The Presidency has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of spreading misinformation in a "futile attempt to denigrate and find faults" in the newly inaugurated Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, a signature infrastructure initiative of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, rejected Atiku's claims through his media assistant, Paul Ibe, stating that the former VP's allegations only exposed his inadequacies and those of his team in getting the basic facts on an issue he badly seeks to nail the government.
Onanuga asserted that contrary to Atiku's assertions, the previous administrations of Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan did not award any contracts for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
He clarified that the contract awarded was for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail project, which was later abandoned.
Onanuga accused Atiku of engaging in "red-herring" and "ill-thought-out allegations."
"In his desperation to always want to hug the headlines as a self-appointed opposition leader, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has allowed himself to be led into a blind alley again by his poorly informed aides.
"In a press statement signed on his behalf by media assistant, Paul Ibe, the Peoples Democratic Party's Presidential Candidate in the last election made false allusions, in his futile attempt, to denigrate and find faults in the audacious and transformational Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project, which was recently inaugurated as one of the signature projects of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
"To Atiku's chagrin and utter disappointment, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway has been rightly praised for the huge economic impact it will create and how it will be a game-changer in improving the quality of life of Nigerians, especially the economy of the nine coastal states it will pass through. Importantly, the road will boost agricultural and tourism economy on a grand scale.
"Seeking to be a kill-joy, Atiku Abubakar engaged in red-herring by raising ill-thought-out allegations that only exposed his inadequacies and those of his team in getting the basic facts on an issue he badly seeks to nail the government.
"We have decided, however, to respond to Atiku's misrepresentation of facts in matters of the coastal road if only to set the record straight so that unsuspecting Nigerians are not misled and misinformed.
"We owe it a sacred duty to ensure Atiku and his handlers do not continue to spread disinformation as they wallow in their politics of hatred," Onanuga said.
He added that contrary to the claimed in the statement he endorsed, former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan did not award contracts to construct the Lagos - Calabar highway.
"Contrary to the claims in Atiku's endorsed press statement, at no time did the administrations of former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan award contracts for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway to any company at any varied and revised amount. So the question of costs comparison does not arise.
"The contract that was awarded was that of Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail. The rail was designed as part of the standard gauge national rail network.
"The contract was awarded on August 4, 2021 by the Federal Executive Council presided over by former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN at the cost of $11.17billion. The contract was to be completed in six years. The project didn't take off," Onanuga said.
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He further averred that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail project has always been on the card but "another testament of the failure of the previous PDP-led government that it could not get it off the ground in 16 years it held sway.
"The Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway and Lagos-Calabar Coastal rail are two distinct projects. It is unfortunate that the former Vice President is confused about the two projects.
The statement also defended President Tinubu's decision to commence the Coastal Highway project from Lagos, arguing that it would have a significant impact on export-import flow around the industrial zones, contrary to Atiku's questioning of the starting point.
Onanuga urged Atiku to "act his status as a presumed statesman and desist from engaging in fruitless exercise that does not add any value to nation-building," rather than casting "aspersions on President Tinubu and his government."
