The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has said he is ready to undergo a probe over the controversy surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
He said there was nothing to hide about the project, stating that due process was followed and the necessary approvals and documentation were obtained for the project to commence.
Recall that the House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to probe the N15 trillion project and said it would set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the project and submit a report within four weeks.
The House’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved during plenary by Austin Achado, the member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency of Benue State.
In a chat with The Punch, the minister said he is ready to face the House of Representatives committee set up to probe the project. Umahi added that he planned to ensure the exercise was televised live for all Nigerians to see.
The former Governor of Ebonyi State also said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that the loan obtained to complete the project did not follow due process was untrue.
Umahi, however, added that the matter was before the National Assembly, noting that he would not want to comment on it.
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He said, “I am ready to face the National Assembly to defend the project. I will not want to say anything now until I meet with the senators and House of Reps members. It will be live, so you will also hear it. It will be live so that Nigerians will see it.”
Naija News reports that the highway project, which is a 700-kilometre turnpike infrastructure, has attracted commendation and condemnation since the Bola Tinubu administration approved it in February.
The 10-lane coastal road was designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states before culminating in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
