Atiku Abubakar Slams Tinubu Administration’s Approach to Lagos-Calabar Highway Project, Questions Transparency of Contract Award

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the decision by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to re-award the 700km Lagos – Calabar Coastal highway project to Hitech Construction Company Limited without competitive bidding or approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

In a statement released by his spokesman, Mr Paul Ibe, titled “Tinubu and Chagoury’s Dubious Lagos-Calabar Highway Project,” Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of engaging in shady deals and lacking transparency in the awarding of the project.

Atiku highlighted that the Minister of Works, Engineer Dave Umahi, failed to disclose the contractual amount involved in the project, raising concerns about the secrecy surrounding the deal. He pointed out that the project, announced in September 2023, was awarded to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited without competitive bidding or FEC decision.

Umahi’s explanation that the project would incur zero cost to Nigeria due to its public-private partnership nature was met with skepticism by Atiku, who questioned the lack of transparency regarding the project’s funding and overall cost.

Atiku revealed that the first phase of the project, covering a distance of 47.47km in Lagos, was set to cost N1.06 trillion, prompting concerns about the exorbitant cost per kilometer. Extrapolating from this, Atiku estimated that the total cost for the entire 700km project could exceed N15.7 trillion or $12.56 billion, significantly higher than previous estimates.

The lack of clarity surrounding the project’s financing, bidding process, and overall cost has raised alarms, with Atiku urging for accountability and transparency in the handling of such critical infrastructure projects.