Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Tuesday, engaged in a heated exchange with ARISE News breakfast show anchor, Rufai Oseni, during a live broadcast of The Morning Show, as both clashed over the cost and details of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project and the controversy surrounding Winhomes Estate.
The disagreement began when the minister expressed displeasure over what he described as “damaging information” allegedly shared by the anchor during Monday’s edition of the programme. Umahi accused Oseni of misinforming the public about the project’s cost when a guest, Otunba Segun Showunmi, featured on the show.
“Before we proceed, I would like to talk about the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway because I listened to Otunba Segun Showunmi on the programme yesterday, and I was very displeased with a number of damaging information that Rufai dished out to the public,” Umahi said.
He faulted the journalist’s claim that he had struggled to provide accurate figures on the project, calling it “disrespectful.”
“Rufai was very wrong when he said that I was struggling to give figures on the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway cost. That is very disrespectful because this is my profession. I was in your studio, and I ran the figures from the take-off sheet and arrived at the cost,” he stated.
Umahi described the anchor’s request for a uniform cost per kilometre as “unreasonable,” insisting that such figures cannot be the same across sections of a major infrastructure project.
“What Rufai is asking me to do is to give him the cost per kilometre from section one at Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos down to Cross River, Calabar, and that is very unfortunate. There are no two sections of any road project where one kilometre costs the same as another,” the minister explained.
The minister added that 30 per cent of the project’s funding is naira-denominated, while 70 per cent is sourced externally.
According to him, “the non-naira component was put out to the public by a development bank, and the subscription was oversubscribed by $100 million because they said the cost of the coastal highway was very cheap.”
Umahi further accused Oseni of inciting the public with what he termed “misleading claims.”
“What Rufai said was very inciting, and I think he is very good at doing that. He should desist from it because it is actionable,” he warned.
The disagreement also extended to the Winhomes Estate issue, where the minister alleged that the ARISE anchor “deliberately refused to understand the truth.”
“The woman in charge of Winhomes development bought 12 hectares of land from the villagers in 2022 for ₦50 million — not in dollars. As of 2021, she had started selling, but the document I have shows she bought the land in 2022,” Umahi said, while questioning the legitimacy of the transactions.
Tensions escalated when Oseni alleged that the minister had reported him to President Tinubu. Umahi quickly dismissed the claim, saying, “You are too small for me to report you to the President. Who are you for me to report you?”
The exchange grew more heated as Oseni persisted with questions on the cost per kilometre of the highway.
“My question still persists as regards the per kilometre. You cannot tell me that we don’t have the right to know the cost per kilometre even if it’s an undulating landscape. Give us all the facts and details of the cost per kilometre,” Oseni insisted.
Visibly irritated, Umahi fired back, “Asking me to give the cost per kilometre is nonsensical. You don’t understand anything. I am a professor in this field.”
In response, Oseni asked, “What university gave you professorship in this field? I didn’t know you were Professor Umahi, Minister.”
Umahi replied, “I am a professor in practice. I understand engineering very well, and you have no knowledge of what you are asking me.”
As the conversation shifted back to the court case involving Winhomes Estate, Oseni queried why the minister would discuss a matter already before the court. Umahi maintained that his comments were based on facts at his disposal, insisting that Oseni’s position lacked understanding.
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