The Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced that the total cost and breakdown of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project will be revealed to the public on Friday.
This information was included in a statement signed by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media, Orji Uchenna, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Umahi also clarified that despite the increasing costs of materials in the construction industry due to commodity price inflation and supply chain disruptions, the ministry is dedicated to being careful with money, cost-efficiency, promptness, and delivering high-quality road projects remains unparalleled.
The minister’s assurance comes amid serious disputes recently over the costs and bidding process of the 700km coastal highway project.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, had raised concerns about the Tinubu administration’s choice to give the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding, challenging the president to reveal the full cost of the Lagos-Calabar highway project.
He also questioned why the Tinubu administration released N1.06tn for the pilot phase, or six per cent of the project, which starts at Eko Atlantic and is planned to end at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
However, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had, in a statement, advised Atiku to get his facts right about the project.
The former vice president stated that the Tinubu administration could not continue to stay silent on how much public funds would be spent on the project at a time when Nigeria was still facing serious economic challenges.
Responding to the issues during his inspection visit to the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway, the works minister described the analysis made on the coastal road project figures and the economic importance of the all-important coastal highway project as a gross misrepresentation of facts, and figures and a ploy to mislead Nigerians by darkening counsel without knowledge.
Umahi said, “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.”
He explained the economic benefits of the coastal highway project, emphasizing its connectivity across the country from Badagry to Sokoto, as well as its link to the African Trans Sahara Road passing through Enugu to Cameroon with a spur to the North.
The project's third section is set to begin in Calabar by July 2024, according to former Vice President Akitu Abubakar.
The minister praised the progress and quality of work on the visited projects but stressed the importance of adhering to the project delivery timeline.
Regarding the progress of work at the East-West Road Section III, he noted the quality of the reinforcement and concrete but urged for an increase in speed. He also warned that a portion of the road may be given to another contractor if the current one does not accelerate the pace of work.
The former Ebonyi governor also inspected various construction and rehabilitation projects in Enugu and other states, including flyover bridge construction, rehabilitation work at collapsed bridge sites, and road construction and dualization. The projects are being handled by different contractors.
