Former Lagos State ADC gubernatorial candidate Funso Doherty, through his lawyers, has served a pre-action notice to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), citing alleged violations of bidding processes in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Doherty posted this via his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, sharing two pictures.
One picture shows the pre-action notice, dated July 4, 2024, served to the BPP for awarding the N15 trillion project to Hitech without competitive bidding, contrary to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
The other picture, a statement dated March 15, 2024, announced his plan to serve pre-action notices to the BPP, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Attorney General of the Federation if they did not address violations of public procurement processes and environmental impact assessment requirements within 30 days.
“As you will recall, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works procured the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Hitech Construction Company Limited without open competitive bidding in flagrant breach of various sections 16 and 24 of the Public Procurement Act 2007 (the Act) including Sections 16 and 24 of the Public Procurement Act 2007,” the pre-action notice to the BPP read in part.
Details of the alleged violations
The alleged violations in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that Doherty seeks to take legal action against pertain to contraventions of the Public Procurement Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.
Regarding the Public Procurement Act 2007, Doherty’s X post stated that the Coastal Road project, estimated at over N15 trillion, was awarded to Hitech, a Chagoury Group company, without competitive bidding. This action violates Sections 5, 6, 16, 14(1), and 24 of the Act, especially amidst Nigeria’s severe economic challenges.
Concerning the Environmental Impact Assessment Act violations, Doherty argues that the ten-lane highway traverses 100km of coastal wetlands in Lagos, which provide natural water drainage and control.
Despite severe environmental hazards like flooding and related diseases affecting Lagosians, no environmental impact assessment has been published for this project, as required by law, Doherty’s statement shows.
What you should know
- The 700 km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement, with most risks borne by the contractor and the federal government providing counterpart funding.
- Construction began in March 2024, starting with the first phase, a 47.7 km stretch within Lagos State.
- The Minister of Works, David Umahi, previously disclosed that Section 2 of the project, which runs from Lekki Deep Seaport to the Dangote Refinery, is set to commence soon.
- Sections 3 and 4 of the coastal highway project will commence in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States once procurement, approvals, and other relevant processes are completed. Akwa Ibom State will benefit from 107 km of the road within its boundaries.
- Construction will proceed simultaneously on different subsections of the road in various states once the necessary approvals and processes for the subsequent sections are finalized.