The Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a foremost public procurement advocacy group in Nigeria, has faulted the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, for presenting a 30-kilometre segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a completed project ready for commissioning.
In a statement signed by its Country Head, Mr. Akingunola Omoniyi, the group expressed deep concern over what it described as a misleading move that undermines the spirit of transparency and proper infrastructure delivery. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 750-kilometre contract designed to be a transformative infrastructure corridor across Nigeria’s southern coastline.
NEFGAD argued that celebrating just 30 kilometres — a mere 4% of the entire project — while construction is still ongoing across the rest of the route is both premature and politically motivated.
“We caution against the politicization of infrastructure delivery and stress that project commissioning should reflect substantive completion and usability of the project in its entirety or, at the very least, a major functional section,” the group stated.
They warned that such premature gestures set a dangerous precedent, reducing critical national development efforts to political optics and photo opportunities.
“Presenting a fraction as the whole not only misrepresents the scope of work but risks undermining public trust in government communication and performance metrics,” NEFGAD added.
The group also cautioned against placing undue pressure on President Bola Tinubu to commission incomplete projects, stressing that governance is a continuum. They noted that President Tinubu himself had completed and inaugurated projects initiated by previous administrations, a tradition that should be maintained in the spirit of continuity and responsibility.
“The minister must understand that no administration can complete all its initiated projects. What matters is quality delivery, not rushed ceremonies,” the statement read.
NEFGAD urged the Federal Government to prioritize transparency, accountability, and meaningful progress in its infrastructure agenda.
“The people deserve full value for every public infrastructure initiative—not staged ceremonies that paper over incomplete work,” the group emphasized.
The statement concluded with a call on the Ministry of Works to recommit to credible milestones and ensure future project commissioning events are based on tangible, completed outcomes rather than political symbolism.
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