Outrage, yesterday greeted the Federal Government’s proposal to charge N3,000 on average per toll gate when the Lagos-Calabar coastal road is completed.

Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, confirmed the figure, yesterday when he was featured on a programme on Channels Television.

Among those who kicked against the move and other details of the road, yesterday were the 2023 presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; the Labour Party, LP; Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP; the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF; and transport operators, among others.

Umahi said: “Let me leave out the infrastructure along the corridor. Let me just concentrate on the tolls and I put 50,000 vehicles as an average passage on these toll points per day,” Umahi said on the breakfast show.

“I put N3,000 as an average cost. N3,000 because the cars could be like N1,500, and the big trucks could be like N5,000. “So, we put an average. In 15 years, you make back the money,” he said, dismissing calls that the cost budgeted for the road was high.

According to him, there will be security at the toll gates and some facilities like filling stations.

“At every point of tolling, we also have toll station where we have a kind of relief activities – restaurants, filling stations, parking lots, and so on and so forth. So, people will now have confidence. In these sections, we intend to put CCTV all through,” Umahi said.

Landmark property’ll be intact, no job’ll be lost

The Minister of Works also said the property of Landmark Beach Resort will not be demolished for the 700-kilometre coastal road project, adding that no jobs will be lost.

His words: “I was at Landmark, yesterday (Wednesday), to see what was going on. Despite claims that 12,000 jobs will be lost, I told Landmark that no jobs will be lost by what we’re doing. What could be lost is the shoreline and the people that go to play at the shoreline. His facilities will be intact because we reduced the corridor by 50 metres.

“I saw that there’s no permanent structure other than a few shanties along the shoreline that are affected. I told him that no job will be lost, and he agreed with me.”

Land ownership

On ownership of the shoreline, the minister said: “Who owns the land is not supposed to be my problem but the Federal Government by the Waterways Act and the recent Supreme Court judgement, gave the right of ownership of the shoreline to FG, 250 metres from the point of the shoreline, which means it belongs to FG.

“However, we’re interested here because it’s an investment, and we’re happy with it. We are taking 50 metres of that shoreline, and it’s irrevocable. I also told him if he’s interested in the waterways, he should create one on top.”

Recall that the Lagos State Government had issued a notice of demolition of the $200 million Landmark Beach Resort, saying the property obstructs the planned route of the coastal road project.

Proprietor of Landamark Beach Resort, Paul Onwuanibe, in an interview with CNN, said he was given a notice to vacate his multimillion-dollar beach resort within seven days for its impending demolition.

According to him, the Landmark property accommodates more than 80 businesses and sustains over 4,000 jobs directly.

He claimed that the company contributes more than N2 billion in taxes each year.

The beach resort, regarded as one of the top-tier tourism spots in Nigeria, received about a million local and foreign visitors last year.

Onwuanibe explained he purchased the land in 2007, well before the coastal highway plans were formulated, and was left with mixed feelings after the demolition notice arrived, also prompting him to claim compensation.

FG will pay compensation to property owners

However, the Works Minister said his ministry will pay compensation to owners whose property fall within the Right of Way of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

The Minister who made this known at a press conference/stakeholders’ meeting at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos after the inspection of the Phase One, Section One of the roadproject beginning at Kuramo beach beside Eko Hotel & Suites, said emphatically that shanty owners along the corridor will not be paid compensation, just as economic tree owners will equally not be paid compensation.

According to Umahi, “Right of Way belongs to the Federal Government. By Right of Way, it means 250 metres from the shoreline belongs to the Federal Government, and if your property is 100 metres away from the shoreline, the property does not fall within the Right of Way. But if your property is on another person’s land, compensation is not expected to be paid.

“However, President Bola Tinubu, because he does not want people to go through pains, has said property owners affected by the coastal road project should all be compensated. But shanty owners will not be paid compensation, just as economic tree owners on the coastal corridor will not be paid compensation.”

Any toll above N300 unacceptable — CUPP

Rejecting the N3,000 proposed toll, the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, said any toll above N300 will further worsen the suffering of the citizenry.

CUPP General Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, in a chat with Vanguard, lamented that “a dark cloud is hovering over the road project because it lacks transparency and due process, contract awarded without proper oversight and competitive bidding process; and cost of building the road per kilometre is outrageous and unacceptable.”

He continued: “We are all already worried that due process was not followed in both the selection and award of the contract for the project. The intention of the Federal Government that vehicles will pay an average of N3,000 per toll gate is not acceptable and should be rejected by all Nigerian citizens as this will further increase the burden on the suffering masses of our country. Anything above N300 will create a lot of hardship.

