The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, doubled down on his criticism of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project on Tuesday, as he challenged President Bola Tinubu to disclose the full cost of the highway project.
Atiku, in a statement, maintained that the Tinubu administration could not continue to keep silent on how much of public funds would be spent on the project at a time Nigeria was still facing dire economic challenges.
The former vice president had through his media adviser, Paul Ibe, questioned the Tinubu administration’s decision to award the coastal road contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.
He had also wondered why the Tinubu administration released N1.06 trillion for the pilot phase or six per cent of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and was expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
However, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had in response said Atiku allowed himself to be led into a blind alley by his “poorly informed aides” in his desperation to make the headlines.
Onanuga said contrary to Atiku’s suggestions, the coastal road project had been praised for how it would improve the quality of life of Nigerians and the economy of the nine coastal states it will pass through, particularly in the areas of agriculture and tourism.
Onanuga had alleged, “Seeking to be a kill-joy, Atiku Abubakar engaged in red-herring by raising ill-thought-out allegations that only exposed his inadequacies and those of his team in getting the basic facts on an issue he badly seeks to nail the government.”
But the latest statement by Atiku read in part, “The Tinubu administration cannot continue to respond to public inquiry with insults. They must come clean on this project because Nigerians deserve to know the truth. I, therefore, present six posers to the administration.
“How much is the total cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway?
“Why is the project being funded by the Nigerian government despite being a PPP? Why is the project taking off from Chagoury’s Eko Atlantic?
“Why is N1.06 trillion being spent on the pilot phase, which is just 47 kilometres?
“Why did the N1.06 trillion not get the approval of the National Assembly? Why wasn’t there a competitive bidding for the project?
“Finally, how did the Tinubu administration get the design as well as the right of way in just seven months, since it claims the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari never touched the project?”
Atiku asked the Tinubu administration to, in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act, respond to the questions line by line instead of taking the mundane route of “insulting their way out of every inquiry”.
Chuks Okocha, Emmanuel Addeh and Blessing Ibunge
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