Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to make public the contract details and payment records for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project amid changes to parts of its proposed route.
Atiku’s demand follows President Bola Tinubu’s directive to reroute sections of the highway along the existing East-West Road.
In a statement issued on Monday by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council, Atiku said the revised alignment had raised concerns about the original contract, payments already made and the potential financial consequences of altering the project.
The ADC presidential candidate also alleged that the government might be preparing to seek additional loans to finance payments associated with the highway.
“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,” he said.
Atiku connected the controversy to the Tinubu administration’s removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians should not face the burden of further borrowing without access to the project’s financial records.
“He removed the petrol subsidy without protecting Nigerians from the blow. Families are still paying for that decision every day,” he said.
“Now, his government has put a coastal highway plan before Nigerians in the budget, changed parts of it midway and, according to the intelligence we have received, may be preparing to ask the country to borrow billions more.
“Nigerians have suffered enough from this government’s trial and error. They cannot be made to pay for another changed promise without seeing the accounts.
“If work on the original route will no longer be done, what has been removed from the contract? How much has already been paid? What is the revised price? You cannot change the work and refuse to change the bill.”
The former vice-president called for the release of key documents relating to the project, including the original feasibility and environmental studies, route maps, bills of quantities, contract variations, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) approvals, payment certificates and any proposals for additional borrowing.
Atiku also urged the National Assembly to organise a public hearing before considering any request for additional financing for the project.
He argued that the reported route adjustments and the possibility of further borrowing reflected what he described as policy inconsistency within the Tinubu administration.
According to him, the government must provide a detailed account of the financial implications of the changes instead of expecting Nigerians to shoulder additional expenses without adequate public scrutiny.
“This is the policy inconsistency that has defined Tinubu’s government and made an already severe cost of living crisis harder for Nigerians to bear,” the ADC presidential candidate said.
“Announce a plan. Change it without a full accounting. Then present the public with a bigger bill. When capital spending is hidden from scrutiny, corruption has room to grow and the people suffer more.
“An Atiku administration will budget capital projects transparently, account for every change in scope and cost, and subject spending to independent audit. Nigerians are not against roads.
“They are against secret bills for changing plans. Tinubu must show the route, show the accounts and show the loan request. Enough of grand announcements followed by expensive surprises.”
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, had disclosed that Tinubu directed that the coastal highway should follow the existing East-West Road from Ondo State into Edo State, rather than construct an entirely new alignment along that corridor.
Umahi said the decision was also influenced by flooding problems affecting sections of the East-West Road, particularly around the Ughelli axis in Delta State.
