By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of failing on the statutory requirements of transparency, accountability and service delivery in respect of the N15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
The BoT of the opposition PDP said this in a statement on Wednesday by its Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara in Abuja.
The Board strongly condemned what it called the pervading culture of arbitrariness in the management of the affairs of the nation by the current administration, where contracts are awarded and mobilized without adherence to due process and statutory appropriation by the National Assembly.
According to the statement by Wabara, “The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after a comprehensive analysis of the controversies, trailing the N15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, states that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has failed on the statutory requirements of transparency, accountability and service delivery.
“The Board strongly condemns the pervading culture of arbitrariness
in the management of the affairs of the nation by the current administration, where contracts are awarded and mobilized without adherence to due process and statutory appropriation by the National Assembly.
“The Board condemns the award of the contract of a project as huge as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway without approved engineering design, without an environmental, economic and social impact assessment, without transparent, open and competitive bidding process as required by the Public Procurement Act 2007 and without the statutory appropriation by the National Assembly.
“The move by the Federal Government to realign the Lagos-Calabar Highway to existing road, citing climate change and other environmental issues further confirms that the project took off without a proper engineering design and approved environmental impact assessment.
“The Board holds that awarding the contract and mobilization of funds without National Assembly approval, due process and proper environmental impact assessment is a gross abuse of office and a huge indictment on the integrity of the APC administration.
“The secrecy, lack of public accountability and utter disregard for statutory frameworks are alarming and unacceptable in a democracy.
“The Board emphasizes that critical national infrastructure cannot be implemented through arbitrary directives or shielded from public scrutiny while ordinary citizens grapple with unprecedented economic hardship.
“The BoT therefore demands for a full investigation into the violations surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. Nigerians deserve to know the truth”, it concluded.
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