Coastal Road Project: Federal Government Has Deceived Nigerians —CSO
The Federal Government’s decision to redirect part of the originally proposed Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project towards Ogun State has continued to raise serious concerns among stakeholders in the Southern part of the country regarding the original route, the project’s scope, and the government’s development priorities.
Reacting to the development, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Community Advancement Initiative, (CAI) accused the Federal Government of insincerity and a lack of transparency over the reported diversion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project, demanding explanations on the expenditure and funding of the multi-trillion-naira project.
National coordinator of CAI, Edoo Friday-Nekabari expressed particular concern over the government’s reported concerns about difficult terrain, engineering challenges and funding constraints, questioning why such issues were not adequately considered before the project was initiated.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal road project was conceived by the federal government even against the wish and the will of the Nigerian people, it was forced on us at a cost of over 15 trillion naira. I know that before the government takes up a project, there is always an environmental impact assessment, there is always an engineering and cost analysis, there is always a procurement check by the procurement agency of government.
If all these were done, why will the government come up at this point in time to tell us that there is bad terrain from Ondo to other parts of the South? If government is so sincere about the project, why will they tell us at this point that the funding is becoming an issue? If government is so sincere, why will they tell us that it is going to cause so much engineering difficulties?”
The community development advocate also demanded a comprehensive account of the project’s finances, including the amount approved, funds released, expenditure incurred, outstanding commitments and the source of future funding. He said the absence of clear explanations about the project’s financial status could further erode public confidence in the government.
“Have they told us what is going to happen to the 15 trillion naira? Can they explain to us how much has been spent, what is remaining, the source of the funding, and what is going to happen from now henceforth? This back and forth attitude and summersault in government policy is becoming a very big problem to the Nigerian people. It is making the government lose trust of the people because when government becomes insincere, when government policies become opaque, it makes the people to ask so many questions”.
Friday-Nekabari further criticised what he described as frequent policy reversals by the government, warning that inconsistent decisions and inadequate explanations on major national projects could undermine public trust. He also questioned the apparent difference in the execution of the coastal road project between Lagos and Ogun states and the reported challenges facing its extension towards other parts of the southern region.
According to Edoo, the fact that the project appears to have progressed more easily in the Lagos-Ogun axis raises concerns about whether the government adequately considered the technical and financial implications of extending it to other coastal states.
The initiative’s coordinator further argued that the South-South region, which contributes significantly to Nigeria’s oil and gas revenue, should not be disadvantaged in the implementation of major federal infrastructure projects. He expressed suspicion that the government might have intended from the outset to prioritise the Lagos-Ogun section, while giving Nigerians the impression that the road would extend across the southern states.
“Most government projects are funded from oil and gas money, why is it that when the project is moving towards the South-South where the resources meant for running these projects comes from, it becomes difficult for government to execute the projects, but between Lagos and Ogun was easier? Does it mean that the terrain around that area was not a difficult one? I really think that from the very beginning, it has been in the mind of government to actually run the project from Lagos to Ogun but the Nigerian people were merely made to believe that it was going to run through the Southern states”.
Friday-Nekabari however called on the Federal Government to provide clear and verifiable information on the project’s original scope, implementation plan, financial commitments and any proposed changes to its route or design. He maintained that Nigerians deserve transparency in the management of public funds and called for greater accountability in the execution of federal infrastructure projects.
