The recent move by the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, to present a 30-kilometre segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a completed and commission-worthy project has drawn sharp criticism from the Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a leading public procurement advocacy group in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its country head, Mr. Akingunola Omoniyi, NEFGAD expressed deep concern that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 750-kilometre unbroken contract intended to serve as a transformative infrastructure corridor across Nigeria’s coastal region.
According to NEFGAD, commissioning just 30 kilometres, barely 4 percent of the entire project length, while the rest remains under construction is premature and misleading.
“We caution against the politicization of infrastructure delivery and stress that project commissioning should reflect substantive completion and usability of the project in its entirety or at least a major functional section. Presenting a fraction as the whole not only misrepresents the scope of work but risks undermining public trust in government communication and performance metrics. The minister must be mindful of the kind of precedent this action sets. If left unchecked, this could normalize the commissioning of uncompleted or partially completed projects across the country—turning what should be moments of national progress into mere photo opportunities and political theater,” parts of the statement read.
NEFGAD also stressed that President Bola Tinubu should not be pressured into commissioning unfinished projects.
