Umahi Replies Abaribe On Lagos-Calabar Highway Projects, Denies Procurement Violations

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Wednesday, requested Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to study the Procurement Act, and insisted that due process was followed in the award of the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway project.

Umahi, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, dismissed allegations of procurement violations and defended the federal government’s infrastructure projects, particularly in the South-east.

Reacting to Abaribe’s criticism of the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway, Umahi described the claims as an attack on his integrity, stressing that all statutory requirements, including the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), were met.

“There are three categories of procurement recognised by the Procurement Act. I want Senator Abaribe to go and study it and come back to tell Nigerians whether there was any infringement in the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway,” he said.

He said the project was openly advertised, subjected to stakeholder engagement, and certified after an internationally recognised ESIA process.

The Minister stated that international financiers later adjudged the project properly packaged, of very high quality, and even undervalued.

“The project was so credible that when it was presented to foreign financial institutions, it was oversubscribed by over 100 million dollars,” Umahi said.

On project delivery, the minister disclosed that section one of the Lagos coastal road has reached about 85 per cent completion and would soon be opened to traffic.

He said the second section was also progressing steadily, while procurement processes were ongoing for other segments.

Umahi used the occasion to highlight what he described as renewed federal presence in the South-east under President Bola Tinubu, citing major road, bridge, power, and security projects across the zone.

“There was a time the Southeast was totally excluded. That has changed. Today, the president has included us, and that inclusion is real and visible,” he said.

He listed projects such as the Enugu–Onitsha expressway, Enugu–Port Harcourt road, Second Niger Bridge bypass, Abakaliki–Enugu road, and several flyovers and bridges, saying many had either been completed or were at advanced stages.

Umahi also argued that increased federal support to states had boosted performance at the sub-national level, pointing to Abia State as an example.

“The performance you see at the state level is possible because the federal government released more funds to governors,” he said.

On security, the minister disclosed that the president recently approved the establishment of an army training depot in Ebonyi State to help address insecurity in the region.

He further declared that ongoing inclusion and infrastructure development had removed the justification for separatist agitation.

“With this level of inclusion, there is no need for Biafra agitation. We are better together in Nigeria,” Umahi said.

He called on Southeast leaders to speak out against separatist narratives.

The minister urged constructive criticism, insisting that the current administration was committed to transparency, national unity, and balanced development.

Speaking the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, said President Bola Tinubu has demonstrated uncommon love for national development through massive investment in infrastructure across all regions.

“There is nowhere in this country where projects are not springing up. Nigerians should ask themselves where the president is getting the resources to do all these projects. It is because he wants to develop this country,” Goronyo said.

Goronyo cited major road projects across the North-west, including Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Kebbi corridors.

He noted that some sections had reached about 40 per cent completion with concrete pavements designed to last between 50 and 100 years.

He also commended the president for reviving long-abandoned projects, including the Sokoto–Badagry road corridor, and described it as a dream that lingered for over four decades before the current administration.

The minister further praised security agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force and the armed forces, for supporting road inspections and safeguarding construction sites.

Goronyo, however, expressed concern over damage to road infrastructure caused by illegal trading, indiscriminate parking of heavy trucks on bridges and vandalism.

He called on Nigerians to take collective responsibility for protecting public assets.

“The president can do all these things, but citizens also have a duty to maintain these roads. Our bridges are not designed for static truck parking,” he said.

He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to reactivate the Safer Highway Patrol to help protect federal roads nationwide.

Goronyo urged Nigerians to appreciate what he described as unprecedented infrastructure delivery under Tinubu, noting that over 1,600 projects are currently ongoing across the country.