Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over his refusal to give a clear breakdown of the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
In a viral video from an event on Friday, Makinde said there was no need for the minister to “dance around the cost” when Nigerians simply wanted transparency.
The governor’s comment followed a heated on-air exchange between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni earlier in the week. During the interview, Oseni had asked the minister to explain the cost of the project on a per-kilometre basis — a question that appeared to irritate Umahi.
Umahi, while defending the project, claimed the journalist lacked the technical understanding to grasp the details, saying road costs vary by section. “Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field,” Umahi said.
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Reacting to the exchange, Makinde argued that it was a fair question and that the minister could have provided at least an average cost per kilometre rather than avoiding the issue.
“They asked a minister how much the coastal road costs, and you’re dancing around, saying the next kilometre is different. Then what is the average cost?” Makinde asked.
“When we did the Oyo–Iseyin road, it was about ₦9.99 billion — roughly ₦238 million per kilometre. When we did Iseyin–Ogbomoso, 76 kilometres cost about ₦43 billion, averaging ₦500 million per kilometre. And that included two bridges,” he explained.
The 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states, was announced last year by the Federal Government. The first 47.47km phase was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited, to be built using concrete pavement.
Umahi has repeatedly maintained that the project is being executed transparently and within due process, though public debate over its true cost and funding continues.