The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has responded to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent statements criticizing the cost per kilometer of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, claiming that the governor misunderstood the technical aspects of road construction and cost evaluation.
Speaking on Saturday during an inspection tour of the Keffi Bridge and the Nasarawa-Toto Road projects with the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, Umahi stated that the cost of the highway had been carefully calculated in accordance with global engineering standards and should not be reduced to “political soundbites.”
Makinde had questioned the minister’s estimated cost per kilometer for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of President Bola Tinubu’s hallmark development projects.
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.
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 utilized?’ The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.
Responding to the inspection tour, the former Ebonyi governor hailed Makinde as “a brother and friend” but said it was wrong for him to openly accuse him of “dancing around” figures.
“I heard that my brother and friend, Governor Makinde, said something about the cost per kilometer. I don’t want to join issues with him,” Umahi said. “I think he is an engineer, while I am an electrical engineer; they call us ‘elect-elect.’ But this road construction matter, ‘elect-elect no reach there.’”
He continued, “I am his senior both in governance and in engineering practice. So, anything he doesn’t understand, he should call me and ask. I have great respect for him as my friend and brother, but he should withdraw the statement that I’m dancing around. I never danced around. If he insists, he should come for a debate, which is very important.”
Umahi defended the project further, stating that there was no uncertainty in establishing the cost per km, emphasizing that it should be understood in both estimated and average terms.
“There is no ambiguity in cost per kilometer,” he said. “I am teaching them that cost per kilometer can be divided into estimated cost, which has elements of variance, and average cost, which is definitive. The average cost of a definitive project and the estimated cost are probable elements.”
He noted that the estimated cost includes provisions for contingencies and price variations that may not be used.
“When the project is completed, and you remove what you didn’t use, such as contingencies and VOP, then you have your actual cost,” he added.
Umahi was amused that some critics had asked artificial intelligence to explain the difference between estimated and average costs, only for the AI’s response to match his explanation.
“When somebody who is dangling without knowledge goes to ask AI what the difference is between cost per kilometer and average cost, I’m happy that AI told him exactly what I said,” the minister quipped.
He also noted the National Universities Commission’s explanation on who qualifies as a professor, pointing out that practical experience in the field is also considered expertise.
“I’m happy that the NUC program on who is a professor also made me right. You can become a professor by reason of your practice. And I think God has made me one when it comes to practical, field engineering programs. That’s what it is; you can’t take it back,” Umahi said.
