From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Presidential Campaign Organisation has demanded the quick publication of procurement and payment records for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, alongside a complete audit of the challenge’s value and expenditure.
It additionally referred to as for an unbiased engineering evaluation of the freeway’s realignment in Ondo State and disclosure of the federal government’s plans for finishing the challenge.
Director-General of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), Felix Hyat, made the demands at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, saying though Nigeria urgently wanted infrastructure, it didn’t want “opaque contracts and expensive excuses.”
Hyat mentioned the announcement by Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on the realignment had renewed issues concerning the challenge’s planning, engineering evaluation, transparency and accountability.
He accused the minister of denying an earlier announcement that President Bola Tinubu had directed the realignment, regardless of what he described as video proof.
“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,” he mentioned.
Hyat argued that the federal government must be judged by the general public advantages of its tasks, slightly than the size of its bulletins.
“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,” he mentioned. He questioned the minister’s explanations regarding local weather change and environmental challenges, alleging that the administration had launched into the challenge with out the required statutory environmental impression evaluation.
“We urge Nigerians to judge this latest development against the troubling circumstances surrounding the project’s conception and award in 2024, which came without an approved engineering design, without transparent, open and competitive bidding process as required by the Public Procurement Act 2007 and without any budgetary provision and statutory appropriation by the National Assembly,” he mentioned.
Hyat additionally questioned the monetary implications of redirecting the freeway to an current highway, saying the federal government ought to disclose any ensuing discount in value.
He criticised what he described as a ₦15 trillion dedication to the challenge whereas current federal roads remained in poor situation, leaving motorists stranded and inflicting financial losses.
“The controversies surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway have reached a punitive reckoning, a point where accountability can no longer be deferred,” he mentioned.
“We demand that the President Tinubu-led government should publish the relevant engineering assessment, alternative-route analysis, accompanying cost implications and comprehensive audit of the work and amount so far spent.”
Hyat mentioned verifiable records have been essential to handle public issues and allegations surrounding the contract, together with claims that it was meant to finance the All Progressives Congress’ election bills.
“Nigerians are tired of official assurances without verifiable evidence, particularly against the backdrop of allegations that the contract, from inception, was designed as a conduit for financing APC’s election expenses. These serious allegations demand transparency, not evasive explanations.”
