Questions and concerns from critics and stakeholders have refused to wane despite the presidency’s defence of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

This is as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, again challenged President Bola Tinubu to disclose the full cost of the project.

On Monday, the presidency tackled Atiku in reaction to his earlier comments on the project, saying the former Vice President demonstrated poor understanding over his criticism that the project lacked transparency.

Still seeking answers to grey areas concerning the road construction, Atiku in a statement on Tuesday said the Tinubu administration could not continue to keep silent on how much public funds would be spent on the project at a time when Nigeria was still facing dire economic challenges.

Recall that the Minister of Works, David Umahi, recently announced the start of construction on the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, but querying the contractor, the former vice president, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, questioned the Tinubu administration’s decision to award the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.

He also wondered why the Tinubu administration released N1.06 trillion for the pilot phase, or six per cent of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

Yesterday, in another statement signed by the Special Assistant on Public Communication to the former Vice President, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku reiterated: “The Tinubu administration cannot continue to respond to the public’s inquiry with insults. They must come clean on this project because Nigerians deserve to know the truth. I, therefore, present seven posers to the administration.

“How much is the total cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway? Why is the project being funded by the Nigerian government despite being a PPP? Why is the project taking off from Chagoury’s Eko Atlantic? Why is N1.06tn being spent on the pilot phase, which is just 47km? Why did the N1.06tn not get the approval of the National Assembly? Why wasn’t there a competitive bidding for the project? Finally, how did the Tinubu administration get the design as well as the right of way in just seven months, since it claims the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari never touched the project?”

Atiku further charged the Tinubu administration to, in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), respond to the questions line by line instead of taking the mundane and jejune route of “insulting their way out of every inquiry.

The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had, in a statement, told Atiku to get his facts right about the project.

MEANWHILE, as protests by affected residents rage over the road project, Funsho Doherty, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the last gubernatorial election, has asked the Lagos State government (LASG) to explore alternative solutions over plans to demolish Landmark Beach and other properties to make way for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

Doherty said this in a letter dated April 9, and addressed to Oluyinka Abiodun Olumide, the Lagos Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was also copied in the letter posted on Doherty’s X account.

Landmark Beach Resort, a popular tourist spot in Lagos, is embroiled in a dispute with the LASG regarding a proposed demolition to pave the way for the coastal highway project. The owner of the resort, Paul Onwuanibe, was served a seven-day demolition notice in late March, raising worries about its effect on tourism and investment.

The Lagos government argued that the beach and other properties are situated within the specified right-of-way for the initial phase of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

Reacting to the development, Doherty in the letter titled ‘Re: Open Letter on Right-of-Way and Compulsory Acquisition of Property for Lagos-Calabar Coastal road,’ noted that “the state’s power of eminent domain over the citizenry is clear, incontrovertible and constitutionally guaranteed. However, like all great and wide-ranging power, it must be utilised carefully, with justice and compassion.”

The governorship candidate called for caution, stating that alternative solutions should be explored by the government.

“In such matters, process is particularly important, and it should involve wide-ranging, good faith consultation and open communication. Wherever feasible, alternative solutions should be explored for particularly injurious situations. This may involve some added time and cost. Recent developments would suggest that more work is needed in this area,” he said.

Doherty pointed out that some of the properties marked for demolition are used for businesses that “have invested substantial sums, taken commercial risks and succeeded, contributing to the city, while employing residents and paying taxes. The effect on them, on their employees and on the city should be carefully considered.”

He also advocated for informal and shanty towns along the way, stating that they “may be considered illegal, but the social and human implications of clearing them, especially on the vulnerable (children, elderly) cannot be wished away. Mitigating provisions will have to be made.

“Fair and just compensation for owners, whether businesses, urban or rural communities along the entire right of way must go along with compulsory acquisitions of property, including undeveloped land, if such acquisitions ultimately prove to be inevitable.

“In such a project, which is a Federal Project cutting across states, one of the roles that is expected of Lagos State Government, being a Federating entity, is to serve as an advocate for all of its people, especially those that may be adversely affected in one way or another. LASG should be mindful to discharge this trust faithfully and to ensure that it is reflected in project plans,” he said.

Worried by the alleged deviation off the mapped-out corridor of the proposed coastal road along the Okun Ajah axis of Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), community residents yesterday besieged Lagos State House of Assembly to help review the situation and save their structures from likely demolition.

The protesting residents were of the view that some underhand deals were in top gear to compromise the blueprint of the real plan for the said road development.

Speaking with newsmen during the protest Mr Musiliu Ologunro, who led the group of affected residents, cited the fact that the deviation was spotted from the Owonikoko area of Okun Ajah a development he claims negates the initial template envisioned by the governor of Lagos now President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu. (The Guardian)

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