The African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, said he built the Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos State from “scratch to finish” during his tenure as transportation minister, and asserted that President Bola Tinubu and Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu falsely claimed they were the brains behind the project.

Mr Amaechi said he was unable to commission the project alongside then President Muhammadu Buhari due to a directive ordering ministers vying for political positions to resign to face their ambitions.

“I built Lekki Deep Seaport from scratch to finish,” Mr Amaechi said at the ADC stakeholders’ meeting in Edo State on Thursday. “I finished it completely, but I had resigned to contest for the office of the president; that’s why Sanwo-Olu got Buhari to come and commission it.”

He resigned his ministerial appointment in May 2022 to contest the presidency under the ruling All Progressives Congress but lost the primary ticket to Mr Tinubu.

Mr Buhari commissioned the Lekki Deep Seaport project in January 2023.

The former Rivers State governor said Messrs Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu sought to take glory for a project they did not execute.

“And when they were commissioning, Sanwo-Olu and others, including Tinubu, were claiming that they built it. None of them visited it from scratch,” he said.

Mr Amaechi explained that the Lekki Deep Seaport was originally former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s idea, which was only approved and executed by Mr Buhari’s administration.

“Buhari approved the construction of that seaport, but it was essentially Obasanjo’s idea, even though it was built by Buhari,” Mr Amaechi said.

Mr Amaechi, the running mate to Atiku Abubakar, promised to develop the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State if elected into office.

“When ADC government wins, I, as a vice president, will put it on the table for the president to approve,” Mr Amaechi said.

Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga and Gboyega Akosile, the spokesperson for the Lagos State governor, did not immediately respond to Peoples Gazette’s requests for comment on Mr Amaechi’s claims.