By Abiola Olawale
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has thrown shade at the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over failure to provide an answer on the average cost spent for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 700-kilometer dual carriageway spanning from Lagos to Calabar. However, its soaring costs—initially pegged at N15 trillion ($12 billion)—have drawn fire from opposition figures, civil society.
Joining the debates, Makinde said: “They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, the average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.
“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, the average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun River and then one at the Ogbomoso end.”
The New Diplomat reports that the Oyo State governor’s statement came after a heated exchange unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.
Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.
The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.
Umahi had said: “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘How has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.
“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for the cost per kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.
“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You do not know what you are asking. You do not know what you’re asking.”
Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”
