Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticized the Federal Government’s handling of cost disclosures related to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, urging greater transparency in the execution of the multi-billion-naira infrastructure project.
In a viral video circulated on Friday, Makinde questioned the reluctance of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to provide a straightforward cost breakdown, particularly after Umahi’s contentious live exchange with Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni. Oseni had asked for a per-kilometer cost analysis of the project, prompting an irate response from the minister, who dismissed the question as “elementary” and “uninformed.”
“How can you be asking for cost per kilometer? The prices are different,” Umahi said during the interview. “Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I am a professor in this field.”
In response, Governor Makinde defended the journalist’s question and insisted that public officials owe Nigerians clarity on major spending decisions. “They asked how much the coastal road is, and the minister is dancing around. Then what is the average cost?” he said.
Makinde offered examples from Oyo State, noting that the Oyo-Iseyin road cost N9.99 billion for roughly 35 kilometers, about N238 million per kilometer while the 76-kilometre Iseyin-Ogbomoso road, including two bridges, cost about N500 million per kilometer.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway spans nine states and includes two northern spurs. The first phase, covering 47.47 kilometers, has been awarded to Hitech Construction Company Ltd. and will be constructed with concrete pavement.
Although the Federal Government argues that the project is critical to national development and regional connectivity, the lack of cost transparency has drawn criticism from stakeholders, who are demanding greater accountability in the use of public funds.
