BY AHMED AKANBI
Former Senate President and factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has accused the Bola Tinubu administration of violating the law in the award of the controversial N15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Wabara demanded a full-scale investigation, alleging the project was awarded without approved engineering design, proper Environmental Impact Assessment and statutory appropriation by the National Assembly.
In a statement, the former Senate President said controversies surrounding the 750km highway have exposed a disturbing pattern of arbitrariness in public affairs management under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He condemned the failure to conduct open competitive bidding in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007, insisting a project of such financial and strategic weight must not bypass legal frameworks.
According to him, awarding the contract and mobilising funds without legislative approval and environmental clearance raises serious integrity questions.
Wabara said government’s decision to realign portions of the highway to existing roads over climate change concerns further casts doubt on adequacy of the original design and environmental assessment.
He said the development makes an independent, comprehensive probe into the conception, approval, award and execution of the project imperative.
The BoT chairman described disregard for statutory procedures as a serious indictment of the administration, warning that public infrastructure must not be shielded from scrutiny.
”The secrecy, lack of public accountability and utter disregard for statutory frameworks are alarming and unacceptable in a democracy,” he said.
He insisted Nigerians have a right to know how the contract was awarded and public funds deployed, stressing transparency is non-negotiable at a time of severe economic hardship, and called on relevant authorities to establish facts and ensure accountability.