Coastal Highway Dispute Shifts to Contract, Cost and Payment Transparency
The controversy over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has moved beyond questions about its route, with renewed demands for the Federal Government to publish contract documents, payment records and the financial implications of changes around the project.
Works Minister David Umahi says the 750-kilometre coastal highway has not been abandoned or replaced.
Umahi said the 400-kilometre East-West Road reconstruction is an additional project and would not replace the original Lagos-Calabar alignment.
He also said surveying and design work was continuing on remaining sections of the coastal highway and that procurement and construction would proceed as those designs were completed.
The minister’s position is that the original coastal highway remains active while parts of the corridor will integrate with existing road infrastructure.
Atiku Demands Contract and Payment Records
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to publish the project’s contract documents and payment records.
In a statement issued through his spokesperson, Atiku said any alteration in route or scope should be accompanied by a clear account of what work had changed, what had already been paid for and what the revised financial implications would be.
He called for publication of documents including feasibility and environmental studies, route maps, bills of quantities, contract variations, Bureau of Public Procurement approvals and payment certificates.
Those are accountability demands.
They are not evidence that public funds have been misused.
Atiku also raised concern about the possibility of additional borrowing linked to the project. That remains an attributed political claim and has not been independently established by IDNN.
Falana Questions Reported ₦15tn Cost
Human-rights lawyer Femi Falana has separately questioned the reported ₦15tn estimated cost associated with the highway.
Falana argued that Nigerians should demand greater accountability over the project’s finances, particularly if route or design decisions change.
The ₦15tn figure is treated here as a reported estimate associated with the overall project.
It must not be confused with money already released, paid to contractors, certified for completed work or actually spent.
Those are different financial stages and require separate records.
Government Says Project Remains Intact
Umahi says construction remains active on sections of the coastal highway while design and survey work continues elsewhere.
He has also said the East-West Road reconstruction is required because parts of that corridor are vulnerable to flooding and need elevation and rebuilding.
The government’s position is therefore that the East-West Road work is additional and that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has not been cancelled.
That clarification has accompanied renewed demands for disclosure of what has changed in scope, design and financial commitments.
What the Public Records Need to Show
The central accountability question is now documentary.
To establish the financial position clearly, the public record would need to show:
- the original contract scope and value;
- the sections formally awarded;
- approved variations, if any;
- amounts released;
- amounts actually paid;
- certified work completed;
- revised bills of quantities, where applicable;
- the financial effect of route or design changes;
- procurement approvals;
- and any borrowing formally approved for the project.
Without those distinctions, debate over a headline project cost can collapse several different financial stages into one number.
A contract value is not the same as money released.
Money released is not automatically money paid.
Money paid is not the same as certified work.
And payment alone does not prove that corresponding work has been delivered.
Transparency Is Now the Pressure Point
The Federal Government has publicly defended the continuity of the project.
Its critics are asking for the underlying records that would allow the public to test how the project’s scope, design and finances have evolved.
That is where the issue moves from political argument to documentary accountability.
The next decisive evidence will be the contracts, approvals, variations, payment certificates and implementation records showing what Nigeria agreed to build, what has changed and what the public has actually paid for.