NEFGAD Slams Umahi Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Commissioning

A leading public procurement advocacy group, NEFGAD, has criticised Minister of Works David Umahi for attempting to commission a 30-kilometre segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing it as premature and misleading.

According to NEFGAD, the highway is a 750-kilometre contract, and commissioning just 4% of the project while the rest remains under construction undermines public trust in government communication and performance metrics.

In a statement signed by its Country Head of Office, Mr Akingunola Omoniyi, NEFGAD cautioned against the politicisation of infrastructure delivery, stressing that project commissioning should reflect substantive completion and usability.

“We caution against the politicisation of infrastructure delivery and stress that project commissioning should reflect substantive completion and usability of the project in its entirety or at least a major functional section. Presenting a fraction as the whole not only misrepresents the scope of work but also risks undermining public trust in government communication and performance metrics.

“The minister must be mindful of the kind of precedent this action sets. If left unchecked, this could normalise the commissioning of uncompleted or partially completed projects across the country—turning what should be moments of national progress into mere photo opportunities and political theatre,” NEFGAD said.

The group urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demand transparency and accountability in project delivery, ensuring full value for public infrastructure initiatives.

NEFGAD also called on the Ministry of Works to recommit to credible milestones, uphold project integrity, and tie future commissionings to real, completed achievements.

“We urge the Ministry of Works to recommit to credible milestones, uphold project integrity, and ensure that future commissionings are tied to real, completed achievements—not fragments dressed up as finished products, the statement concluded,” the group.

NEFGAD Slams Umahi Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Commissioning is first published on The Whistler Newspaper