Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

12 months ago

October 10, 2025

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.

Politics

Crisis Rocks NDC Over Obi-Kwankwaso Campaign Council

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2026

Editor

A fresh crisis appears to be brewing within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) following a sharp disagreement between the party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, and the OK Movement over the latter’s role and independence ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The OK Movement, in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, accused the NDC National Chairman of making statements it described as defamatory and reflective of a misunderstanding of the movement’s structure, independence and constitutional foundation.

The statement followed a recent publication attributed to Moses concerning the movement and the involvement of its National Director General, Hon. John Ughulu, in the Lagos State primaries.

The OK Movement had, on Thursday, unveiled a 59-member presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections. Cleopas, however, on Saturday, dissociated itself from the porported campaign council.

The OK Movement urged the NDC chairman to familiarise himself with the party’s constitution before making assertions about the rights, responsibilities and independence of political movements associated with the party.

“Leadership is ultimately measured by knowledge, restraint, integrity and respect for established rules, not by insults, personal attacks or defamatory assertions,” the statement said.

The movement stressed that its support for the NDC and its candidates did not make it subject to the personal approval of any individual within the party.

According to the statement, the OK Movement recognises the supremacy of political parties within their constitutional and statutory sphere and intends to campaign for the NDC’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as other party candidates across the country in areas where it has resolved to support them.

However, it maintained that it remained an independent political organisation with its own leadership, organisational structure, ideology and internal processes.

“We will campaign for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the party,” the statement said.

“We will campaign for candidates of the NDC Party across the country where the movement has resolved to support them. But we do not require the personal validation or approval of any individual before exercising our legitimate organisational functions,” it added.

The movement further rejected suggestions that its activities were driven by the pursuit of political appointments or positions within the party.

It said the organisation was built from the grassroots and did not depend on the sponsorship of any individual or political office holder.

The OK Movement also claimed to have approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators in its internal database, describing itself as a long-term political movement rather than a temporary support group established for an election cycle.

The organisation said its objective was to mobilise Nigerians around demands for improved governance, economic opportunity, accountability and citizen-centred development.

Politics

Why I Lent Peter Obi My Vehicle During Benue Visit — Ortom

Published

2 weeks ago

September 13, 2026

Editor

Former Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has explained why he lent his vehicle to the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, during the latter’s recent visit to the state.

Ortom, through his media aide, Terver Akase, said he decided to assist Obi with transportation as a matter of courtesy, stressing that refusing to help a former governor and presidential candidate would have been “petty” and unbecoming of a former governor.

Obi had visited Benue last Tuesday as part of plans to meet victims and families affected by the June 2025 massacre in Yelewata.

However, his planned movement from Makurdi to Yelewata was disrupted after youths reportedly blocked his convoy around Gyado Villa, a few kilometres from the airport.

Following the incident, Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, alleged that Ortom was involved in facilitating Obi’s visit.

Tersoo said a state government investigation traced the vehicle used to convey Obi from Makurdi Airport to Ortom.

He identified the vehicle as a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number GWA 608 BT, claiming that Federal Road Safety Corps records showed it was registered in Ortom’s name and linked to his Judges Quarters address in Makurdi.

The governor’s aide also questioned why Ortom, who has declared support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, would provide his vehicle to Obi.

But Ortom dismissed the suggestion that lending his vehicle to Peter Obi amounted to political collaboration.

He said Obi, as a former governor and presidential candidate, deserved basic courtesy while visiting the state on what he described as a humanitarian mission.

“Peter Obi is a former governor, a presidential candidate and one of the most prominent political figures in the country,” he said.

Ortom added that refusing to assist Obi would have been viewed as “petty, inhospitable and beneath the dignity of a former governor.”

He described attempts to politicise the gesture as “ridiculous and shameful”, accusing the Alia administration of creating controversy around what he called a “humane, courteous and statesmanlike gesture.”

Ortom also rejected claims that his action made him “double-faced”, noting that although he supported Obi in 2023, he had since publicly declared his support for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Politics

2027: Tinubu Edges Peter Obi By 1.55% In Oxford-Metro Poll

Published

2 weeks ago

September 13, 2026

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has edged Peter Obi by 1,067 responses, representing 1.55% points in the Oxford-Metro Analytics’ National Trust Poll ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The Oxford-Metro poll, which closed on September 7, recorded 69,110 approved and unflagged responses in its final analytical dataset.

Tinubu polled 24,469 responses, representing 35.41 per cent of the total, while Obi received 23,402 responses, accounting for 33.86 per cent.

The figures placed Tinubu 1.55 percentage points ahead of Obi.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar came third with 18,430 responses, representing 26.67 per cent of the total participation.

The poll’s regional breakdown, however, showed a different picture from the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, with Tinubu recording leads in 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Obi and Atiku, meanwhile, recorded the highest number of responses in eight states each.

Tinubu’s strongest gains were recorded in parts of Northern Nigeria, where he led in Kaduna, Katsina and Gombe, states won by Atiku in the 2023 presidential election.

He also led in Kano, where New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso won the 2023 presidential election.

At the geopolitical zone level, Tinubu led in the South-West, North-West and North-Central, while Obi dominated the South-East and South-South. Atiku recorded his strongest showing in the North-East.

In the South-West, Tinubu polled 10,968 responses, representing 43.53 per cent of the zone’s total participation.

He also led in the North-West with 4,129 responses, accounting for 43.10 per cent, while his 6,370 responses in the North-Central represented 36.97 per cent of the zone’s participation.

Obi recorded his strongest regional performance in the South-East, where he secured 5,796 responses, representing 63.97 per cent.

He also led in the South-South with 2,389 responses, accounting for 41.48 per cent of the region’s total.

Atiku dominated the North-East with 1,235 responses, representing 55.46 per cent of participation in the zone.

Despite Tinubu’s wider geographical spread, the national figures showed a close contest between the three leading candidates.

Some state-level results also recorded narrow margins. In Kogi, for instance, Tinubu received 39 responses, compared with 38 for Atiku and 33 for Obi, out of 110 responses recorded.

In the FCT, Tinubu polled 5,599 responses against Obi’s 5,278, giving him a margin of 321 responses, while Atiku received 3,954.

Tinubu also led Obi in Rivers, where he received 975 responses against Obi’s 892, while Atiku polled 568.

Beyond the three leading contenders, Omoyele Sowore received 1,016 responses, followed by Seyi Makinde with 519 and former President Goodluck Jonathan with 284.

Anita Zugwai-Chukwu received 18 responses, Sandy Onor six, and Prince Kennedy Ahanotu two.

A total of 638 participants selected “I Do Not Trust Any Candidate Yet”, while 204 were undecided and 122 selected “Other Candidate”.

The poll also showed significant geographical concentration in participation, with Lagos and the FCT accounting for 54.44 per cent of all responses.

The final dataset contained 56 diaspora responses, which were excluded from the six domestic geopolitical-zone tallies.