In the video, scores of workers could be seen chanting and calling attention to their deplorable working environment. 

Workers at ITB Nigeria Limited, a construction company owned by Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire, Gilbert Chagoury and awarded a $700 million contract for the renovation of Tin Can and Apapa Ports in Lagos, have downed tools in protest over what they described as slave-like working conditions and poor remuneration.

The protest was captured in a video shared by Objectv Media on X, formerly Twitter, which reported: “Chagoury’s ITB Construction workers down tools, protest slave work conditions & poor remunerations.”

In the video, scores of workers could be seen chanting and calling attention to their deplorable working environment. 

This development comes barely three months after SaharaReporters revealed how the Nigerian government, under President Bola Tinubu, handed over the $700 million Lagos ports renovation project to Chagoury’s ITB Construction.

The move was finalised during a Federal Executive Council meeting in early February despite widespread concerns over ITB’s lack of experience in maritime infrastructure development.

Multiple sources had said that Tinubu personally influenced the contract’s approval, overriding objections from experts who questioned ITB’s competence in port development. 

 In April 2024, the minister, Dave Umahi, announced that Hitech Construction Company, another Chagoury-owned firm, would handle the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project at a jaw-dropping cost of N15.3trillion. 

That project, too, was awarded without competitive bidding. 

Concerned Nigerians had also argued that the Tinubu administration’s romance with Chagoury’s firms reflects a deeper pattern of crony capitalism. 

Africa Intelligence previously reported that Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, sits on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, another subsidiary of the Chagoury Group. 

The report noted that President Tinubu had since taking office in 2023 awarded numerous contracts to the Lebanese-Nigerian businessman, who backed him during his election campaign and is expected to play a major role in his bid for re-election in 2027. 

The president’s February 26 meeting in Lagos with Chagoury, DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola further underlined his administration’s openness to foreign capital so long as it is funnelled through familiar allies.  

The discussion revolved around introducing Dubai-based DP World as a new operator in Lagos’ congested port system. 

Existing operators like APM Terminals, which has a $1billion, 25-year concession at Apapa Port since 2006, are not happy with the growing influence of Chagoury’s network. 

VIDEO: Workers At Construction Company Owned By Tinubu’s Lebanese Ally, Chagoury Protest Against Slave-Like Working Conditions

📸: @objectvmedia pic.twitter.com/g4Hq3AjUxM

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) June 5, 2025

Chagoury’s public image has also raised eyebrows internationally. 

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the businessman was banned from obtaining a U.S. visa on terrorism grounds over alleged financial ties to Hezbollah.

 He was also accused of drug trafficking by both U.S. and Lebanese authorities. In 2021, Chagoury paid a $1.8million fine to the U.S. Department of Justice after illegally funnelling campaign donations to American politicians using straw donors.