by Ayodele Oluwafemi
Massad Boulos, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump for Arab and African affairs, has threatened legal action over claims that he benefitted from the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project.
Recent social media reports claimed that SCOA Nigeria, a company that deals in heavy-duty trucks and where Boulos serves as chief executive officer (CEO), supplies equipment to Hitech Construction Company Ltd.
The federal government awarded the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project to Hitech Construction Company, a division of the Chagoury Group owned by the family of Gilbert Chagoury.
Gilbert Chagoury is a Nigerian-Lebanese businessman who is an ally of President Bola Tinubu. He was explicitly listed as the president’s “confidante” when he attended the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in December 2023, as a member of Nigeria’s delegation.
Boulos, Trump’s adviser, is also a Lebanese citizen who has business interests in Nigeria.
The social media reports also alleged that Trump has remained silent on issues in Nigeria, reportedly on the advice of Boulos, due to the alleged benefits his company is receiving from the federal government.
However, in a cease-and-desist letter, Kemi Pinheiro, counsel to Boulos and his family, said his clients have not “received, appropriated, or benefitted from any such exaggerated or fictitious sums from the federal government or any other entity whatsoever”.
Pinheiro said the allegations against his clients are “false, baseless, and constitute a figment of the author’s imagination”.
“We act as solicitors to Massad Fares Boulos, the entire Boulos family and SCOA Nigeria Plc, on whose instructions we write,” the letter reads.
“Our clients’ attention has been drawn to certain malicious, scandalous, and highly defamatory videos currently circulating on social media, wherein unfounded allegations are made suggesting that our clients unjustly benefitted from allocations under the Federal Government budget in connection with the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road Project.
“Our clients categorically deny these allegations in their entirety. The claims are false, baseless, and constitute a figment of the author’s imagination.
“At no time have our clients received, appropriated, or benefitted from any such exaggerated or fictitious sums from the federal government or any other entity whatsoever.
“These publications are not only misleading but have caused, and continue to cause, serious harm to our clients’ hard-earned reputation and standing.
“Accordingly, we hereby demand that all individuals, social media platforms, and entities involved in the dissemination of these falsehoods:
“Immediately cease and desist from further publication or circulation of the said videos and related content, and remove and take down all existing posts, videos, or materials containing the defamatory allegations.”
The counsel said his clients will file a petition and institute legal action if the cyberbullying does not stop.
