President Bola Tinubu identified a Lebanese-Nigerian businessman, Gilbert Chagoury one of the notable facilitators of the Abacha loot as his “confidante” in Nigeria’s delegation to the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28). This is according to a list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Designated as “Confidante to the President” on the list of delegates, Chagoury’s inclusion has raised eyebrows given his controversial past in politics and business in Nigeria.
Nigerian State House is listed as Chagoury’s “organisation” while it was indicated that he is in a “paid relationship/contract with the nominating entity”. A check through the delegates list of the 198 participating countries showed that no other country has a “confidante” of its president in the delegation, The Cable reports.
Chagoury was born in Nigeria to Lebanese immigrants. He co-founded the Chagoury Group in Lagos in 1971. The conglomerate owns construction, real estate, hotel, glass, and flour milling businesses.
He is also a major funder of the Eko Atlantic project through South Energyx Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group.
The Lebanese Nigerian had a close association with the late Sani Abacha, former Nigerian military ruler, in the 1990s, and his businesses reportedly flourished during this period.
In 2000, he was reportedly convicted by a Swiss court for laundering some of the funds Abacha looted from Nigeria.
Chagoury reportedly agreed to pay a fine of about one million Swiss francs (about $600,000 at the time) and handed back $66 million to the Nigerian government. He, however, denied knowing that the funds were stolen.
Nigeria is participating in the COP28 with 1,411 delegates – the third highest at the conference alongside China. The UAE, being the host country, accounted for the largest-ever registered delegation of any country, with 4,409 badges, followed by Brazil with 3,081.
