Demolition over Lagos-Calabar coastal highway bad signal to investors – Atiku
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, again, chided the Federal Government on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, alleging that the demolition of tourist facilities to make way for the highway is a key factor to Nigeria’s insufficient foreign direct investments.
The former vice president kicked against the action of the government, especially the lack of proper notification regarding the demolition of tourist and recreational amenities, as well as other properties within the Oniru corridor, including sections of Landmark in Lagos State, to facilitate the construction of the coastal highway.
The ongoing construction of the highway has generated both criticisms and praises for the Federal Government from different sections.
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has consistently defended the demolition exercise to clear the way for the road.
The Federal Government, in a bid to calm the frayed nerves, also began payment of compensations to owners of properties on the route which were affected by the demolition exercise.
Atiku had earlier questioned the rationale behind the project, its costs and the opacity in the selection of the contractor, Hitech, whom he accused of getting the contract based on the relationship of its owner, Gilbert Chagoury, with President Bola Tinubu.
In another statement released by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, Atiku noted that investors were observing the treatment of local businesses and would avoid regions where their investments lacked protection.
“Rather than improving the ease of doing business, the Tinubu administration had shown to the world that his personal business interest and that of his family would always be prioritised over and above national interest,” Atiku alleged.
He argued that in a more orderly environment, establishments like Landmark would have been provided with a minimum of two years’ notice to facilitate proper planning.
Atiku stated, “Tinubu has been globetrotting in search of foreign direct investments. He claims to have secured over $30bn from various companies, but none has been forthcoming.
“Rather, all manufacturing firms have been posting heavy losses, while some are exiting due to his poorly implemented exchange rate unification policy, with even Aliko Dangote describing it as a huge mess at the recent annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery.
“The IMF, in its latest report, stated that Nigeria will, by the end of the year, become the fourth largest economy in Africa behind South Africa, Egypt and Algeria, a disgraceful development for a nation which was the largest in Africa by a mile when the PDP left the stage in 2015.
“Investors are seeing how local businesses are being treated and will not come to a place where their investments will not be protected. In saner climes, businesses such as Landmark would have been given at least two years’ notice for effective planning. But Tinubu’s eagerness to satisfy his business partners impaired his ability to coordinate the project properly.”
The former vice president insisted that the award of the Lagos-Calabar highway was rushed, with the environmental impact assessment report not even completed and the right of way for the 700km stretch of the highway project not secured.
He further queried why the government converted the project from a public-private partnership to a government-funded project.
“The N500m that was approved by the National Assembly for the project was ignored, while over N1tn was released by Tinubu’s administration without approval from the National Assembly,” he added.
The former vice president also alleged that the coastal highway project was being expedited solely due to the business ties between Tinubu and Chagoury, the owner of Hitech.
He alleged that the contract was granted in violation of procurement regulations, as he further claimed that the involvement of Tinubu’s son and his associates on the boards of companies belonging to Chagoury presented a clear conflict of interest.
He stated, “The fact that President Bola Tinubu’s son and his surrogates are on the board of companies owned by Gilbert Chagoury clearly constitutes a conflict of interest.”
The former vice president noted that “Tinubu’s son, Seyi, is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which manufactures ceramic tiles and sanitary towels.”
Atiku, describing it as unsurprising that the Chagoury Group had emerged as the primary recipient of Tinubu’s generosity, stated, “Thanks to quality reporting by Africa Intelligence, our suspicions have been confirmed that Chagoury and Tinubu are indeed business partners and it has been formalised with Seyi on the board of one of Chagoury’s firms.”
The statement also described the project as “the most expensive single project ever embarked upon by the Nigerian government,” adding that, “The fact that it is happening at a time Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis ever is a red flag.”
It noted, “To add insult to injury, this project that is being done in excess of $13bn was awarded without a competitive bidding. From all indications, the so-called Badagry-Sokoto highway would be awarded in a similar fashion at an enormous cost to taxpayers, purely because Tinubu has put his personal interest ahead of the Nigerian people.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the Presidency on Sunday did not yield results.
The President’s media adviser, Bayo Onanuga, neither answered calls placed to his mobile line nor responded to a text message sent by our correspondent.