“We all know that there are institutions and bodies, agencies that are created by law to take care of matters of this nature, ranging from the Federal Executive Council, which sits to consider the economic imperative of this kind of gigantic project, the National Assembly which has been constitutionally mandated to appropriate the funds, Bureau of Public Procurement which looks at the entities that will execute the contract without the Federal Government spending way above and beyond what the project would ordinarily have cost, etc.

“In constitutional democracies, funds are not arbitrarily expended without authorisation of the legislative arm, which controls the purse of the nation and the president ought not to have given out a trillion naira plus to his friends without authorisation.

that the coastal highway is a build, operate, and transfer project, due process must also be followed with the aforementioned institutions and agencies put in the know with their input taken into consideration.”

He urged the National Assembly to investigate the contract and funds expended on the project.

It’s a highway to fraud, waste – Atiku

Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, condemned FG’s claims that the road will tentatively cost N15.6 trillion, which he described as wasteful and a highway to fraud.

In a statement by his Media Office, Atiku equally knocked Umahi for altering the initial plan of the project after Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had been awarded the contract without any competitive bidding.

He said: “Umahi had announced that the project will be fully funded by Hitech, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then turned around to say that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit.”

According to the statement, Umahi had during his media rounds at select TV stations on Thursday said the road project will cost N15.6 trillion ($13bn at an exchange rate of N1,200/$1) while the rail which will pass through the road will be costed separately. The minister had also said the project would not be PPP, but the government would be providing 15%-30% counterpart financing.

Responding to Umahi’s revelation, Atiku said the tentative cost is the equivalent of the total budget of all 36 states of the federation combined.

He said: “The total budget of all 36 states of the federation for 2024 stands at about N14 trillion. If you add that of the FCT, the entire budget of all sub-nationals is N15.91 trillion. This is scandalous. Worse still, they have already awarded the contract but are still not sure of the level of the counterpart funding component of the Federal Government!

Umahi had said in September 2023 that Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech had the money to construct the highway and that it would be PPP. Hitech was to build, operate, and transfer back to the government after years of tolling.

“It was reported by every media organization, including those owned by Tinubu. It was based on this proposal that Hitech was picked. Why did Umahi then turn around to claim that it was not to be a PPP but that the government would pay 15%-30%?”

The former Vice President noted that in the 2024 budget, the project was captured as the Lagos-Port Harcourt coastal highway and was put at a cost of N500m.

“Although the National Assembly approved N500m for the project this year, the Tinubu administration has released N1.06tn. That is more than 200 times what is in the Appropriation Act. This is what happens when the National Assembly fails in its duties,” he added.

FG not tired of inflicting pains on Nigerians – LP

On its part, the Labour Party, LP, faulted plans by the Federal Government to toll the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress, APC administration was clearly not tired of “inflicting pains, suffering and misery on ordinary Nigerians.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, said: said: “This administration’s policies have over the last one year been targeted at making the poor poorer and the rich richer at the expense of hardworking but poorly remunerated citizens.

“First, it was the poorly executed fuel subsidy removal policy without a buffer. While we are still trying to deal with the hardship imposed by all of this, government increased electricity tariffs. It is no longer news that this policy is largely responsible for the galloping inflation, rising poverty and the volatility of the Naira against major foreign currencies.

“Obviously not satisfied with the suffering this has inflicted on Nigerians, the Minister of Works just announced a decision to toll the 700 km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.

“Vehicles plying the road are expected to pay a whopping N3,000 per toll gate, per trip. If we may ask, how much is the national minimum wage? We can’t continue to run our economy like an exploitative business enterprise.”

Cost must be recovered, unwilling motorists should use alternative routes – APC scribe

However, National Secretary of the APC, Dr Ajibola Basiru justified plans to toll the highway and said those unwilling to pay the tolls to use alternative routes.

His words: “The 700km coastal road is capital intensive and there is what is called cost recovery which is a standard globally. You cannot embark on such a gigantic project without putting cost recovery in terms of infrastructure.

“Even in Lagos State here, there are measures put in place by the then Governor of Lagos State now the President Bola Tinubu to ensure cost recovery.

“Moreover, there are alternative routes, if you don’t want to pay the toll, you can ply alternative routes like Lagos-Ijebu-Ode-Benin route without paying a dime. But if you want to enjoy the super highway, then, you have to pay the toll.”

Luxury bus operators kick

Reacting, Managing Director of Ifesinachi Transport, Chief Emeka Mamah, said that the nine toll gates at N3,000 will amount to N27,000 on a single trip and passengers would have to bear the cost.

