Coastal Highway scandal vindicates my earlier warnings about Tinubu’s lack of transparency – Atiku

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project has been embroiled in a cost scandal, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerging vindicated after Minister of Works David Umahi admitted the project’s cost is approximately ₦8 billion per kilometre – the same figure Atiku had initially flagged as inflated.

 

Atiku had questioned the project’s cost structure and financing model, describing it as “opaque, inflated, and suspiciously designed to benefit vested interests”. Umahi’s admission contradicts his earlier dismissal of Atiku’s claims, exposing the Tinubu administration’s lack of transparency in managing the project.

 

“The Nigerian people are watching — and history, yet again, has vindicated Atiku Abubakar,” said Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar.

 

“Atiku has proven himself a statesman who speaks truth to power, not out of politics, but out of patriotism.”

 

Umahi had initially insisted the project’s cost was ₦4 billion per kilometre, but now acknowledges it’s closer to ₦8 billion. This raises concerns about the project’s management and the Tinubu administration’s commitment to transparency.

 

The project’s estimated cost is $11 billion, with the Federal Government’s commitment limited to 15%-30% of the total cost. The bulk of the funding would be sourced by the contractor, sparking questions about the actual financiers, sovereign guarantees, and the project’s ballooning cost.

 

Atiku’s call for transparency and due process has been reinforced, with demands for the Tinubu administration to publish contractual details, conduct an independent audit, and suspend payments until the project’s national interest is assured.

 

“We call on the Tinubu administration to come clean on this project,” Atiku said in a statement. “The Nigerian people deserve openness, not contradictions and concealed deals.”