There is uneasy calm over the omission of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road from the 2025 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly recently by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Daily Trust can report.

The coastal road, one of the signature projects of President Tinubu which has generated a lot of controversy since its commencement last year, is expected to gulp around N16 trillion.

Questions have been raised about the funding of the project which the federal government hitherto stated would be through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

In February of last year, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a N1.07 trillion contract for the construction of the first phase of the project.

The minister disclosed that the pilot phase covers a 47.47-kilometre dual carriageway of five lanes on each side and a train track in the middle.

The minister disclosed that FEC at its October 30 meeting approved the procurement of the project under the EPC+F (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing) and in favour of High Tech Construction African Limited.

Umahi said, “They already have started searching for the funding, but hitches here and there. And so, the ministry had to go back to Mr President to ask for two things, and that was on January 18. We asked, Can we fast-track this?

“Since this project was going to be procured in two phases and multiple sections, can we get the federal government to fund phase one, which is what is 47.47 kilometres running from Ahmadu Bello in Lagos down to Lekki Deep Seaport? Mr President graciously approved.

“Today, we have procured the first section, which is 47.47 kilometres, under 10 lanes and FEC graciously approved the contract for N1.067tn with no objection.”

In December, last year, Umahi further disclosed that some sections of the highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway would be commissioned by May 2025.

However, the source of funding of the project remains unclear as there was no mention of the project in the 2025 budget.

The Federal Ministry of Works has a total capital allocation of N1,065,171,466,605 in the 2025 budget proposal.

But the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road which is under construction was not included in the budget as further observed by BudgIT, a leading civic-tech organisation while raising fresh concerns over the 2025 budget.

In a recent statement released on its X handle, BudgIT asserted: “This omission implies that if funding for this project materialises, it will likely necessitate reallocating funds from other critical projects, potentially hindering their implementation and impacting the budget’s credibility.”

The statement was signed by BudgIT’s Communications Associate, Nancy Odimegwu.

According to the group, some of the projections in the budget were unrealistic even as it faulted the failure of government to provide a breakdown of the budget of some ministries, departments and agencies.

BudgIT noted that in previous years, it identified several budgetary insertions made by the National Assembly that deviated from the federal government’s constitutional mandate and priorities while such projects were assigned to MDAs “that have neither the capacity nor the mandate to implement the inserted projects.”

The group noted that in 2021, it observed that 5,601 capital projects were added to the Appropriation Bill during the review process by the National Assembly. In 2022, it increased to 6,462 projects across 37 mother ministries and 340 MDAs, while in 2024, 7,447 insertions amounting to a staggering N2.24 trillion were found in the budget.

“While the constitution grants the National Assembly the authority to appropriate funds, it often modifies the executive’s proposed budget to distort its original intent and disconnect it from the nation’s long-term development agenda.

“Many inserted projects usually lack proper conceptualisation, design, and cost estimation, undermining their effectiveness and feasibility. We believe that the legislature must exercise this power with the utmost responsibility. This responsibility, which cannot be overstated, entails ensuring resource efficiency, eliminating waste, and aligning budgetary decisions with the nation’s long-term economic development goals,” BudgIT said.

Ahead of the review of the budget, BudgIT appeals to the lawmakers “to prioritise national interest over personal or parochial considerations and ensure that the approved budget stimulates economic activities and macroeconomic stability, allocates resources to foster economic growth and development, equitably distributes resources to reduce poverty and inequality, and caters to the most vulnerable Nigerians.”

Source: Daily Trust