The Presidency on Friday lashed out at former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, over his description of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway as a “scam.”
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The Presidency said Lawal’s remarks amounted to “cheap talk” that ignored the project’s international financing.
“The only thing we can say is that he is not making sense. He is just involved in cheap talk,” Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, told newsmen.
Speaking on this week’s episode of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Friday, Lawal accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of pursuing “vanity projects” while failing to deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
“Their so-called coastal road is just a scam. Every Nigerian knows it is a scam. Even before they started, we knew it would be a scam, and it has become a scam,” he said.
Lawal likened the highway to the long-delayed Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.
The former SGF argued that the government had provided little transparency on cost and route alignment, claiming communities along the shoreline were being short-changed without proper environmental or resettlement studies.
Conceived as a 700-kilometre, six-lane expressway linking Victoria Island in Lagos to Calabar in Cross River State, the project is budgeted at about $11bn and slated for completion by 2031.
According to the Federal Ministry of Works, the corridor will traverse nine coastal states, feature multiple bridges and service hubs, and is expected to cut travel time between the South-West and South-South to under eight hours.
Work began in March 2024 on Phase 1, Section 1, a 47.47-kilometre stretch from Victoria Island to Eleko in Lagos.
The Federal Government says the first slab would use continuously reinforced concrete pavement designed for a 50-year lifespan, with right-of-way expansions to accommodate fibre-optic cabling and gas pipelines.
Commenting on the project, Lawal said, “If you ask me, ‘What projects has this government implemented so far that are visible to Nigerians and have impacted their lives?’ I cannot see any.
“At least in northern Nigeria, where I am a frequent traveller, I don’t see any road that they are constructing or rehabilitating. In the South-West, I don’t think there is any.”
He also criticised the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project, claiming successive governments had used it as a political talking point without completing it.
“They are still talking about the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which it appears every government talks about and votes money for, and it never goes anywhere,” he argued.
President Bola Tinubu had, in May, flagged off the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway—a 30-kilometre stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way to the Eleko Village area in Lekki, Lagos.
However, Lawal dismissed the development, questioning its relevance in the face of mounting public debt.
“You borrow money from Europe, and before it comes, it is spent over there. So, I don’t understand. What can Nigerians see?
“It has become such that the President can go and commission 30 kilometres of a 700km road, which has even become a source of controversy. So, what are they doing with our money?” he asked.
However, the Presidency insisted that Lawal’s allegations were baseless, given the financing package the project secured recently.
Onanuga said, “I hope he is aware that some banks are giving out money to build that road. If the banks are coming together and seeing something in that road, that means whoever is criticising it should examine themselves.
“If top banks, including a German bank, are backing a project, should it look like a scam to any reasonable person?”
The Presidential spokesman was referring to the $747m loan facility for the preliminary segment of the project.
On Wednesday, July 9, the Finance Ministry announced a $747m syndicated loan led by Deutsche Bank to bankroll the initial section.
The German lender is joined by First Abu Dhabi Bank, African Export-Import Bank, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, and Zenith Bank — the largest road-infrastructure loan ever secured by Nigeria.
Officials revealed that the facility is structured as an eight-year, floating-rate loan with a three-year grace period, repayable from dedicated toll revenues and a sovereign guarantee. Project engineers have opened bid windows for precast-segment suppliers, while environmental-impact hearings are slated for late August.
“For a long time, this country has not even expanded its infrastructure in terms of the road stock. But this President is making an effort to do it. But some people just try to talk trash. So what he has said is just cheap talk,” said Onanuga.
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