The Trump-Vance Transition Team has come out in strong defence of Nigeria-based Massad Boulos picked by the United States President-elect, Donald Trump, as his senior adviser on Arab and Middle-East Affairs, dismissing media attacks on him as fake news.
This is just as media insinuations that Boulos is not sufficiently exposed for the top job have been dismissed by a close Nigerian associate, Magnus Onyibe.
Boulos, who is presently Managing Director of SCOA Nigeria Plc, has been selected by Trump to be his top adviser for Arab and Middle East Affairs, a choice that has faced criticism in some quarters.
He has been tagged as a truck salesman among other things on account of his role as head of SCOA Nigeria.
But a statement issued by the spokeswoman for Trump-Vance Transition, Karoline Leavitt, on Friday alleged that “The Fake News is falsely attacking Mr. Boulos and his family’s long history of running successful companies as part of their mission to derail President Trump’s agenda and exceptional team.”
The rebuttal by the Trump-Vance Transition described Boulos, the father-in-law to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, as a highly respected businessman who has proudly served as the CEO of some of his family’s group of companies based in West Africa for more than 27 years, adding that his family has employed tens of thousands of people around the globe.
The statement added that Boulos has degrees in both business and law and listed SCOA Nigeria PLC, a member of the FADOUL Group and a well-known conglomerate that exclusively represented numerous global brands for decades as part of the Boulos family group companies that have been very successful in the Nigerian market providing high-end products and specialised services to the largest companies in the country.
“SCOA is also part of the Fadoul Group, which is one of the largest privately-owned family businesses in West and Central Africa with a presence in 10 different countries since its founding in 1966,” the statement said, adding that “The FADOUL Group employs more than 20,000 hardworking people and that the Boulos and Fadoul family companies have developed into a family group with over $1 billion in value and hundreds of millions in assets.”
Reports said Boulos père helped Trump’s campaign woo Arab-American voters, especially in the battleground state of Michigan—where Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign struggled with dissatisfaction over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza
A close Nigerian associate of Boulos, Onyibe, a former Delta State Commissioner for Information and a non-executive director at SCOA Nigeria Plc, has also declared that Boulos is more than qualified for the job from his observation working with him in close quarters.
Onyibe in a statement said the media criticisms are not only misguided but also dismissive of the remarkable track record of both the man and the companies he has been instrumental in nurturing.
“For instance, SCOA Nigeria PLC, where Mr. Boulos serves as Managing Director/CEO, is far from being just another company. It is a formidable force in Nigeria’s industrial and economic landscape. With roots spanning over four decades, it holds the distinction of being the first European automotive assembly plant in Nigeria.
“In the 1970’s, SCOA Nigeria PLC made a name for itself by assembling Peugeot 404 and then 504 pickup trucks at its assembly plant at Apapa, Lagos and service center at its Lapal House facility on Lagos Island. Today, the company continues this proud legacy, assembling, distributing, and marketing M.A.N trucks and buses, power generators, tractors, agricultural equipment, industrial equipment and other heavy-duty construction and mining machinery critical to Nigeria’s key sectors.
“SCOA Nigeria PLC’s clients include some of the most prominent and respected names in Nigeria’s construction industry, such as Julius Berger—widely regarded as the nation’s leading construction firm—Lafarge Africa PLC, a major cement producer, the Chagoury Group, renowned for developing the prestigious Banana Island, a premier residential enclave in Lagos, the DANGOTE Group, and many others.
“Beyond trucks, SCOA Nigeria PLC is a trusted supplier of concrete, road construction and mining equipment, partnering with leading infrastructure companies to drive Nigeria’s development. For example, Julius Berger relies heavily on SCOA’s equipment for large-scale projects, including the 376km Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway and the 43.6km Lagos-Shagamu stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano Highway. Similarly, Hi-Tech Construction, currently working on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Lagos-Badagry-Sokoto road network, depends significantly on SCOA PLC for the machinery and technology required to execute these ambitious projects, aimed at enhancing connectivity and trade across Nigeria’s southern, central, and northern regions.”
Festus Akanbi
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