Coastal Highway: Atiku Challenges Tinubu Over Alleged $20bn Loan Plan, Demands Publication Of Payments To Hitech

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to give a full account of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract, demanding disclosure of payments made and clarification of an alleged plan to borrow up to $20 billion for the project.

In a statement on Monday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the reported rerouting of sections of the highway had raised serious questions about the original contract and cost implications.

” Tinubu sold Nigerians a coastal highway. Now his Minister says parts of it will follow an existing road inland. That is not a minor adjustment to a drawing. It strikes at the promise used to sell this enormous project. When the route changes, the price must be opened. When the work changes, the payments must be explained,” Atiku said.

Atiku called on the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to publish the original engineering studies and revised designs, questioning whether the government adequately assessed the terrain, bridges and flood risks before awarding the contract.

He demanded a breakdown of work removed from the original contract, payments already made and the revised project cost, insisting: “You cannot change the work and refuse to change the bill.”

The former Vice President further challenged Tinubu to clarify whether his administration was preparing to seek a loan of up to $20 billion from the National Assembly and whether any portion of the proposed borrowing would finance payments connected to Hitech Construction Company.

“Do not hide a contractor’s bill inside a national borrowing request. Publish the proposed loan, the contract it would finance and the record of what has already been paid. If no such request exists, say so plainly and on the record,” he stated.

Atiku also alleged that some lawmakers had been warned that funds for their election campaigns would be withheld unless they approved the anticipated loan request, and urged the National Assembly leadership to investigate the claim.

“We are informed that some lawmakers have been warned that funds for their election campaigns will be withheld unless they pass this request with the speed of light. Who is making that threat? Whose money is being promised or withheld? And why should any legislator’s campaign depend on voting to put Nigerians in debt?” he asked.

He called for the publication of the original feasibility and environmental studies, route maps, Bills of Quantities, contract variations, Bureau of Public Procurement approvals, payment certificates and all borrowing proposals tied to the highway, as well as a public hearing before further financing is considered.

Atiku linked the controversy to what he described as a pattern of policy inconsistency under the Tinubu administration, arguing that Nigerians already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis should not be saddled with additional financial obligations arising from poorly explained project changes.

“This is the policy inconsistency that has defined Tinubu’s government and made an already severe cost of living crisis harder for Nigerians to bear. Announce a plan. Change it without a full accounting. Then present the public with a bigger bill,” he said.