Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has fired back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his criticism of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project.
Atiku’s remarks, conveyed through a press statement by his media assistant, Paul Ibe, accused Tinubu’s administration of engaging in dubious deals regarding the 700km highway project.
In response, Tinubu, through presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga, vehemently refuted Atiku’s claims, labeling them as baseless and ill-informed.
Onanuga asserted that Atiku’s criticism displayed a lack of understanding of the project’s significance in driving economic growth and development along Nigeria’s coastal regions.
The statement Partly read, “Seeking to be a kill-joy, Atiku Abubakar engaged in red-herring by raising ill-thought-out allegations that only exposed his inadequacies and those of his team in getting the basic facts on an issue he badly seeks to nail the government.
“We have decided, however, to respond to Atiku’s misrepresentation of facts in matters of the coastal road if only to set the record straight so that unsuspecting Nigerians are not misled and misinformed.
“We owe it a sacred duty to ensure Atiku and his handlers do not continue to spread disinformation as they wallow in their politics of hatred.
“Contrary to the claims in Atiku’s endorsed press statement, at no time did the administrations of former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan award contracts for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway to any company at any varied and revised amount. So the question of costs comparison does not arise.
“The contract that was awarded was that of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail. The rail was designed as part of the standard guage national rail network.
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“The contract was awarded on August 4, 2021, by the Federal Executive Council presided over by former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, at the cost of $ 11.17 billion. The contract was to be completed in six years. The project didn’t take off.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail project has always been on the card. It was another testament to the failure of the previous PDP-led government that it could not get it off the ground in the 16 years it held sway.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway and Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail are two distinct projects. It is unfortunate that the former Vice President is confused about the two projects.
“Tinubu should be praised for having the courage to embark on this transformative project and not vilified as Atiku Abubakar unsuccessfully sought to do,” the statement added.
