The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Tuesday, took a swipe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his criticism of the President Bola Tinubu administration on the cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, had alleged that the N700km road project was shrouded in secrecy, adding that it was awarded to Tinubu’s ally Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.
But Umahi, while fielding questions from newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday shortly after the inspection of full rehabilitation work at the ongoing Enugu-Port Harcourt Road and the reconstruction of the Eleme-Onne Road, described Atiku’s statement as unfortunate, saying the ex-Vice President lacked an understanding of figures.
The works minister said, “I read something on social media credited to His Excellency, the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on the coastal road.
“I am going to give him proper information. I will address a world press conference in Lagos. If there is anything he thinks is wrong with the procurement, he should approach me. He should leave the President alone.
“It is quite degrading on my part for him (Atiku) to think that a former party chairman, former deputy governor, governor for eight years, a senator, that I am not a stakeholder in this country and that I will do the wrong thing.
“So he doesn’t understand figures and I’m going to run figures for him to understand and for him to understand how prudent the administration of President Bola Tinubu is.
“He will understand how prudency is taking centre stage especially in my ministry. The President had once engaged me on the cost of the project and I had to run the figures with Mr President. He (Tinubu) still thinks I should bring down the cost of projects.
“At the same time the contractors are crying that I am oppressing them so much because what they were getting better before they are no longer getting. So, Mr. Vice President, Atiku Abubakar must know that I am between and betwixt.”
Umahi said he would make the cost public for Nigerians to know.
“When I run the figures, Nigerians will see what this present administration is doing. I am not here to run the figures, I have seen the figures they are parading, but my figures are quite better than those figures and I understand this engineering.
“Both the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and that of President Muhammadu Buhari, for one reason or the other could not do that. But this present administration will do it and I will tell the world the economic benefit and how the coastal road will tie the entire country together, it is not just the South-South and South-West. It’s tying the North together.”
But Atiku, in a further statement on Tuesday, by the Special Assistant, Paul Ibe, dared the Tinubu government to tell Nigerians the cost of the project.
“The Tinubu administration cannot continue to respond to the public inquiry with insults. They must come clean on this project because Nigerians deserve to know the truth. I, therefore, present six posers to the administration,” Atiku said.