The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road had been omitted from the 2025 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly recently by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
BudgIT, a leading civic-tech organisation revealed this on its X handle.
BudgIT stated in its X that: “This omission implies that if funding for this project materialises, it will likely necessitate reallocating funds from other critical projects, potentially hindering their implementation and impacting the budget’s credibility.”
The statement signed by BudgIT’s Communications Associate, Nancy Odimegwu, said some of the projections in the budget were cannot be met, adding that the government failed to provide a breakdown of the budget of some ministries, departments and agencies.
According to BudgIT, several budgetary insertions made by the National Assembly deviated from the federal government’s constitutional mandate and priorities while such projects were assigned to MDAs “that have neither the capacity nor the mandate to implement the inserted projects.”
It recalled that in 2021, 5,601 capital projects were inserted in the Appropriation Bill during the review process by the National Assembly, adding that in the following year, it increased to 6,462 projects across 37 mother ministries and 340 MDAs, while in 2024, 7,447 insertions amounting to a staggering N2.24 trillion were found in the budget.
“While the constitution grants the National Assembly the authority to appropriate funds, it often modifies the executive’s proposed budget to distort its original intent and disconnect it from the nation’s long-term development agenda.
“Many inserted projects usually lack proper conceptualisation, design, and cost estimation, undermining their effectiveness and feasibility. We believe that the legislature must exercise this power with the utmost responsibility. This responsibility, which cannot be overstated, entails ensuring resource efficiency, eliminating waste, and aligning budgetary decisions with the nation’s long-term economic development goals,” BudgIT said.
The group told the lawmakers “to prioritise national interest over personal or parochial considerations and ensure that the approved budget stimulates economic activities and macroeconomic stability, allocates resources to foster economic growth and development, equitably distributes resources to reduce poverty and inequality, and caters to the most vulnerable Nigerians.”
The non-inclusion of the project in this year’s budget estimates has caused a lot of controversy as questions were being raised about the funding of the project expected to gulp N16 trillion.
The Federal Government has declared that the projected would be undertaken through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
In February of last year, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a N1.07 trillion contract for the construction of the first phase of the project, with the Minister of Works Dave Umahi saying the pilot phase covers a 47.47-kilometre dual carriageway of five lanes on each side and a train track in the middle.
He said the FEC on October 30 approved the procurement of the project under the EPC+F (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing) and in favour of High Tech Construction African Limited.
Umahi said, “They already have started searching for the funding, but hitches here and there. And so, the ministry had to go back to Mr President to ask for two things, and that was on January 18. We asked, can we fast-track this?
“Since this project was going to be procured in two phases and multiple sections, can we get the federal government to fund phase one, which is what is 47.47 kilometres running from Ahmadu Bello in Lagos down to Lekki Deep Seaport? Mr. President graciously approved.
“Today, we have procured the first section, which is 47.47 kilometres, under 10 lanes and FEC graciously approved the contract for N1.067tn with no objection.”
