President Bola Tinubu has conferred the nation’s highest honour on his longtime friend and ally, Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian business mogul who owns the popular Eko Hotel in Lagos and is known for brokering international deals between politicians and investors.

Mr Tinubu conferred the title of the Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON) on Mr Chagoury on January 8, “in recognition of your outstanding virtues and in appreciation of our services to our country, Nigeria.”

Mr Chagoury, 80, has cornered juicy contracts from the Nigerian government through his companies, like the Hi-Tech company, awarded an $11 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project in 2024 and ITB construction subsidiary, which bagged a N1.1 trillion contract to refurbish two major Lagos sea ports—Tin Can and Apapa—last year, despite a lack of experience in sea projects, according to reports.

During Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2015, Mr Chagoury engaged the services of the U.S. lobbying group NWG Advocacy LLC to boost the former president’s dwindling popularity and chances of re-election.

Former congressman Jeff Fortenberry resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 after he was charged by the FBI on allegations of illegal campaign finance from Mr Chagoury, who had previously been convicted and later pardoned for money laundering in Switzerland.

Mr Chagoury, who maintained his innocence over allegations of funding terrorism, paid $1.8 million in fines to the United States. He was subsequently banned from entering the U.S., but the decision was later reversed.

“You couldn’t investigate corruption without looking at Chagoury,” Nuhu Ribadu, a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Nigeria’s current national security adviser, said ina 2010 PBS interview in California. The controversial businessman denied the allegations.

The GCON title, Nigeria’s highest national honour, is the latest fruit of Messrs Tinubu and Chagoury’s blossoming friendship.