Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over his handling of questions regarding the cost breakdown of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, urging him to provide clarity rather than “dance around the cost.”
Makinde made the remarks in a viral video on Friday while reacting to a heated on-air exchange between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni earlier in the week.
During the interview, Oseni had asked the minister to provide a kilometre-by-kilometre cost analysis of the multi-trillion-naira project — a request that appeared to irritate Umahi, who dismissed the question as “elementary” and claimed that the cost per kilometre varies due to technical factors.
Umahi, describing himself as a “professor of practice in engineering,” told the journalist to “keep quiet,” insisting that the pricing of each section of the project differs.
Responding to the controversy, Governor Makinde defended the journalist’s line of questioning, saying Umahi owed Nigerians transparency on the project’s cost structure.
“They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you are dancing around and saying the next kilometre is different from the next kilometre,” Makinde said. “Then what is the average cost?”
Citing examples from Oyo State, Makinde noted that his administration had executed major road projects with publicly verifiable cost figures.
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road, it was about ₦9.99 billion — almost ₦10 billion — for about 34 to 35 kilometres, averaging ₦238 million per kilometre. The Iseyin to Ogbomoso road was 76 kilometres, cost about ₦43 billion, averaging ₦500 million per kilometre, and we had two bridges,” he explained.
The Federal Government last year commenced construction of the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, spanning nine states with two spurs leading northwards.
According to a statement from Umahi’s media aide, Uchenna Orji, the project’s first phase — a 47.47-kilometre dual carriageway — was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited and will be built with concrete pavement.
Umahi has repeatedly maintained that the project will be delivered on schedule and without cost variation due to delays, insisting that all contractors must meet agreed timelines.
