Frank: Conferment of GCON on Chagoury Sends Troubling Message About Nigeria’s National Value 

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has said that the decision to confer Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on businessman, Gilbert Chagoury, sends a dangerous signal that corruption and conflicts of interest are being normalised at the highest levels of power.

Frank, in a statement issued Tuesday, said given widely reported allegations and judicial findings linking Chagoury to money-laundering cases arising from funds looted during the late General Sani Abacha junta, the honour —Nigeria’s second-highest national award — undermines public trust and the country’s anti-corruption posture.

He maintained that to bestow one of the country’s highest national honours on a person publicly tainted by allegations and judicial findings of corruption sends a deeply troubling message about our national values.

Frank also raised concerns about alleged conflicts of interest, citing reports that Chagoury is a business associate of President Bola Tinubu and is linked to the controversial Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, reportedly awarded without competitive bidding to Hitech Construction Company, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group.

Frank recalled reports that a Swiss court convicted Chagoury in 2000 in connection with laundering Abacha loot, after which he allegedly paid a fine of one million Swiss francs and returned about $66 million to the Nigerian government. 

He noted: “Today ranks among the saddest days of my life as a Nigerian. To bestow one of our highest national honours on a person publicly tainted by allegations and judicial findings of corruption sends a deeply troubling message about our national values.

“A sitting president should not be in business dealings – directly or indirectly – with close associates while holding office.” 

Frank argued that the optics of the award and the project fuel public suspicion of abuse of power.

“Nigeria should not become a theatre where corruption is rewarded, conflicts of interest are ignored, and foreign influence is leveraged against national and allied economic interests,” he warned, adding that the controversy has international governance implications.