Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the contentious Lagos-Calabar coastal road project and open it up to further public discussion, emphasizing that it’s not too late to do so.
Instead of pursuing the project, Chidoka advocates for the development of Nigeria’s inland waterways and the construction of small seaports along the coastal regions, stressing that shipping is the most efficient way to transport goods between coastal cities.
When asked on Channels Television’s Politics Today what he would do about the project if he were President, given the controversy surrounding it, Chidoka stated that he would halt the project altogether.
“Stop it now and subject it to public conversation because the financiers cannot raise finance for this project except if he uses budgetary fund to fund it. Nobody can raise finance if they know they had no competitive bidding,” Chidoka said.
The ex-minister said that the award of the contract for the coastal road did not follow due process and that the whole process was shrouded in secrecy and therefore lacked transparency.
“If what the minister (Dave Umahi) said is correct, then there is an absolute breach because the first thing that would have happened is that ICRC would have received this, the second thing is that even with the designs done by them and the desire to be able to get funding, neither the IFC, World Bank, European Bank, African Development Bank would fund a project that doesn’t go through competitive bidding.
“Ask any of the financial institutions, where would they get the money from? It was never advertised,” he said.
Chidoka said the President has alternative projects to embark on as legacy project. According to him, Tinubu can redesign the national highway, authorise a new National Highway Act to dualise the existing highways and connect them to the airports and seaports.
The Lagos-Calabar coastal road project has attracted a lot of criticisms from Nigerians, with many questioning the need to embark on such a monumental project at a time the nation is borrowing to execute existing projects.
Some of the strongest critics of the project are opposition figureheads, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Federal Government recently started the construction of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal road which is being done by Hitech Construction Company Ltd.