The former vice president Atiku Abubakar was criticized by Minister of Works David Umahi on Tuesday for his remarks regarding the expense of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, which was directed at the Bola Tinubu administration.
Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku had claimed that the 700km road project was cloaked in secret and that Hitech, Tinubu’s ally, was awarded the contract without competitive bidding. Atiku will run in the general elections in 2023.
On the other hand, Umahi called Atiku’s remarks unfortunate, claiming the former Vice President lacked a mathematical understanding, while taking questions from reporters in Port Harcourt on Monday, just after the inspection of the ongoing Enugu-Port Harcourt Road’s full rehabilitation work and the Eleme-Onne Road rebuilt.
The works minister said, “I read something on social media credited to His Excellency, the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on the coastal road.
“I am going to give him proper information. I will address a world press conference in Lagos. If there is anything he thinks is wrong with the procurement, he should approach me. He should leave the President alone.
“It is quite degrading on my part for him (Atiku) to think that a former party chairman, former deputy governor, governor for eight years, a senator, that I am not a stakeholder in this country and that I will do the wrong thing.
“So he doesn’t understand figures and I’m going to run figures for him to understand and for him to understand how prudent the administration of President Bola Tinubu is.
“He will understand how prudency is taking centre stage especially in my ministry. The President had once engaged me on the cost of the project and I had to run the figures with Mr President. He (Tinubu) still thinks I should bring down the cost of projects.
“At the same time the contractors are crying that I am oppressing them so much because what they were getting better before they are no longer getting. So, Mr. Vice President, Atiku Abubakar must know that I am between and betwixt.”
Umahi promised to inform Nigerians about the expense.
“When I run the figures, Nigerians will see what this present administration is doing. I am not here to run the figures, I have seen the figures they are parading, but my figures are quite better than those figures and I understand this engineering.
“Both the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and that of President Muhammadu Buhari, for one reason or the other could not do that.
“But this present administration will do it and I will tell the world the economic benefit and how the coastal road will tie the entire country together, it is not just the South-South and South-West. It’s tying the North together.”
However, On Tuesday, Atiku challenged the Tinubu administration to disclose the project’s cost to Nigerians in a second statement made by Special Assistant Paul Ibe.
“The Tinubu administration cannot continue to respond to the public inquiry with insults. They must come clean on this project because Nigerians deserve to know the truth. I, therefore, present six posers to the administration,” Atiku said.
