The Presidential Campaign Council of the Allied Peoples Movement has demanded full disclosure of the procurement process, contractor selection, contract cost and payment records for the ₦15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, citing concerns over transparency, accountability and the recent realignment of the road.
The Director-General of the council, Felix Hyat, made the demand at a press conference on Tuesday, following the announcement by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, that the highway’s route had been realigned.
Umahi, on Monday, defended the Federal Government’s decision to reroute the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, explaining that the original alignment passed through terrain with pits exceeding 100 metres in depth, which would have substantially increased construction costs.
He maintained that the diversion was informed by engineering considerations and the need to ensure value for public funds.
Umahi also acknowledged receiving petitions alleging that he had improperly diverted the highway’s route in Ondo State but insisted that the decision was justified.
Reacting, Hyat faulted the Federal Government over what he described as poor planning and alleged procurement irregularities surrounding the project. He called on the government to publish relevant engineering assessments, alternative-route analyses, cost implications and a comprehensive audit of the work done and funds spent so far.
He said, “The announcement by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, of the realignment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway route has once again brought to the fore allegations of technical and planning incompetence, policy inconsistencies, and troubling questions of transparency and accountability that have dogged this multi-trillion-naira project since its inception.
“It is appalling that Minister Umahi, in a desperate bid to contain the gathering storm of public outrage, brazenly denied his earlier announcement of a presidential directive to realign the highway despite overwhelming video evidence of that announcement. Such denial is unbecoming of a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In any event, knowing full well that the enduring test of government does not orbit in the grandeur of its projects or the boldness of its announcements, but rather in the conveyance of the common good, we are compelled to submit that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, as conceived and presented to Nigerians by this administration, has failed in major ways.
“While we have nothing against the construction of roads in any part of the country, it is important to state that the afterthought realignment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is an admission of technical incompetence, failure of proper planning and gross underestimation of the project’s engineering challenges.”
The APM Presidential Campaign Council also raised conflict-of-interest concerns over the award of the ₦15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract, alleging links between the contractor’s corporate group and individuals connected to the Presidency.
The council questioned the Federal Government’s silence on the expected cost reduction following the rerouting of the Ondo section to an existing road, demanding full disclosure of contract and payment records.
It said the controversy came amid rising living costs and called on the government to ensure accountability and demonstrate that the project served the public interest.
Hyat further said, “The vague reasons of climate change and environmental challenges adduced by Minister Umahi at this point beg the question. It only confirms that the Tinubu administration embarked on this huge project without the required statutory environmental impact assessment, in gross violation of our extant laws.
“The circumstances of the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway give a glimpse into the capricious and arbitrary manner in which the Tinubu Presidency rules Nigeria, resulting in the crippling of virtually all the vital sectors of the economy under his watch.
“We urge Nigerians to judge this latest development against the troubling circumstances surrounding the project’s conception and award in 202