Coastal Freeway Value Scandal: I’m Vindicated, Says Abubakar Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday stated he had been vindicated over his revelation that the coastal freeway price was too excessive.

Atiku additionally demanded that the mission be subjected to an unbiased value-for-money audit. He stated additional funds ought to be suspended till Nigerians have been assured that the mission genuinely served the nationwide curiosity.

An announcement by Particular Assistant on Public Communication to the previous vp, Phrank Shaibu, stated, “When the Tinubu administration unveiled the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Freeway mission, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar raised the alarm that the mission’s price was inflated to an outrageous N8 billion per kilometre.

“On the time, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, dismissed the declare, insisting in a 2024 interview that: ‘One can find out that our price is N4 billion as an alternative of the N8 billion claimed by the previous vp.’”

Shaibu said, “Nonetheless, the identical minister has now finished a volte face and admitted the precise price is, certainly, nearer to N8 billion per kilometre – exactly what Atiku warned Nigerians about.”

The assertion stated, “This admission not solely vindicates the previous vp’s place but in addition exposes the Tinubu administration’s lack of transparency in managing some of the costly infrastructure initiatives in Nigeria’s historical past.

“Atiku had earlier questioned each the price construction and financing mannequin of the coastal freeway, describing it as opaque, inflated, and suspiciously designed to profit vested pursuits fairly than the Nigerian individuals.

“Now, even by the minister’s personal account, the federal authorities’s dedication is just 15 per cent–30 per cent of the whole mission price, which means the majority of the estimated $11 billion would supposedly be sourced by the contractor. This raises basic questions.”

The assertion requested, “Who’re the precise financiers? What sovereign ensures underpin this association?

“How did a mission initially introduced as cost-efficient balloon to Atiku’s projected determine?

The assertion added, “This growth reinforces Atiku Abubakar’s constant name for due course of, aggressive bidding, and transparency in all main public initiatives. Nigerians deserve openness, not contradictions and hid offers.

“As soon as once more, Atiku has confirmed himself a statesman who speaks reality to energy – not out of politics, however out of patriotism. He understands that each inflated contract represents theft from the Nigerian individuals.”

Shaibu stated, within the assertion, “We, due to this fact, name on the Tinubu administration to: publish the complete contractual particulars, together with financing phrases and counterpart obligations;

“Topic the mission to an unbiased value-for-money audit; and droop additional funds till Nigerians are assured that the mission genuinely serves nationwide curiosity.”