•Insists no identified procurement legislation violated
•Alleges house owners of Landmark Seashore manipulated by politicians
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has once more attacked a former Vice President of Nigeria, Abubakar Atiku, over the previous Nigerian chief’s place on the controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal freeway, describing him as misguided.
In a protracted treatise signed by Umahi’s spokesman, Uchenna Orji, yesterday, the minister alleged that Atiku’s ideas on the 753-kilometre highway, which the Bola Tinubu administration says will join the South to the North, have been largely pushed by political calculations.
The previous vice chairman had on greater than two events raised questions over the opacity surrounding the venture, the alleged flouting of the procurement legislation and the battle of curiosity within the award of the multi-trillion naira venture to firm owned by a pal of the president.
On Could 6, Atiku doubled down on his criticism of the freeway, revealing that Seyi, the president’s son, is definitely a member of the board of CDK Built-in Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which owns Hitech Development, the corporate dealing with the venture.
“Such viewpoints are false analogies, conceived by the fertile imaginations of the previous vice chairman and that are clearly superficial, hypocritical, diversionary, and undoubtedly motivated by bold political calculations.
“These accusations or relatively, viewpoints, are, to say the least, intrinsically superficial, baseless, self-serving and politically motivated to imprint malice within the minds of unsuspecting members of the general public, particularly the gullible,” Umahi insisted.
He highlighted that the argument by Atiku and different ‘determined individuals’ have been completely trashed when he (Umahi) gave insights into the award course of, the unit price comparisons, the venture overview dimensions, the demolition notices and compensation plans in addition to these affected by the demolition.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway venture complied 100 per cent with the provisions of the Procurement Act and was awarded based mostly on the Engineering, Procurement, Development and Financing (EPC+F) procurement course of, that’s to say, the venture is an unsolicited bid achieved on EPC+F.
“Beneath this mannequin of procurement, the investor gives all of the designs, a part of the financing and development, whereas the federal authorities pays counterpart funds. The bid of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway venture got here by means of this course of.
“The ministry obtained the bid, labored on it, and despatched the identical to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). The BPP labored on it in accordance with the stipulations of the Procurement Act and got here up with a aggressive value barely decrease than the ministry’s value and even decrease than the price of comparable initiatives awarded 5 years in the past, together with the Bodo-Bonny venture awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
“The BPP issued a certificates of ‘No Objection’ on the venture to the Federal Ministry of Works as required by the Procurement Act. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Works took the certificates of No Objection to the Federal Govt Council (FEC), and the FEC deliberated on and authorised the identical,” Umahi acknowledged.
Umahi recalled that the FEC had first authorised the venture mannequin on EPC+F earlier than the method of procurement even began, emphasising that it was a testomony that the part 1 of the venture adopted due course of.
He insisted that the declare of the previous vice chairman that the son of the president has curiosity in CDK Built-in Industries Ltd was not tenable as the corporate that did bid for the venture was Hitech Development Firm Nigeria Ltd which has a full authorized character.
“Once more, this declare is nothing however a digression exhibiting absolute frustration of a false accuser who’s bereaved of info to substantiate his claims,” Umahi maintained.
The assertion stated that Umahi has inside the shortest interval in workplace, saved billions of Naira within the overview, redesign and award of contracts, stressing that the previous vice chairman and others who share in his ‘misguided views’ can testify to it.
It acknowledged that Umahi had provide you with a brand new and better dimension of the venture of which the design, dimension and idea have been reviewed upward by the ministry and but the fee was drastically decreased downwards.
“The venture, which was by the evaluation of the previous vice chairman put at a value of about N8.552 billion per km of customary gauge, was meticulously and judiciously decreased to about N4.329 billion per kilometre gauge by the minister below the brand new design and idea.
“The outdated idea and design relied upon by the previous Vice President has a 52-metre hall with asphalt, whereas the brand new idea as reviewed by the minister has a 100-metre hall with a complete concrete pavement of 59.2 metres and elevated dimension of 10 lanes and a provision for 25 metres for prepare observe,” it added.
He argued that the highway customary utilized by the previous vice chairman in his evaluation can not stand the take a look at of time as a result of of the excessive water desk on the coastal space, noting that the standard of highway design and development by the present administration for the coastal highway is such that it’ll final for 50 to 100 years.
“On this regard subsequently, it is not going to be conceited to state that the previous vice chairman displayed the best degree of hypocrisy and was out to mislead and brainwash the unsuspecting members of the general public, particularly the gullible, for egocentric political causes,” the minister added.
On the Environmental and Social Influence Evaluation (ESIA), he acknowledged that there was a preliminary approval issued in December 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Atmosphere and the identical renewed in January 2024.
“ESIA certification is progressive with the venture’s progress and ultimate certificates issued when all points are resolved. Which means the Federal Ministry of Works has an authorized ESIA to begin the venture.
“ Even the Federal Ministry of Atmosphere has confirmed this place of their current press launch, whereof they acknowledged, amongst others, that Preliminary Influence Evaluation certification was issued for website clearance and scoping for compensation,” he added.
He added that the method of ESIA entails fixed stakeholders’ engagement, with Umahi even taking part in two of the conferences in Lagos which have been broadcast dwell “to buttress his sense of transparency, openness, probity and accountability”.
Umahi accused the house owners of Landmark Seashore of permitting themselves to be manipulated by politicians, after he allegedly acknowledged the efforts of the minister.
“It needn’t be over-emphasised that the related notices have been issued and this led to a seamless compensation course of achieved with out rancour, besides within the case of the proprietor of Landmark whose psyche was manipulated by politicians moments after he appreciated the efforts of the minister in guaranteeing minimal harm to properties on the correct of manner for which he acknowledged that he had no legitimate title in favour thereof,” the assertion famous.
He acknowledged that though the venture was conceptualised partly on the time by Atiku when he was the vice chairman of the nation, successive administrations didn’t execute it as a result of of lack of political will.
“This tremendous freeway will set off financial increase, increase the GDP, create better tourism potential, create wealth and job alternatives, entice wider International Direct Funding (FDI), enhance coastal companies, commerce and market improvement, and promote industrialisation, particularly alongside the coastal corridors with far-reaching affect on the social-economic actions and security alongside the feeder routes and spurs,” he argued.
