The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has dared President Bola Tinubu to “disclose the full cost” of the Lagos-Calabar highway project.

Atiku in a statement yesterday said that the Tinubu administration could not continue to keep silent on how much public funds would be spent on the project at a time when Nigeria was still facing dire economic challenges.

The Federal Government recently announced the start of construction on the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, revealed this in a statement last week by his Special Adviser on Media, Orji Uchenna, in Abuja.

However, querying the contractor, the former vice president, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, questioned the current administration’s decision to award the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.

He also wondered why the Tinubu administration released N1.06tn for the pilot phase, or six per cent of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.