The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has said he is ready to face the House of Representatives probe over the controversy surrounding the N15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway road project.Umahi added that he planned to ensure the exercise was televised live for all Nigerians to see.The minister also stressed that there was nothing to hide about the project, stating that he and the Ministry of Works followed due process and obtained the necessary approvals and documentation for the project to commence.Speaking with Saturday PUNCH in an exclusive interview on Friday, the minister said that the claim that the loan obtained to complete the project did not follow due process was untrue.He, however, added that the matter was before the National Assembly, noting that he would not want to comment on it.“I am ready to face the National Assembly to defend the project. I will not want to say anything now till I meet with the senators and House of Reps members. It will be live so you will also hear it. It will be live so that Nigerians will see it,” he added.The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to probe the ongoing N15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
The project gained traction under the administrations of former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari but could not commence.Under Jonathan’s administration, the highway was to cost $12bn, and $11.1bn under Buhari. It was subsequently expanded from a four-lane double carriageway to a 10-lane highway.
Umahi disclosed that the construction of the coastal road was expected to span eight years and cost N4bn per kilometre.No personal interestThe Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project has been trailed by many controversies.
One of the controversies was that the contract given to Hitech did not follow due process and that there was no competitive bidding for the project.Also, there have been issues around whose interest the project would serve if completed, with several voices, including that of a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who said the project would serve a personal interest.
Following the many controversies that have trailed the project, including the demolitions of structures, Umahi appeared in several televised interviews to defend his stance.
In one of such interviews on Arise TV, the minister had said the project was not aimed at serving any personal interest but that of all Nigerians.
“When people say the project is on personal interest, there is a contradiction there. This is because Atiku Abubakar said the Jonathan administration wanted to do that project which would have cost about $12bn or so.
So, whose interest was that administration promoting in trying to do that project?“I have a design from the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) on that project. The NDDC designs are quite bulky.
When I was implementing this current project, I had to call for the design.
There is no personal interest in this project. The idea of that project came from the ingenuity of Mr President (Bola Tinubu) when he was governor; he was the one who procured the right of way within the Lagos corridor and gazetted it.”Speaking further, the minister said, “The reason for the project taking off now is all about how we can inject some activities into the economy.
If we want to come out of inflation, we have to look at investments in infrastructure and that is what this project is addressing.
It is addressing a lot of elements of return on investments. There is no personal interest associated with that.
As such, it said it would set up an ad-hoc committee, which would investigate the project and submit a report within four weeks.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved during plenary by the member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency of Benue State, Austin Achado.
The House also resolved to summon the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and his works counterpart, Umahi, to shed more light on the project.
The Ministry of Works, however, defended the project, saying it followed due process.
It also said the House of Representatives members had pledged support for the project.
A 700-kilometre turnpike infrastructure, the coastal highway project has attracted commendation and condemnation since the Bola Tinubu administration approved it in February.
The 10-lane coastal road was designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states before culminating in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
“It is quite petty to ask why it is starting from Lagos and not Calabar. The name of the project is ‘Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road’ and not the other way around. This means there is a zero point, which happens to be at Ahmadu Bello Way, which coincides with the Eko Atlantic.
That is pure coincidence. We have started the project already and it is progressing.
As of today, I can tell you that about 80 per cent of the first 1.3km is completed.”
On the costs, Umahi said there had been talks about different amounts, stating that it would cost N4bn per kilometre.
Defending the cost, he said,“People are just building castles without knowledge and they don’t know figures.
I will run the figures for you.
We are going to compare the cross-section of the one the former Vice President, Atiku, mentioned that was renegotiated for $11.1bn for 700km.
And what was there to be constructed is the only available design from NDDC.
“They had designed the entire 700km, but we are not following exactly that pattern or right of way. We have a different modification.
The original design had two carriageways on each side of the road with four lanes