Coastal Highway: ‘Tinubu never directed me to pick Hitech’ — Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has rejected claims that President Bola Tinubu influenced the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Hitech Construction Company, saying he alone was responsible for the procurement decision.

Umahi made the clarification on Sunday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid continuing questions over the procurement process, funding and the choice of Hitech for the multibillion-naira project.

According to the minister, Tinubu never instructed him to hand the project to the company.

“The president never asked me to give it to Hitech. Till today, the president will not tell you that he called me to say, ‘Give this project to Hitech.’ Never!

“Don’t forget that I also have my integrity. Don’t also forget that I have a journey of life and that I’m accountable for any decision I take as Dave Umahi.”

Umahi also dismissed allegations that the coastal highway was being used as a vehicle for money laundering by the administration.

He explained that Hitech was chosen because of its previous experience in dealing with coastal erosion and its work in restoring parts of Victoria Island.

The minister said the procurement process used for the project was permissible under Nigerian law, arguing that the law provided for different methods depending on the circumstances surrounding a project.

“Can we talk about the procurement first because that’s the first thing you asked? There are three kinds of procurement, and it’s allowed by the law of the National Assembly.

“We have the Kind of procurement where you advertise; we have the restrictive selective tendering where you can call, maybe if the project is very urgent, about five to six companies, run it through the BPP, ask them to qualify them, return them, then go for commercial bidding,” he noted.

On why Hitech emerged as the preferred company, Umahi referred to its earlier intervention in Lagos, particularly its work on coastal erosion.

“Do you know how long it took the President, when he was a governor, to invite Hitech (Construction Company)? Hitech initially resisted, but their methodology is what killed the ocean menace and then restored Victoria Island. That’s the reason why we did this special procurement using Hitech.”

The minister also dismissed suggestions that Tinubu’s relationship with the owner of Hitech, Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury, played a role in the award.

“Have you lived with your enemy before? Does it matter if they are friends or not friends? It doesn’t matter because it has nothing to do with my procurement. I take full responsibility for all my decisions.”

Umahi further argued that the President had no reason to interfere in the procurement process after assigning the project to the Ministry of Works.

He said the project had to pass through the Bureau of Public Procurement before the relevant processes could be concluded.

“Again, why would the President be involved? He gave me the job to do. Do you know the process by which projects are approved? It has to pass through the Bureau of Public Procurement. They have to look at it.”

Responding to questions about why the coastal highway project was not taken to the National Assembly for approval, the former Ebonyi State governor said parliamentary approval was necessary for the borrowing arrangement, rather than the procurement procedure itself.

“Why should it go to the National Assembly? That’s not the procurement procedure. It doesn’t have to go to the National Assembly. It is the borrowing plan that has to go to the Assembly.”

Umahi also provided details of the infrastructure being incorporated into the coastal highway project to address flooding and improve access for communities and property owners along the route.

He said the Federal Government was constructing hydraulic channels and service lanes to move floodwater towards the lagoon.

“What we are doing is that at every 50 metres, we are creating channels from the Southern part of the coastline, that is, from the ocean side, and we are taking it to the northern part of the coastal highway, which is where the lagoon is.

“The Lagos State government has several channels running from point to point, taking floodwaters to the lagoon. Some of these channels are blocked. Some have not been fully constructed to take the surrounding drainages and evacuate the water.”

According to Umahi, the service lanes would serve a dual purpose by helping to address flooding while also improving movement for residents and property owners along the corridor.

“What we are doing now is to create service lanes. So, we are not just trying to solve the problem of the flooding. We are also making life very easy for the people of Lagos State who have properties within that location. So we are creating very serious hydraulic channels in the form of drainages.”

On the expected lifespan of the coastal highway, Umahi said the road was designed to remain functional for decades with relatively low maintenance requirements.

“It will last between 50 and 100 years with low maintenance.”