FG to Obasanjo: Don’t Pass Through Lagos-Calabar Highway Whenever It’s Completed

•Flays ex-president for downplaying Tinubu’s Landmark Projects  

•Says ex-Nigerian leader trying to rewrite history, neglecting own failures in office

•Accuses him of mishandling energy sector, nation’s refineries, overseeing fraudulent privatisation of NITEL

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Fidelis David in Akure

The federal government has asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo and those criticising the Lagos-Calabar Highway, among other legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu not to pass through the roads when completed.

Clarifying that the N15.6tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project was not a wasteful and corrupt, the government in another breath, took a swipe at Obasanjo for allegedly downplaying the importance of Tinubu’s infrastructure projects.

Obasanjo, in his recent memoir, had described the project as wasteful and corrupt, slamming Tinubu’s administration for spending N21bn on a new official residence for Vice-President Kashim Shettima, and called it a misplaced priority and conduit designed to embezzle public funds.

Minister of Works, David Umahi, urged Nigerians to ignore comments by Obasanjothat the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was wasteful and corrupt.

He made the assertion during his working visit to Ondo State for a 2nd interactive session on the Ondo State axis of the 71km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. 

The meeting, which held at the Government House, Akure, was a follow-up to the first stakeholders meeting held on October 31, 2024 on the project.

Specifically, Umahi asked those criticising the project and other legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu not to pass through the roads when they are completed.

Insisting that the project was not wasteful and corrupt, Umahi stated that the project was transparent, and that people had the right to be jealous and angry.

The minister, who said the alignment unveiling was the final stage of the route approval, reminded Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State to issue revocation order on the route in line with the laws of the land, adding that the alignment had reduced the route from 75km to 71km.

Umahi assured Ondo residents that President Tinubu was determined to complete all inherited projects and the four legacy projects of his administration, noting that all the senatorial zones were covered by the four legacy projects.

“The man (Obasanjo) deserves our respect. I have not read the book but the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is not wasteful and corrupt. Anybody criticising the project is waking up to say how can one man (Tinubu) be attributed to these types of projects,” he said.

Speaking on other federal government projects in Ondo State, Umahi said they were looking into the issue of compensation so that the contract would not he stalled. 

He said dualisation of the Ilesha-Akure-Benin Highway was stalled by funding but assured the people that the contractor was bound to make the road motorable.

Earlier, Aiyedatiwa reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the successful completion of federal road projects in the state, emphasising the crucial role of infrastructure in driving economic growth and development.

Aiyedatiwa thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the increase in federal presence in Ondo State through many infrastructure projects, including the ongoing Ore-Ondo-Akure dualisation project, the federal teaching hospital and new aviation school, among others.

He said: “We have not had it so good in recent times with federal projects in our State. Permit me to mention but a few: the Akure–Ore Dual Carriageway, the Akure–Ado Ekiti Dual Carriageway, the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, and the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Akure.”

He further stressed the importance of completing these projects, noting their potential to boost economic activities in the state and the South-West region. 

He also appealed for additional federal support to actualise critical projects such as the Ondo Deep Sea Port and the mitigation of the Ayetoro sea incursion.

In a related development, the Presidency, while taking a swipe at Obasanjo the Special assistant to Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, accused Obasanjo of attempting to rewrite history while neglecting his own failures while in office. 

In a verified post on X, @DOlusegun, Olusegun descended on the ex-president, saying his claims in the memoir would “further relegate his integrity as the leader, who opened Nigeria to the cankerworms of corruption.”

According to the presidential aide, “By underplaying the importance of the Lagos-Calabar project in his latest book, President OBJ has not only affirmed to those who witnessed his administration’s several failures to address the needs of the country when he had the opportunity, but he has also put in written form a position which generations to come will indeed question.”

He accused Obasanjo of failing to deliver on key infrastructure projects during his eight-year tenure, particularly in his home state of Ogun. 

According to Olusegun, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, one of Nigeria’s most crucial road projects, stagnated for 16 years under Obasanjo and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), until former President Muhammadu Buharirevived it.

He said, “Despite spending eight years in government and failing in his attempt to force himself on Nigerians for a further four years as President, Baba Obasanjofailed woefully in addressing the infrastructural needs of his state.

“Indeed, it took former President Buhari just three years to deliver the first modern rail to pass through Baba’s backyard in Abeokuta.”

Olusegun further accused Obasanjo of mishandling Nigeria’s power sector, failing to revive the nation’s refineries, and overseeing a fraudulent privatisation of NITEL. 

He disclosed that Tinubu was now making the tough decisions that past leaders, including Obasanjo, failed to take.

“President Tinubu will not be deterred by distractions such as these,” he stated, insisting that Nigerians who prioritise development would remain focused on the administration’s progress.

According to him, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a key project under Tinubu’sadministration, was expected to significantly boost Nigeria’s economy and improve connectivity along the nation’s coastline. 

Alongside other major road projects like the Sokoto-Badagry Highway and the Lagos-Abuja Highway, he said it represents a bold infrastructure push by the current government.

Olusegun suggested that instead of attempting to diminish Tinubu’s achievements, Obasanjo should reflect on his own legacy. 

His words: “President Obasanjo must emulate others before him by returning to his writing board to at least attempt to explain to Nigerians why he failed to help Nigeria transition into a proper country under his leadership.”