Segun Showunmi blasts Kio Amachree, defends Hitech's Gilbert Chagoury

Showunmi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Segun Showunmi, has sharply criticised a recent commentary by Kio Amachree, describing it as “misguided” and riddled with contradictions, while mounting a robust defence of businessman Gilbert Chagoury.

In a strongly worded rebuttal released on Thursday, Showunmi accused Amachree of distorting facts and promoting divisive narratives, insisting that Chagoury’s decades-long investments in Nigeria speak for themselves.

Showunmi wrote, “Amachree’s write-up collapses under the weight of its own contradictions, exaggerations, and ironically the same divisive instincts it claims to condemn.”

He took particular exception to what he described as the “most offensive and intellectually lazy premise” in the commentary — the suggestion that Chagoury was “less Nigerian.”

“That is not just wrong — it is dangerous,” Showunmi said. “Gilbert Chagoury is Nigerian by law, by investment, and by decades of continuous engagement with this country. He has lived, built, employed, paid taxes, and taken risks in Nigeria for over half a century.”

The PDP chieftain also criticised diaspora commentators, arguing that distance from Nigeria often leads to oversimplified assessments of complex national issues.

“You do not get to emotionally exit a country and then question the legitimacy of those who stayed and built within it,” he said. “Many of the loudest critics, including diaspora commentators writing from comfortable homes abroad, cannot claim that level of sustained commitment.”

Showunmi maintained that Chagoury’s contributions to Nigeria’s infrastructure and economy were measurable and tangible.

“If contribution is the metric, then let’s be honest: he has contributed more to Nigeria’s physical and economic landscape than many who dominate online outrage cycles. That is not sentiment — it is measurable reality,” he stated.

Addressing allegations surrounding large-scale infrastructure projects, Showunmi rejected claims that contracts had been improperly awarded, describing such assertions as misleading. ⚖️

“This attempt to reduce complex infrastructure procurement into a simplistic ‘$13 billion gift to one man’ narrative is, at best, distortion and, at worst, deliberate misinformation,” he said. “Large-scale infrastructure projects — coastal highways, port rehabilitation, shoreline protection — are not social media slogans.”

He challenged critics to provide evidence of wrongdoing rather than speculation.

“If there are legitimate concerns, then present them properly: Where is the documented breach of procurement law? Which statutory provisions were violated? What evidence exists beyond assertion? Anything less is noise,” Showunmi added.

The politician also faulted what he described as selective references to past legal controversies involving Chagoury.

“The fixation on past legal issues without context, without acknowledging legal closure or evolution betrays selective outrage. If Nigerian law disqualifies an individual from contracts or honours, cite it. If not, then what we are seeing is not accountability — it is opportunistic character assassination,” he said.

Showunmi further accused critics of replacing tribalism with what he termed “xenophobic insinuation.”

“Swap ‘tribe’ for ‘foreigner,’ and suddenly it is acceptable outrage? That is not reform. That is prejudice in a different costume,” he argued.

He stressed that Nigeria’s governance challenges were systemic rather than tied to any individual.

“Nigeria’s challenge is institutional — weak procurement enforcement, elite capture across all divides, opacity in contract structuring, weak accountability mechanisms. Blaming one businessman, foreign-born or otherwise, does not fix systemic failure,” he stated.

Highlighting specific projects, Showunmi pointed to coastal engineering works and urban development initiatives as examples of Chagoury’s contributions. 

“Look at Eko Atlantic, the stabilization of Victoria Island against Atlantic encroachment, and the coastal engineering behind the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. These are not abstract claims — they are visible, technical interventions that have reshaped Nigeria’s coastline and protected economic assets,” he said.

He also suggested that legal remedies could be pursued against what he described as defamatory claims.

“At this point, enough is enough. I strongly encourage the Chagoury Group to consider legal action against defamatory claims and put this embarrassing cycle of uninformed agitation to rest. Public discourse must carry consequences when it abandons facts for sensationalism,” Showunmi said.

He concluded with a message of appreciation to Chagoury, stating, “You have lived the Nigerian Dream in a way many only theorize about. A grateful nation and its more discerning citizens say: Ese. Daalu. Nagode. Thank you.”