Atiku Claims Vindication as Inflation Bites Harder

The claim that the cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal route has increased has been refuted, according to Phrank Shaibu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communication.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Shaibu requested that the Federal Government release all contractual documents, submit the project to an impartial value-for-money audit, and halt further payments.

“When the Tinubu administration unveiled the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway project, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressed concern that the project’s cost had been exaggerated to an absurd N8 billion per kilometer,” the statement adds.

“The claim was rejected at the time by Works Minister David Umahi, who insisted in a 2024 interview that “you will see that our cost is N4 billion instead of the N8 billion alleged by the former vice president.”

But now the same minister has changed his mind and acknowledged that the true cost is about N8 billion per kilogram, which is exactly what Atiku forewarned Nigerians of.

He went on to say, “This revelation not only supports the former vice president’s viewpoint, but it also reveals the Tinubu administration’s lack of openness in overseeing one of the most costly infrastructure projects in Nigerian history.

In the past, Atiku had questioned the coastal highway’s financing methodology and cost structure, calling it opaque, exaggerated, and dubious in its design to serve special interests rather than the Nigerian people.

Now, even by the minister’s own estimation, the Federal Government’s commitment amounts to only 15% to 30% of the project’s overall cost, meaning the contractor would presumably be responsible for sourcing the majority of the estimated $11 billion. This begs the important question: Who are the real funders? Under what sovereign assurances is this arrangement based? In what way did a project that seemed cost-effective at first inflate to Atiku’s estimated figure?

This development supports Atiku Abubakar’s insistence that all significant public projects must adhere to due procedure, competitive bidding, and openness. Openness, not contradictions and covert transactions, is what Nigerians deserve.

“Once more, Atiku has shown himself to be a statesman who speaks truth to power—out of patriotism, not politics. Every inflated contract, he realizes, is a steal from the Nigerian people.

As a result, we urge the Tinubu administration to: Make the entire contract public, including the financing terms and counterparty obligations; have the project undergo an independent value-for-money audit; and halt further payments until Nigerians are convinced that the project is truly in the country’s best interests.

“History has upheld Atiku Abubakar once more, and the Nigerian people are watching.”