Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has reacted to the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu. He recently revealed that there is no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be dancing around the cost of the project.
Speaking at an event in a viral video on Friday, the governor reacted to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.
It all started when Oseni requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.
His question didn’t sit well with Umahi, prompting this response: “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.
When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.
Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking,” Umahi said.
Refusing to back down, Oseni replied, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”
Reacting, Gov. Seyi Makinde justified the journalist’s question to the minister, noting that there was no need for Umahi to be offended by such a straightforward question.
He concluded by saying that all Umahi had to do was state the average cost of the project to offer more clarity.
“They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?
When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.
But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre.
And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end,” he said.
