Makinde Slams Umahi Over The Cost of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria Friday, October 10th, 2025

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has jumped into the conversation concerning the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was endorsed by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who was speaking during an event in a viral video on Friday, stated that it makes no sense for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was responding to the heated exchange that happened live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had asked the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre and Umahi frowned at the question as he announced himself “professor” of practice in engineering as he spoke concerning the costs of the road in kilometres, saying that they are not the same and would be too difficult for Oseni to understand.

He said: “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). 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 it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for the cost per kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You do not know what you are asking. You do not know what you’re asking.”

Reacting, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, the average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, the average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun River and then one at the Ogbomoso end.”