Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to publish full details of the contract and financial terms of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, following renewed controversy over the cost of constructing a kilometre of the road.
Atiku expressed concern over the response of the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, to questions raised by Nigerians about the project’s true cost, insisting that the minister owes the public an explanation on a matter of such magnitude.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Umahi’s recent admission regarding the project’s cost had vindicated him.
“When the Tinubu administration unveiled the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar raised the alarm that the project’s cost was inflated to an outrageous ₦8 billion per kilometre,” the statement read.
“At the time, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, dismissed the claim, insisting in a 2024 interview that: ‘You will find out that our cost is ₦4 billion instead of the ₦8 billion claimed by the former Vice President.’”
Speaking further, Atiku said the same minister had now “done a volte-face and admitted that the actual cost is indeed closer to ₦8 billion per kilometre — precisely what Atiku warned Nigerians about.”
“This admission not only vindicates the former Vice President’s position but also exposes the Tinubu administration’s lack of transparency in managing one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in Nigeria’s history,” the statement added.
Atiku maintained that both the cost structure and the financing model of the coastal highway remain opaque, inflated and suspiciously designed to benefit vested interests rather than the Nigerian people.
“Now, even by the Minister’s own account, the Federal Government’s commitment is only 15%–30% of the total project cost, meaning the bulk of the estimated $11 billion would supposedly be sourced by the contractor,” the statement continued.
He also raised fundamental questions, asking: “Who are the actual financiers? What sovereign guarantees underpin this arrangement? And how did a project initially presented as cost-efficient balloon to Atiku’s projected figure?”
The statement stressed that this development reinforces Atiku’s consistent call for due process, competitive bidding and transparency in all major public projects, insisting that Nigerians deserve openness, not contradictions and concealed deals.
It further noted that Atiku has proven himself a statesman who speaks truth to power “not out of politics, but out of patriotism,” adding that “he understands that every inflated contract represents theft from the Nigerian people.”
Atiku urged the Tinubu administration to publish the full contractual details, including financing terms and counterpart obligations, and to subject the project to an independent value-for-money audit.
He also called for the suspension of further payments until Nigerians are assured that the project genuinely serves national interest.
culled from Daily Times Nigeria
