The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, alleged that President Bola Tinubu puts personal business interests before Nigerian Infrastructure.
Atiku stated that the Tinubu administration is engaged in questionable dealings amidst the development of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
The Federal Government recently announced the start of construction on the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, revealed this information in a statement issued last week by his Special Adviser on Media, Orji Uchenna, in Abuja.
Umahi mentioned that the contractor commenced work following the formal handover of the initial phase of the project, comprising 47.47km of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited.
Reacting tp Umahi’s statement, the former vice president in a statement by his Media Coordinator, Paul Ibe, on Sunday alleged that the project’s allocation to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech), devoid of any documented competitive bidding process or decision by the Federal Executive Council.
He stated, “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 clarified that the project’s concept was “build, operate, and transfer,” indicating that Hitech would construct the road, operate it for a certain period, recoup its investment through tollgates, and subsequently return it to the Nigerian government.
The statement read in part “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 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.
“This pilot phase was to begin from the edge of Chagoury’s Eko Atlantic City on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, and terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Ibeju-Lekki, a distance of 47.47km Till date, the Tinubu administration has refused to reveal how much the project will cost in total. Umahi, who even came on Channels Television recently, evaded questions as to the total cost of the project.
“But if 47.47km costs about N1.06tn, it means each kilometre is being built at N22.5 billion or $18 million. For a project that is going to be 700km, it means the total cost could be N15.7 trillion or $12.56 billion, which is higher than previous estimates.”
Atiku warned that the renewed hope infrastructure fund, under Tinubu’s discretion, may serve as another avenue for diverting public funds through dubious projects.
He stated, “More curious is the fact that the entire pilot phase of this project begins and ends in Lagos, especially within the axis of Bola Tinubu’s business interests. It is no secret that both Tinubu and Chagoury are business partners.
“This same Hitech, owned by Chagoury, was unable to complete the 50km Lekki-Epe Expressway. Despite installing two tollgates along the axis, Hitech which was part of the Lekki Concession Company consortium was only able to construct about 20km, forcing the Lagos State Government to buy it back at the cost of N7.5 billion ($50 million at the time) in 2013 which came at a loss to the people of Lagos.
“Tinubu has once again put his personal business interest ahead of that of the Nigerian people in violation of his oath of office where he swore that ‘i will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions.’
“The so-called pilot phase from Eko Atlantic to Lekki Deep Sea Port was initially conceived as a Lagos State Government project but because of its huge cost coupled with the fact that Lagos State has a huge debt burden no thanks to Tinubu, the Federal Government is now implementing it under the guise of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. This perhaps explains why there are fears that the project will never get to Calabar, and this is the same reason the project is beginning from Lagos and not Calabar.
“Despite not revealing the cost of this entire project, the Tinubu administration is now on the verge of setting up a so-called Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, a fund targeted at constructing capital projects without the usual budgeting process.”
However, the Presidency on Sunday faulted former Atiku’s comments, describing it as erroneous and “irresponsible.”
“So what Atiku has done is just an attempt to run down the government. It’s unwarranted and very irresponsible of them to have said what they said,” the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, told The According in a phone interview Sunday.
Onanuga said, “They are confusing many things. Number one, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road was never awarded by Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari. It is a new project.
“So all these he is talking about, Jonathan awarding it to the China Civil Engineering Construction Company at N1.97bn, was about the rail line from Lagos to Calabar, not the coastal road.
“They collated a lot of errors in the race to denigrate Bola Tinubu. They didn’t get it right. Comparing the cost is unfounded. They are not related.
“In fact, it will make the journey from Lagos to Calabar short by I think about 200 kilometres. So, how can anyone in his right mind attack a project or an administration doing such a project that would better our country?
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. What the Federal Executive Council has approved is just the first phase. The same Federal Executive Council will approve the second, third, or fourth phases.
“This project has four or five phases. Who says the next one won’t start from Calabar?”
