Hon. Niyi Akingunola, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Ondo East/Ondo West Federal House of Representatives seat, has questioned the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, over his decision to reroute the Ondo Coastal Highway away from Ondo State.
In a statement he personally signed, Akingunola alleged that Umahi’s decision to divert or modify the highway’s route away from the Ondo State coastline midway through project implementation violates the Appropriation Act and public procurement regulations. He likened the move to shifting the goalposts in the middle of a game.
He argued that it is illegal for a procuring entity to vary a project’s design and cost during implementation without recourse to the National Assembly, which approved the project in the first place.
Akingunola stressed that the coastal highway’s original design followed the necessary appropriation and procurement guidelines, leading to the issuance of a Certificate of No Objection by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and final budget approval by the National Assembly. He maintained that any alteration or modification must follow the constitutional and regulatory procedures that governed the original approval.
Akingunola also stated that the basis for the issuance of the Certificate of No Objection by the BPP included a valid Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME), an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a Cost Estimate (CE).
He said: “For Minister David Umahi to come back to query or disown regulatory documents produced solely by himself and without duress is a great disservice to the people of Ondo State and the country at large.”
He added: “Before any project modification can be allowed to succeed under any guise, and in this context, a new Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Cost Estimate (CE) must be generated and sent to the BPP for onward transmission to the National Assembly for reappropriation. Anything short of this is, in its entirety, a breach of the Appropriation Act and extant procurement regulations.”
Akingunola called on Ondo State indigenes and members of the National Assembly to insist that Umahi adhere strictly to the rule of law to safeguard the collective interests of the people regarding the coastal highway project.
He outlined the potential benefits of the coastal highway to Ondo State’s economic wellbeing, including a reduction in travel time by about one to two hours, improved agriculture and food security, tourism development, growth of the blue economy, increased trade and industrial development, and better access to ports and wider markets.
He urged the minister to respect the aspirations of Ondo State residents and ensure that their interests are protected at all times and at all levels.
Akingunola also rejected Umahi’s explanation that the original route crossed terrain with pits more than 100 metres deep, which would have significantly increased construction costs. He argued that the terrain should have been identified during the project’s feasibility studies and reflected in relevant regulatory documents, including the BEME and Bill of Quantities (BoQ).
He further maintained that impact assessments should guide decisions about public infrastructure, arguing that cost alone should not prevent the government from providing public goods. He also pointed to Ondo State’s oil-producing status, saying its people should benefit from the resources generated from the state rather than be excluded from a project on cost grounds.
