The Federal Government of Nigeria has on May 1, commenced the disbursement of N2.75 billion in compensation to property owners affected by the ongoing demolitions necessitated by the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The compensation covers the stretch from channel 0 to channel 3 of the expansive project.
David Umahi, the Minister of Works, disclosed this pivotal update during a stakeholders meeting convened in Lagos State. Addressing property owners and stakeholders present, Umahi noted the preliminary nature of the compensation disbursement, hinting at further compensatory measures in the pipeline.
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“Today, we are paying over N2 billion in compensation from Channel 0 to Channel 3.
“So, I will invite the controller Lagos to stamp and sign and with this, the contractors can now go ahead confidently within the right of ways and then will also give a copy to the numerators to go ahead. We have rerouted a number of places.
“I wish to flag off the compensation from channel 0 to channel 3 in the total sum of N2.75 billion,” Umahi said during the meeting.
The initiation of compensation payments marks a crucial milestone in settling the controversies over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which was unveiled by the Federal Government in March.
The ambitious project, spanning 700 kilometers and traversing nine states with two spurs leading to the Northern States, holds immense promise for infrastructural development and regional connectivity. However, it has been mired in controversy due to its impact on multi-million dollar businesses operating along the coastal areas and its cost.
During the official handover of the project’s first phase to Hitech Construction Company Ltd., Umahi underscored the utilization of concrete pavement in the construction process. He noted that Hitech Construction Company Limited has made commendable progress, completing 1.3 kilometers of the required filling since the contract was awarded.
However, the compensation plan has not stopped the backlash trailing the project, which is expected to gulp more than N15 trillion, from many quarters of the nation. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the project as ‘wasteful and a highway to fraud.’
“The total budget of all 36 states of the federation 2024 stands at about N14 trillion. If you add that of the FCT, the entire budget of all sub-nationals is N15.91 trillion. This is scandalous. Worse still, they have already awarded the contract but are still not sure of the level of the counterpart funding component of the Federal Government”, a statement from Atiku’s office read.
Atiku questioned the exorbitant budget allocation for the project, highlighting discrepancies between approved funds and actual money disbursed.
“Although the National Assembly approved N500m for the project this year, the Tinubu administration has released N1.06tn. That is more than 200 times what is in the Appropriation Act. This is what happens when the National Assembly fails in its duties.
“It was curious that the N15.91 trillion announced by Umahi did not include the cost of the railway component. He therefore wondered how much the project would cost if the railway component was included.’’
Atiku’s critique resonates with concerns surrounding the transparency and fiscal prudence of the project, particularly given the absence of clarity regarding the railway component’s cost.