Atiku challenges Tinubu over alleged $20bn coastal highway loan

demands contract details, public hearing before N/Assembly approval

Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to disclose details of an alleged $20 billion loan request linked to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, demanding transparency over the project’s revised route, contractual terms and payments.

Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), also urged the National Assembly to investigate allegations that lawmakers were being pressured to approve the anticipated borrowing.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku questioned the financial implications of diverting sections of the coastal highway inland.

“Do not hide a contractor’s bill inside a national borrowing request. Publish the proposed loan, the contract it would finance and the record of what has already been paid,” he said.

Atiku demanded the release of the original and revised route maps, feasibility and environmental studies, Bills of Quantities, contract variations and payment certificates.

He also called on the National Assembly to conduct a public hearing before considering additional financing for the project.

The former vice president alleged that some lawmakers had been threatened with the withholding of campaign funds if they failed to approve the request swiftly. The allegation was not independently substantiated in the statement.

Atiku argued that Nigerians should not bear additional debt without a full account of the project’s costs and changes.(BusinessDay)