The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has responded strongly to recent remarks made by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who questioned the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. Umahi said Makinde’s comments were based on a misunderstanding of the technical and financial details involved in large-scale road construction.
Speaking during an inspection of the Keffi Bridge and the Nasarawa–Toto Road projects in Nasarawa State on Saturday, Umahi said the figures were carefully computed following global engineering standards and not exaggerated as some people have suggested. He stressed that it was wrong to turn such a serious national project into what he described as “political soundbites.”
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the flagship infrastructure projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and has attracted both praise and criticism since construction began. Governor Makinde, in a viral video on Friday, openly questioned the minister’s explanation of the cost, suggesting that Umahi was “dancing around the figures.”
According to Makinde, the process of project execution and payment should be transparent and open to public scrutiny. “These are elementary questions,” the governor said. “A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘How has this money been utilised?’ The money is meant for the project and should be paid according to the work done.”
In his response, Umahi said he had no intention of engaging in a political quarrel with Makinde, whom he described as a “brother and friend,” but insisted that the governor’s comments were unfair and technically inaccurate. “I heard that my brother and friend, Governor Makinde of Oyo State, said something about the cost per kilometre. I don’t want to join issues with him,” Umahi stated.
“I think he is an engineer, they call it ‘elect-elect’ but this road construction matter, ‘elect-elect no reach there.’” Umahi went further to say that he was Makinde’s senior both in governance and in engineering practice, and that the governor should have reached out privately to understand the details before making public statements.
The minister, who is a civil engineer by profession and a former governor of Ebonyi State, said there was no confusion surrounding how road construction costs are determined. He explained that costs are divided into “estimated” and “average” figures, with the estimated cost including allowances for contingencies and possible variations.
“There is no ambiguity in cost per kilometre,” Umahi said. “Cost per kilometre can be divided into estimated cost, which has elements of variance, and average cost, which is definitive. The average cost of a definitive project and the estimated cost are probable elements.”
Umahi clarified that the estimated cost often includes potential expenses such as variation of price (VOP) and contingencies, which might not be used in the final project. Once the project is completed, he said, any unused funds from these allowances are deducted, leaving the actual cost. “When the project is completed, and you remove what you didn’t use, such as contingencies and VOP, then you have your actual cost,” he said, defending the transparency of the process.
The Works Minister also took a light-hearted jab at some of his critics who had reportedly turned to Artificial Intelligence tools to understand what he meant by the difference between estimated and average costs.
“When somebody who is dangling without knowledge goes to ask AI what the difference is between cost per kilometre and average cost, I’m happy that AI told him exactly what I said,” Umahi said with a smile, drawing laughter from those present during the inspection.
He further pointed out that in engineering and technical fields, expertise goes beyond academic titles. Referring to the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) definition of who qualifies as a professor, Umahi said that practical experience also counts. “I’m happy that the NUC programme on who is a professor also made me right.
You can become a professor by the reason of your practice,” he said, emphasizing that years of hands-on work in road construction had made him deeply knowledgeable in his field.
Closing his remarks, Umahi reaffirmed his commitment to delivering the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project in line with global best practices. He noted that while criticisms are welcome in a democracy, they should be based on facts and not politics.
“I think it’s important we educate the public with the right information,” he said. “This project will not only open up the coastal region for business and tourism but also create thousands of jobs for Nigerians. That’s the focus not politics.”