Shehu Sani defends Lagos-Calabar Highway, disagrees with Obasanjo’s criticism

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has pushed back against former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of the N15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, arguing that the project is not wasteful as alleged.

Obasanjo had earlier described the massive infrastructure project as a corrupt and unnecessary venture, accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of misplacing priorities.

He also slammed the government for spending N21 billion on a new official residence for Vice-President Kashim Shettima, calling it an extravagant and unjustifiable expense.

These criticisms were made in chapter six of Obasanjo’s new book, ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’, which was unveiled last week as part of his 88th birthday celebrations.

In the book, the former president condemned what he described as the reckless handling of state resources, accusing government officials of diverting funds for personal enrichment.

“State resources are captured and appropriated, with a pittance to staff and associates to silence whistleblowers,” Obasanjo wrote.

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Referring specifically to the Lagos-Calabar highway, he said: “Typical examples of waste, corruption, and misplaced priority are the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, on which the President had turned deaf ears to protests, and the new Vice-President’s official residence built at a cost of N21bn in a time of economic hardship. To showcase the administration hitting the ground running and to show the importance of the office of the Vice-President. What small minds”.

In response, Shehu Sani took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday to reject Obasanjo’s claims, insisting that the coastal highway project is necessary and should not be considered wasteful.

“I don’t think Lagos-Calabar highway is wasteful, taking cognisance that such an amount of money for the project can be stolen by one man, as it happened in the CBN in the past,” Sani wrote.

His comment appeared to reference past corruption scandals, including allegations of large-scale fraud at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where billions of naira reportedly disappeared under previous administrations.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a 700km road project, has been a topic of intense debate since its approval. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, previously revealed that the project would cost N4.93 billion per kilometre, with the initial phase starting at Eko Atlantic and ending at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

The contract was awarded to Hitech Construction Company, owned by Gilbert Chagoury, a long-time business associate of President Tinubu. Critics, including Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 PDP presidential candidate, have questioned the lack of competitive bidding and potential conflicts of interest.

While Obasanjo sees the project as an avenue for corruption, Sani believes that investing in infrastructure is preferable to looting public funds.

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