‘Stop Playing Politics Of Criticism-by-force’

Presidential aide, Dada Olusegun, has slammed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his comments on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

Recall that in a statement on Sunday issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku had said the Bola Tinubu administration is engaged in questionable dealings over the coastal highway construction.

He said Tinubu puts personal business interests before Nigerian infrastructure and there is so much secrecy with the project.

Reacting to Atiku’s comments in an interview with The Punch, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the claims as “erroneous” and “irresponsible.”

But Atiku said in a statement on Tuesday that the Tinubu administration could not continue to keep silent on how much of public funds would be spent on the project at a time Nigeria was still facing dire economic challenges.

The former vice president questioned the Tinubu administration’s decision to award the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.

He had also wondered why the Tinubu administration released N1.06tn for the pilot phase or 6% of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

Reacting in a post via his official X handle on Tuesday, Dada Olusegun accused Atiku of mistaking the Lagos-Calabar Railway for the much anticipated Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

Olusegun said Atiku’s claims that the project was first conceived under former President Jonathan in 2014 and former President Muhammadu Buhari made an agreement with CCECC in 2016 were false and erroneous.

The presidential aide added that Atiku’s comments about the cost of the project revealed his lack of knowledge about the infrastructure.

He wrote: “Never knew the day would come when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, out of the urge to criticize a sitting government, will embarrassingly mistake the Lagos-Calabar Railway for the much anticipated Lagos-Calabar Coastal road.

“I was reading, with so much anticipation, the said article, hoping to see improvements in Alhaji’s criticism of President Tinubu after initial back-to-back goofs but alas, I was wrong. It had gotten worse.

“From the claim that the project was first conceived under former President Jonathan in 2014, to the mention of President Muhammadu Buhari’s agreement with CCECC in 2016, ardent followers of development in Nigeria who do not spend 80% of their lives cooling off in Dubai would have known that what the curators of the article were referring to was the $11bn Lagos-Calabar railway.

“I thought my confusion was over after reading the first few paragraphs but a further dive into the article revealed Alhaji Atiku’s lack of knowledge about the project when he started talking about the cost of the project.

“All in all, I have taken time to highlight major points that Alhaji might need to know.

“The Lagos-Calabar railway is not the same as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road

“The Lagos-Calabar railway has been incorporated into the new road project with the rail line set to be accommodated in between the two sides.

“⁠The project was conceived under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration and not Goodluck Jonathan as claimed.

“The project remains a PPP with the first tranche of investment made by the FG while the contractor finalizes the funding for the remaining part of the project.

“As I mentioned in my last rejoinder, Alhaji Atiku should take time to watch while the master in charge finesses his reengineering of our nation.

“Old times have passed away and we must do away with politics of “criticism-by-force” at the expense of true development.”

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