the modernisation of the Apapa and TinCan Island seaports in Lagos.
The minister spoke in Lagos at the 2025 Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Nigeria Conference, with the theme ‘Enhancing Logistics and Transport for a Sustainable Blue Economy in Nigeria.’
Chagoury co‑founded the Chagoury Group in Lagos in 1971, building it into a sprawling conglomerate with interests in construction, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, infrastructure, among others.
Through the Chagoury Group, Gilbert Chagoury has built one of the most influential business empires in Nigeria, with interests spanning construction, manufacturing, real estate, and energy.
The Chagoury Group is handling the ₦15 trillion, 700-kilometre, 10-lane Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project, designed to connect Lagos to Cross River State, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom states.
