That controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project

Given the mounting public criticism and wide-ranging controversies trailing the ongoing 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, the Federal Government should rethink and review the project.

Not only is the project shrouded in somewhat mystery and secrecy and lacking in due process, but it is also being tainted with wide-ranging corruption. Additionally, the very huge amount of N15 trillion being considered for its construction is not only alarming, it may be difficult to source, particularly at this time of global financial constraint.

On its face value, the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, which has been in the works for over a decade now, is a laudable project. Designed to connect Lagos to Calabar in Cross River State through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, the project unquestionably has a high potential commercial and investment value. But unfortunately, the funding, bidding process, and manner of its execution have mired it in high-level suspicion of corruption, which may ultimately affect its viability. First, the project contract, in violation of the Public Procurement Act 2007 was awarded in a hush-hush manner to Hitech Construction Company Limited, without meeting the minimum threshold of due procurement process of competitiveness.

The essence of complying with the Public Procurement Act is that it streamlines the bidding processes in public procurements, entrenches fairness, accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, diversity, and equality in all public procurements. Specifically, section 16 (1) (c) (d) of the Act stipulates that all public procurements shall be open to open competitive bidding in a manner that is transparent, timely, equitable for ensuring accountability and conformity with the aim of achieving value for money and fitness for purpose. But unfortunately, as Minister David Umahi himself earlier acknowledged, there was no compliance with the Public Procurement Act in the award of the contract.

Another problem with the construction of the highway is that it cannot be successfully completed without the destruction of properties belonging to various individuals and companies. The construction would affect the Landmark ecosystem, which includes Landmark Centre, Landmark Beach, Landmark Towers, Landmark Boulevard, Landmark Hotel, and Landmark Beach Resort, with an enterprise valuation of over $200 million.

Has the government given serious thought to the project’s resettlement action plan? Although Mr Umahi has constituted a committee to review the report on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment regarding compensation for section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, can the government judiciously and adequately compensate the people and corporate institutions whose houses and properties would be destroyed to make way for the coastal highway?

The management of Landmark Africa complains that, to date, the Federal Government has not consulted with them regarding the impact the construction of the Lagos-Calabar highway would have on its business on the beach before commencing plans to take over the beach for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal line. Some employees of the resort recently staged a protest to show their disapproval after the Federal Government began sand filling of the beachfront for the construction of the coastal highway.

Even the Group Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Group, Paul Onwuanibe, complains that the original alignment plans of the project are not being followed, and if followed, the Federal Government would not be bothered with paying compensation to anybody. He consequently calls for a return of the project to the original alignment that was in place before it was moved to the path of Landmark Beach.

The construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway along the coast could therefore have significant environmental impacts, including habitat destruction, disruption of ecosystems, and increased vulnerability to erosion and flooding. Besides, there are concerns about the social impacts of the project, including the potential displacement of communities along the route and disruption of livelihoods.

Assuming the government has widely consulted on this project and is capable of paying the requisite compensation as aforementioned, road and environmental experts have warned that the government cannot possibly build a coastal highway at this time when the oceans are rising. If it must go ahead with the project, it would have to spend more money to sink deep into the oceans to get the necessary anchorage required to carry the weight of the highway. Otherwise, there is a risk of failure, for which the government may likely abandon the project. With all the cloud gathering around it, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is a potential white elephant project that may be abandoned before completion. Therefore, it may be reasonable for the government to suspend the project now and use the funds and resources budgeted for it to maintain existing road networks and public infrastructure in the country.

In his defence of the project, Works Minister Umahi argues that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project was awarded to Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company Ltd without any open competitive bidding because of the competence and track record of the company, especially given that Hi-tech was instrumental in the reclamation work on the beach in Lagos. He maintains, contrary to the claim of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project complied with due process. He further argues that procurement law allows the government to pick contractors based on their skills without bidding, and that Chagoury’s Hitech was picked because of its skills, similar to how Julius Berger was picked without bidding to construct the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

But Umahi’s defence is fundamentally flawed. Contrary to his claim, there is no provision in the Procurement Act that allows the government to arbitrarily pick contractors based on skills without bidding. The Act states that every interested bidder should be given the opportunity to bid during the bidding process, while information and opportunities should be offered to all potential bidders. The winning bid shall be that which is the lowest evaluated responsive bid. Contrary to Umahi’s claim, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project lacks transparency.

Umahi’s apparent doublespeak about the project could have negative implications for transparency of the project. For example, in September last year, Umahi publicly stated that Hitech company had enough money through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to build the project, operate it for some years to recoup its money through toll gates before handing it over to the Federal Government. Today, Umahi is saying that Hitech is no longer coming under the PPP process, but rather under the EPC plus F project, which requires the Federal Government of Nigeria to pay a negotiated counterpart fund.

The most worrisome aspect of the project is that it is very expensive. Minister Umahi says the project would cost a gargantuan sum of N15 trillion, and that N4 billion would be spent on each kilometre of the coastal highway. How was this estimate calculated? How can the government spend a scandalous sum of N4 billion on one kilometre of the coastal highway at this period of economic hardship in the country when the average Nigerian can hardly eat three times a-day? Already, a whopping sum of N1.06 trillion has been released for the pilot phase of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at Lekki Deep Sea Port. Does this not amount to reckless spending and a possible waste of public funds? Why the rush in releasing the sum?

The Federal Government should, in deference to transparency and public accountability, review the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. Government can more judiciously use public funds to fix, for instance, the East-West Road stretching from Warri in Delta State to Oron, Eket, Ahoada, Port Harcourt, and Ogoni in Rivers State. This road ranks amongst the most challenging civil infrastructure projects that have been abandoned for 17 years now.

Apart from the East-West Road, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Abuja-Lokoja Expressway, Makurdi-Nsukka 9th Mile Expressway, Shagamu-Benin Expressway, and others are in heavy distress and urgently need maintenance. It is important that the execution of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is not done at the expense of transparency, accountability and due process.