“We are talking about the electricity tariff and the government is coming up with more charges for the masses. Why should the masses be made to suffer so much? Why should the government give the contract to Chagoury who is a business partner of the president? Why can’t they give it to Julius Berger given its pedigree in construction in Nigeria?

“For a contract like this, Nigerians should have been carried along from the beginning. It is unfortunate that while Nigerians are crying over the hardship in the land, the Federal Government is planning to add more.”

The Managing Director of ABC Transport, Mr. Jude Nneji reserved his comment, saying hewhas yet to read details of the contract.

“I haven’t seen the details yet. I don’t comment on things that way until I have the details. But if we have a road that will reduce travel time by three to four hours or more, it would be quite commendable.”

Barr. Chris Ajugwe, an Onitsha-based human rights activist and legal adviser to one of the leading transport companies in Nigeria, commended the project and appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that adequate compensation is paid to anyone whose property is demolished as a result of the project.

Road may become highway of exploitation, fraud —NLC

Reacting, President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, expressed fears that the road may eventually become a highway of fraud and exploitation among others, if the records are not immediately set straight.

He said: “The truth is that we know that nearly all projects in Nigeria suffer the same fate of over-invoicing. The total budgeted amount for the entire project has remained a mystery and one wonders whether this is how public expenditure ought to be handled. We believe that such a project ought not to be shrouded in mystery but should be open to public scrutiny.

“What is the point of initiating a project which is aimed at enriching the initiators at the expense of an already bleeding National treasury? Government needs to come clean with Nigerians and tell us the real cost of the road.

“Nobody is contesting the importance of such infrastructure but we insist that such infrastructure should not be at the expense of public accountability and trust. It is important to state that it is unfortunate that a government that sees tolling of social infrastructure as an achievement remains an aberration. “Most of those that today occupy the corridors of power never witnessed the tolling of the roads built by our founding fathers nor did they pay school fees. It is therefore unfortunate for the minister to sit down on national television to gloat over how much they will extort from Nigerians who are going to make use of such infrastructure.

“Has government thought of the implications of such tolls on the livelihood of the commuters who are going to make use of such road infrastructure? Has government thought of the fact that tolling that road may make nonsense of the fabled benefit of constructing it in the first place?”

FG planning to rip off N-Delta – Prof. Darah

The Chairman of the Pan Niger-Delta Forum, PANDEF, and a prominent South-South leader, Prof G. G. Darah, said the proposed Lagos-Calabar coastal road by the Federal Government was “intended to swindle and hoodwink the exploited people of the Niger Delta region.”

Speaking to Vanguard, he said: “President Tinubu deliberately introduced the project to divert resources away from the uncompleted East-West highway started over 15 years ago.”

“The Works Minister, David Umahi says every kilometre of the coastal road will cost N4 billion to build; the government should devote a similar budget to the completion of the East-West highway.

“A Calabar-Port-Harcourt-Effurun-Benin-Ore-Shagamu-Lagos railway is economically more viable to the nine states than the fabulous coastal road.

“The 2022 floods destroyed many sections of federal roads in the South-South zone. The Ministry of Works is yet to fund repairs on failed roads; the Warri-Benin highway is abandoned; and is not adequately funding the Benin-Auchi-Lokoja-Abuja dual carriage expansion.

“Instead of concentrating attention on these strategic highways, the Ministry is doing propaganda on a so-called coastal road.”

I doubt N3,000 per state toll gate – Prof. Muobogbare

A Niger Delta leader, and former Commissioner in Delta State, Prof Patrick Muoboghare, said, “Federal roads should be tolled for maintenance. I, however, doubt if it will be N3,000 per state gate. That could be for heavy duties.”

It will trigger an increase in transport fares, Omare, ex-IYC president

Former national president of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, and legal practitioner, Eric Omare, asserted, “Considering the present state of government finances, the policy of a public-private partnership on a build-and-transfer basis is a good idea.”

However, in implementing the policy, I think government needs to be sensitive to the economic realities in the country. Now, some transporters and vehicles may need to pass through the same road several times a day, and charging N3,000 at the toll gate on each occasion is excessive.

“It would lead to an increment in transport fees with consequential impact on the ordinary Nigerians. I advise government to reconsider the starting cost of N3,000.”

Mumakai: Nothing wrong with toll gate

“I support the return of toll gates across the length and breadth of the country, not only on the coastal road. They should use resources or funds generated from the toll gates to service/maintain the roads that are fast decaying,” stated prominent figure, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha.

“My honest appeal to the people, who will benefit from the road, is to cooperate and support government to ensure early completion. I must say kudos to the federal government and President Tinubu.

“Those who reside in historically neglected coastal areas will experience less suffering because of the road. I laud the president, even though he was not the initiator.” (Vanguard)

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