The Presidency has responded to the claims by former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project, saying that he confused it with ill-fated Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail project.
A statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, said neither the government of President Goodluck Jonathan nor the succeeding administration awarded any contract for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election had raised issues with the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway which has recently been approved for implementation, saying that the decision to award it to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech) allegedly highlights the Bola Tinubu administration’s “penchant for dubious and shady deals.”
He made the observation in a statement issued on Sunday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, where he recalled that the Goodluck Jonathan administration had in November 2014 the contract for the same 10-state, 22-station project with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at a cost of $11.97 billion.
Noting that the administration left office before it could implement it, Atiku said that the succeeding administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had reviewed it downwards by $800 million to $11.1 billion with a three-year completion period even though it continued to stall.
Atiku said the award of the contract for the project to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Limited (Hitech) was without any record of competitive bidding or a decision by Federal Executive Council (FEC).
But the presidency statement noted that since the two previous administrations did not award such contact the question of revised amount alleged by the former presidential candidate does not arise.
The statement explained that: “The contract that was awarded was that of Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail. The rail was designed as part of the standard guage national rail network. The contract was awarded on August 4, 2021 by the Federal Executive Council presided over by former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN at the cost of $11.17 billion. The contract was to be completed in six years. The project didn’t take off.
“To Atiku’s chagrin and utter disappointment, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway has been rightly praised for the huge economic impact it will create and how it will be a game-changer in improving the quality of life of Nigerians, especially the economy of the nine coastal states it will pass through. Importantly, the road will boost agricultural and tourism economy on a grand scale.
ALSO READ: FCT: Police arrest notorious armed robbery kingpin ‘Pounds and Dollar’, gang members
“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.
“We have decided, however, to respond to Atiku’s misrepresentation of facts in matters of the coastal road if only to set the record straight so that unsuspecting Nigerians are not misled and misinformed. We owe it a sacred duty to ensure Atiku and his handlers do not continue to spread disinformation as they wallow in their politics of hatred.”
It added: “The Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail project has always been on the card. It was another testament of the failure of the previous PDP-led government that it could not get it off the ground in 16 years it held sway.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway and Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail are two distinct projects. It is unfortunate that the former Vice President is confused about the two projects.
“President Tinubu should be praised for having the courage to embark on this transformative project and not vilified as Atiku Abubakar unsuccessfully sought to do.
“We know there is nothing so sacred for Atiku Abubakar in the pursuit of his undying ambition to be President of Nigeria even in his advanced age.
“We, however, don’t expect a former Vice President of Nigeria to continue to fan ill-will and engage in divisive politics in his twilight.
“Atiku queried the decision to start the Coastal road from Lagos and not Calabar, oblivious of the huge impact such will make on export-import flow around the industrial zones.
“We are at a loss as to what the former VP hopes to achieve with his assertion. Is it not a received wisdom that a thousand miles journey begins with a step? Whether the project begins from Lagos or Calabar, Warri or Sapele, what should gladden the heart of any patriotic Nigerian is that this important project that has been in the pipeline for several decades has finally taken off.
“President Tinubu as a leader and nationalist will continue to drive and propel national progress through infrastructural development across the country. We enjoin former Vice President Atiku to act his status as a presumed statesman and desist from engaging in fruitless exercise that does not add any value to nation-building.
“As to the other poorly researched issue raised by Atiku and his team on the Lekki Concession Company, we urge them to return to the Library for real facts rather than rushing to cast aspersions on President Tinubu and his government.”
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
