Publish Coastal Highway Contract, Payments And Loan Plans, Atiku Tells Tinubu Government
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the Federal Government to make public all documents relating to the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.
Atiku said the call became necessary after President Bola Tinubu directed that some sections of the highway be rerouted to follow the existing East-West road corridor.
The directive was disclosed by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, who said the President asked that the road should follow the East-West road from Ondo State into Edo State to avoid opening a fresh alignment and to address flooding problems around Ughelli in Delta State.
Reacting in a statement on Monday through his strategic communication director, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said changing the alignment midway raises serious accountability questions.
According to him, Nigerians deserve to know what was in the original contract, how much has been paid to contractors, what has been removed after the reroute and what the new total cost will be.
He asked the government to publish the feasibility study, environmental impact assessment, detailed route maps, bills of quantities, contract variations, Bureau of Public Procurement no-objection approvals, interim payment certificates and details of any fresh borrowing being planned for the project.
Atiku said the Federal Government should not present citizens with a bigger bill after changing the scope of work without full disclosure.
He said, publish the proposed loan, the contract it would finance and the record of what has already been paid. If no such request exists, say so plainly and on the record.
The former Vice President linked the issue to the fuel subsidy removal, saying Nigerians are still bearing the hardship from that policy and should not be forced to shoulder hidden costs from a highway project whose accounts are not open.
He alleged that intelligence available to his camp suggests the government may be preparing to borrow billions more to finance the coastal highway.
Atiku demanded that no additional financing for the project should be considered by the National Assembly without a public hearing where Nigerians can examine the documents.
He described the situation as a pattern of policy inconsistency that has worsened the cost of living crisis.
He said when capital projects are not transparently budgeted and changes in scope and cost are not accounted for, it creates room for corruption.
He added that Nigerians support road infrastructure but oppose secrecy around public spending.
An Atiku administration, he said, would ensure transparent budgeting of capital projects, full accounting for scope changes and independent audit of spending.
He insisted that President Tinubu must show the route, show the accounts and show the loan request, adding that Nigerians have suffered enough from trial and error governance.
