The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road Atiku erred once more – President Atiku Abubakar has been under fire from the Presidency, which claims that in his most recent public remarks about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the former vice president showed a lack of comprehension. In a statement released on Sunday, Atiku, the opposition PDP's nominee for president in the general elections of 2023, attacked the Bola Tinubu-led government over the road project. Despite raising worries about the expense of the 700km road project, Paul Ibe, his media advisor, signed a statement on his behalf pointing out that the project lacked transparency. The message also inquired about the project's anticipated completion date.
In response to the statement, the Presidency noted that Atiku had failed to distinguish between the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in his fruitless search for weaknesses in President Tinubu's administration. Bayo Onanuga is President Tinubu's special adviser on information and strategy.
In the statement made public on Monday, Mr. Onanuga stated that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has received a great deal of praise for the significant economic impact it will have and for changing the game in terms of raising Nigerians' standard of living, particularly in the nine coastal states where it will pass. Significantly, the route will greatly strengthen the economies of agriculture and tourism.
Mr. Onanuga asserts that the administrations of former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan never gave contracts for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to any company at any revised or variable amount, despite the assertions made in Atiku's endorsed press release. Therefore, the cost comparison issue is avoided. Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail was the winner of the contract. The rail was intended to be a component of the national rail network using standard gauge.
For $11.17 billion, the contract was given on August 4, 2021, by the Federal Executive Council, which was chaired by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, the former vice president. The six-year deal was supposed to be finished. The endeavor was not successful. The coastal train project between Lagos and Calabar has long been planned. The fact that it failed to take off during the 16 years the PDP-led administration was in power was further evidence of its incompetence. There are two different projects: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Regretfully, the former Vice President's understanding of the two programs is unclear.
President Tinubu deserves appreciation for his audacity in taking on this revolutionary endeavor rather than being demonized, as Atiku Abubakar tried in vain to do. Ad banner 728x90_2 by Dangote (1) We are aware that, despite his late age, Atiku Abubakar will stop at nothing to fulfill his unwavering dream of becoming president of Nigeria. But we don't anticipate a former Nigerian vice president to carry on sowing seeds of discord and engaging in polarizing politics as he ages. Ignorant of the significant influence that the Coastal route would have on the movement of goods into and out of industrial zones, Atiku questioned the decision to begin construction on the route from Lagos rather than Calabar.
We don't know what the former vice president is trying to accomplish with this claim. Is it not common knowledge that a trip of a thousand miles starts with a single step? Whatever the project's starting point—Lagos, Calabar, Warri, Sapele—any patriotic Nigerian should be pleased that this significant undertaking, which has been in the works for several decades, is now moving forward. As a leader and patriot, President Tinubu will keep advancing national development by advancing infrastructure throughout the nation. We urge former Vice President Atiku to fulfill his obligations as an assumed statesman and to stop wasting time on activities that don't further the cause of nation-building.
