FG debunks Obasanjo’s claim on Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

• Aiyedatiwa hails Tinubu on federal projects in Ondo
• Ex-President says Western democracy has failed Nigeria
• Advocates alternative model
The Federal Government, yesterday, said that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was a well, thought-out project and not a wasteful and corrupt venture as implied by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, while unveiling the 71st alignment section of the road, said that the project was transparent.

He urged Nigerians to ignore the stance of Obasanjo on the over 700-kilometre highway, saying that those criticising the project and other legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu should not pass through them when completed.

This is just as Ondo State residents accepted the alignment of the 71-kilometre section of the coastal highway, which was initially pegged at 75 kilometres.
According to Umahi, who stated that the alignment unveiling was the final stage of the route approval, urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to issue a revocation order on the route in line with the laws of the land.

The minister assured residents of the state that the President was determined to complete all inherited projects and the legacy projects of his administration.

Umahi, who also disclosed that the dualisation of the Ilesha-Akure-Benin Highway was stalled by funding but assured that the contractor was bound to make the road motorable, equally promised that the federal government would soon shift its focus to the execution of the Aiyetoro shoreline protection project.

Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa, while assuring that the state would give all necessary support for the quick completion of the federal government projects in the state, emphasised the crucial role of infrastructure in driving economic growth and development.

However, Obasanjo stated that Nigeria must reassess its political system, saying that “Western liberal democracy” is failing the country. He also criticised Nigeria’s leadership, describing many past and current officeholders as “ill-prepared, satanic, and self-centred.”

Obasanjo, who accused some of the leaders of using public office for personal enrichment while leaving the country worse than they met it, made these remarks in his newly released book, “Nigeria: Past and Future,” unveiled as part of his 88th birthday celebrations last week.

In the book, he detailed how many governors and presidents obtained billions of naira in loans before assuming office, believing they could easily repay them from public funds once elected.