Lekki Deep Seaport: Amaechi Accuses Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu Of Taking Credit For Project

Firdaus Obiremi

Former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of taking credit for the construction of the Lekki Deep Seaport, insisting that he supervised the project from inception to completion.

Amaechi said he was unable to join former President Muhammadu Buhari to commission the facility because he had resigned from the cabinet to pursue his presidential ambition in 2022.

The former Rivers State governor made the allegations during an ADC stakeholders’ meeting in Edo State on Thursday, where he also pledged to push for the development of the proposed Gelegele Seaport in the state if the party wins the 2027 general election.

According to Amaechi, his role as transportation minister under Buhari’s administration placed him at the centre of the Lekki Deep Seaport project, which he claimed was completed before his departure from office.

“I built Lekki Deep Seaport from scratch to finish,” he said.

“I finished it completely, but I had resigned to contest for the office of the president; that’s why Sanwo-Olu got Buhari to come and commission it.”

Amaechi resigned as transportation minister in May 2022 to contest the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which he eventually lost to Tinubu.

Buhari commissioned the Lekki Deep Seaport in January 2023, several months after Amaechi had left the cabinet.

The ADC vice-presidential candidate alleged that Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu subsequently presented themselves as the driving forces behind the project, despite what he described as their lack of involvement from its inception.

“And when they were commissioning, Sanwo-Olu and others, including Tinubu, were claiming that they built it. None of them visited it from scratch,” Amaechi said.

He, however, distinguished between the origin of the project and its execution, attributing the initial idea to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the approval and construction to Buhari’s administration.

“Buhari approved the construction of that seaport, but it was essentially Obasanjo’s idea, even though it was built by Buhari,” he added.

The remarks have brought renewed attention to the question of political credit for major infrastructure projects, which often involve several stages of conception, approval, financing, construction and commissioning under different administrations.

While Amaechi claimed that he oversaw the Lekki project from its beginning to completion, the comments reported at the meeting did not provide further details of his specific contributions or documentary evidence to independently establish the extent of his role.

Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu had not publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga and the Lagos State Governor’s spokesperson, Gboyega Akosile, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the claims, according to Peoples Gazette.

Meanwhile, Amaechi promised that an ADC-led government would consider the development of the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State, presenting the proposed facility as another infrastructure project that could support economic growth and maritime activities.

He said he would put the proposal before the president for approval if the ADC won the next general election.

“When ADC government wins, I, as a vice president, will put it on the table for the president to approve,” he said.