The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has slammed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his stance on the implementation of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
What Atiku said
In a statement through the Coordinator of his Media Office, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, Atiku insinuated duplicity in handling the project by the Bola Tinubu administration.
“This project returned to public discourse at the twilight of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in November 2014 wherein it was announced President Jonathan had signed the 10-state, 22-station project with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at a cost of $11.97bn,” he said.
Atiku noted that the succeeding Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 announced that the project had been renegotiated downward by $800m to $11.1 billion and that it would be ready within three years.
“In August 2021, while Buhari was on vacation, it was announced by then Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, that the FEC had “approved the memo for the ratification of the president’s approval for the award” of the $11.1 billion project, and that it would be completed in six years. But nothing was done.
“In September 2023, barely weeks after being appointed by Tinubu, Works Minister, Engr. Dave Umahi announced that the project had been awarded to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech) without any record of a competitive bidding or a decision by FEC.
“Umahi refused to reveal how much the project would cost. He only explained that it would run through nine states and would have a rail road running through the middle. Most importantly, the works minister said the project would come at zero cost to Nigeria, which is currently facing an all-time high level of debt.”
Atiku added, quoting Umahi, that the concept of the project was build, operate and transfer, meaning that Hitech would construct the road, operate it for some years and then recoup its money through tollgates before handing it back to the Nigerian government.
“Because the project did not require public funds, it did not go through approval from the National Assembly, which holds the power of appropriation. Also, the project only went through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) with no record of a competitive bidding since Chagoury’s firm was to fund the project 100%.
“However, to the shock of many Nigerians, Umahi returned to FEC with a memo in March 2024 seeking the approval of N1.06 trillion that would be paid to Chagoury’s firm for the first phase of the project which is wholly in Lagos,” he said.
Umahi responds
In a Tuesday statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Orji Uchenna, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said that the total cost and breakdown of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project would be made available to the public on Friday.
Umahi was said to have spoken during an inspection tour of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway.
He slammed Atiku’s submission on the project, describing his analyses as a gross misrepresentation of facts and figures and a ploy to mislead Nigerians by darkening counsel without knowledge.
“He (Atiku Abubakar) doesn’t understand figures. I am going to run figures for him to understand, and he will understand how prudent the administration of President Tinubu has been. He will understand how prudency is taking centre stage in this administration. The President has once queried me on the cost of ongoing projects nationwide. I had to analyse every basic rate of construction materials to arrive at our unit rates. I showed it to Mr. President. He still thinks I should bring down the cost of projects.
“At the same time, the contractors are crying that I am oppressing them so much by reviewing the costs of their projects downwards. They lamented that what they were getting before, they are no longer getting it now. They cried out. But when I run the figures, Nigerians will see what this present administration is doing.
“So, I’m not here to run the figures now. I will do that in a press conference on my visit to Lagos from April 10, 2024 to April 12, 2024,” Atiku said.
On the economic importance of the project, he said, “I will tell you the economic benefits of the project and how the coastal road is tying the entire country together. It’s not tying just South-South and South-West. It is tying the North and South together. We are starting a project from Badagry to Sokoto, and we have a spur on this coastal route to that route and the African Trans Sahara Road that is passing from Enugu to Abakaliki to Ogoja to Cameroon which has a spur to the North.
“His Excellency, former Vice President Akitu Abubakar, may not know that the third section of the project is starting in Calabar by July 2024.”