Presidency fumes, knocks Obasanjo over N15trn Lagos-Calabar coastal highway remark
…Insists Tinubu won’t be distracted by “baseless condemnation”
…Don’t use the road when completed — Umahi claps back
…Gov. Aiyedatiwa hails Tinubu on federal projects in Ondo
By Sodiq Adelakun
The presidency has harshly criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo remarks over the ¦ 15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project, a key infrastructural initiative championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, accusing him of “baseless criticism and jealousy.”
NewsDirect reports that in his newly released memoir, Nigeria: Past and Future, unveiled to mark his 88th birthday, Obasanjo described the ambitious highway project as wasteful, corrupt, and a misplaced priority.
However, Obasanjo’s remarks have brewed and triggered fury in the Presidency, with officials accusing the former leader of harboring ill will toward the progress being made under the current administration.
In a fiery statement released on Thursday via X (formerly Twitter), Dada Olusegun, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, lashed out at Obasanjo, saying his criticism was rooted in “envy” of the president’s achievements.
According to Olusegun, the former president, who had ample resources during his tenure but failed to execute similar projects, now sees the success of Tinubu’s administration as a bitter reminder of his own missed opportunities.
“Obasanjo’s latest diatribe is a clear reflection of his jealousy toward President Tinubu’s accomplishments, particularly for achieving what he failed to do during his time as president. Instead of commending a project that will benefit generations of Nigerians, Obasanjo chooses to malign it,” Olusegun said.
The presidency did not hold back in its condemnation, accusing Obasanjo of seeing himself as a “self-righteous” figure who claimed to have all the answers to Nigeria’s problems but did little to address the nation’s infrastructural challenges when he had the chance.
It pointed out that despite serving two terms as president, Obasanjo failed to make significant headway on projects like the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which remained incomplete throughout his administration, and other vital infrastructure initiatives.
“While it is common for many elder statesmen to write books aimed at sanctifying their days as the leader of the country despite obvious flaws, another elder statesman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has just published a memoir containing claims that would further relegate his integrity as the leader who opened Nigeria to the canker worms of corruption by neglecting important projects that could have changed the trajectory of this country if he had focused on what mattered in his days.
“By underplaying the importance of the Lagos-Calabar project in his latest book, President OBJ has not only affirmed to those who witnessed his administration’s several failures to address the needs of the country when he had the opportunity, but he has also put in written form, a position which generations to come will indeed question when the road that will end up as one of the most significant endeavours of any Federal Government in the history of the country, finally becomes a reality.
“Despite spending 8 years in government and failing in his attempt to force himself on Nigerians for a further four years as President, Baba Obasanjo failed woefully in addressing the infrastructural needs of his state; indeed, it took former President Buhari just three years to deliver the first modern rail to pass through baba’s backyard in Abeokuta.
“The Lagos-Ibadan expressway was southwest and indeed one of Nigeria’s most important road projects in recent times, both baba and the PDP spent 16 years without getting the project beyond 30% completion until Buhari happened.
“What about the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway that has now been inherited by Governor Abiodun in 2024 because the President who hailed from the state failed to make it a reality despite having all the power and goodwill to do so?
“Should we delve into the corruption that brought Nigeria’s power sector to its knees despite the claims of spending billions of dollars to fix the same under his administration? Or his failure to revive our refineries, killing our steel industry and fraudulent privatisation of NITEL among others?
“President Obasanjo must emulate others before him by returning to his writing board to at least attempt to explain to Nigerians why he failed to help Nigeria transition into a proper country under his leadership despite emerging at a time when the goodwill was at an all-time high compared to these days when President Tinubu now has to take all the decisions they failed to take,” the statement read.
The Presidency heralded the Lagos-Calabar project as a cornerstone of Tinubu’s vision to reshape the Nigerian economy, along with other major infrastructural endeavours such as “the Sokoto-Badagry Highway and the Lagos-Abuja Highway,” adding that they ”would be remembered as some of the most significant contributions to Nigeria’s development.”
Meanwhile, the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the successful completion of federal road projects in the State, emphasising the crucial role of infrastructure in driving economic growth and development.
The Governor made this assertion during the working visit of the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, to Ondo State on Thursday for a 2nd interactive session on the Ondo State axis of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
The meeting, which held at the Government House in Akure, is a follow up to the first stakeholders meeting held on October 31, 2024 on the project.
Governor Aiyedatiwa thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the increase in federal presence in Ondo State through many infrastructural projects, including the ongoing Ore-Ondo-Akure dualisation project, the federal teaching hospital and new aviation school, among others.
He said: “We have not had it so good in recent times with federal projects in our State. Permit me to mention but a few: the Akure – Ore Dual Carriageway, the Akure – Ado Ekiti Dual Carriageway, the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, and the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Akure.”
He further stressed the importance of completing these projects, noting their potential to boost economic activities in the State and the South-West region. He also appealed for additional federal support to actualize critical projects such as the Ondo Deep Sea Port and the mitigation of the Ayetoro sea incursion.
Governor Aiyedatiwa assured the Minister of Works that the Ondo State Government would provide an enabling environment for the successful execution of these projects.
“We are resolute in our commitment to ensuring that these projects are completed for the benefit of our people. In this regard, I pledge the Ondo State Government’s unflinching support and commitment towards actualizing their completion,” he stated.
The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, while addressing the stakeholders meeting, gave an update on the preparations for the execution of the 71km alignment of Ondo State in the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Addressing Obasanjo’s comments, he noted, “This Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the four legacy projects of Mr. President. For those saying it is a waste of resources, when the project is completed, they should not use the road.
“This is not a wasteful project and it is not fraudulent. If someone is saying it’s a fraud, that person is also saying that I am a fraud and I am definitely not.
“This project has been very transparent, and that is why we continue to engage the stakeholders. Every step of the process has been very transparent and every detail is in the public domain.”
The Minister commended the government and people of the State for the support given to the project, adding that all the necessary steps to its execution have been taken.
Umahi also commended Governor Aiyedatiwa for his keen interest in the infrastructural development of the State, promising that all Federal road projects in the State would be given speedy execution.
The Minister promised that the federal government will soon shift its focus to the execution of the Aiyetoro shoreline protection project.
Also, Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has dismissed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s characterisation of the N15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project as wasteful.
In his reaction, Sani stressed that, given the scale of the project, the funds involved could have easily been misappropriated, but were instead being directed towards infrastructure development.
“I don’t think the Lagos-Calabar highway is wasteful, taking cognisance that such amount of money for the project can be stolen by one man, as it happened in the CBN in the past,” Shehu said via X, formerly Twitter.
