THE Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the Federal Government over its failure to provide clear details on the cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a multi-trillion-naira project approved by President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement on the 2026 budget in Ibadan, on Friday, October 10, Makinde faulted the Minister of Works, David Umahi, for evading questions about the project’s kilometre-by-kilometre cost when asked during a live television interview with Arise TV, Rufai Oseni, earlier in the week.
Makinde said the refusal to disclose details of the project cost raised public concern over transparency and accountability.
“They asked the minister how much the coastal road costs, and he began to dance around the question.
“When we constructed the Oyo-Iseyin road, it was about ten billion naira for thirty-five kilometres — roughly two hundred and thirty-eight million per kilometre. The Iseyin-Ogbomoso road cost forty-three billion naira for seventy-six kilometres, about five hundred million per kilometre. It is simple arithmetic,” Makinde said.
Umahi had clashed with an Arise TV presenter, Oseni, on Tuesday, October 7, after refusing to provide a detailed cost analysis of the project. Umahi maintained that comparing costs per kilometre was misleading since terrain, materials, and engineering designs differ along sections of the route.
“This project has not been fully designed, and the soil report is not yet complete.Each kilometre varies in cost because of the terrain and structures involved, ” Umahi said during the interview.
He said construction was ongoing across five states — Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River — and insisted that the government was following proper procedures to ensure value for money.
Coastal Highway remains controversial
The 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has generated intense public debate since its commencement. The ICIR had reported that the project began amid criticisms over the demolition of the Landmark Beach Resort and other businesses worth an estimated two hundred million dollars along the Lagos coastline.
Public pressure forced the government to suspend work along parts of the Lagos corridor after concerns about environmental impact, property rights, and compensation for affected communities. The Works Ministry later announced a redesign of the route to protect telecommunications infrastructure and historical settlements along the Okun-Ajah axis.
The government said the project approval passed through the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council, but critics, including former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, questioned the process and priority of the massive infrastructure project at a time of economic hardship.
Federal Government secures $747 million loan
Despite the controversies surrounding its procurement and bidding processes, the Federal Government on July 2025 announced that it had secured a seven hundred and forty-seven million-dollar syndicated loan to finance the first phase of the highway from Victoria Island to Eleko Village in Lagos.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Deutsche Bank led the financing, with participation from the African Export-Import Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, and other international lenders. The loan, structured under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing contract, is being implemented by Hitech Construction Company Limited.
Minister of Finance Wale Edun described the funding as a sign of investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms, while Umahi said it underscored the government’s commitment to completing the coastal highway as a strategic national asset.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, estimated at N15 trillion, is expected to link the South-West with the Niger Delta through nine states. The project, being constructed in concrete, is part of the administration’s Renewed Hope Infrastructure Agenda.
However, The ICIR had reported that the project’s procurement process violated open competitive bidding requirements and lacked full disclosure on bidders at the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission portal.
Several stakeholders, including business owners, environmental experts, and economists, have urged the government to balance its infrastructure ambitions with transparency, accountability, and due process to prevent waste and ensure the project’s long-term sustainability.
A reporter with the ICIR
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