Lagos-Calabar highway: You can’t insult your way out of every inquiry, Atiku tells presidency

Lagos-Calabar highway: You can’t insult your way out of every inquiry, Atiku tells presidency

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has asked President
Bola Tinubu to disclose the cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

 

In a statement issued on Sunday by Paul Ibe, his media
adviser, Abubakar claimed that Tinubu prioritised personal business interests
over Nigerians in the handling of the project.

 

Abubakar questioned the award of the contract to Gilbert
Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding, saying the project is shrouded
in secrecy.

 

Responding to Abubakar’s claims on Monday, the presidency
said the former vice-president did not get his facts right and has “allowed
himself to be led into a blind alley again by his poorly informed aides”.

 

 ‘DON’T RESPOND TO INQUIRY WITH INSULTS’

In a statement issued on Tuesday by Phrank Shaibu, his
special assistant on public communication, Abubakar said Tinubu’s government
should desist from responding to public inquiry with insults.

 

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) in the 2023 election asked Tinubu to disclose the real cost of the
project.

 

 “The Tinubu
administration cannot continue to respond to public inquiry with insults,” the
statement reads.

 

“They must come clean on this project because Nigerians
deserve to know the truth. I, therefore, present six posers to the
administration.

 

“How much is the total cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal
highway? Why is the project being funded by the Nigerian government despite
being a PPP? Why is the project taking off from Chagoury’s Eko Atlantic?

 

“Why is N1.06tn being spent on the pilot phase, which is
just 47km? Why did the N1.06tn not get the approval of the National Assembly?
Why wasn’t there a competitive bidding for the project?

 

 “Finally, how did the
Tinubu administration get the design as well as the right of way in just 7
months, since it claims the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan and
Muhammadu Buhari never touched the project?”

 

Abubakar asked the Tinubu administration to respond to the
questions “line by line instead of taking the mundane and jejune route of
insulting their way out of every inquiry”.

Source: Lagos-Calabar highway: You can’t insult your way out of every inquiry, Atiku tells presidency

 - NigerianEye

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