Unveiling the controversy surrounding Nigeria’s new coastal highway project. Will it boost the economy or create regional friction? Find out here! | Read More on Blitzedia.com
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, the former governor of Ebonyi state, has alleged that Peter Obi, was inciting the people of the South East (Igbo) against the Federal Government on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project. Dave Umahi claims that Peter Obi is exploiting the issue of the coastal highway for political gain.
Umahi said this while speaking at the event organized to compensate the affected owners of demolished structures to create a pathway for the project in Lagos on Wednesday. The coastal highway, a major infrastructure project, promises to connect the economic hubs of Nigeria’s coasts.
However, its construction has been a subject of controversy with critics arguing that it disproportionately favors certain regions over others in Nigeria.
Dave Umahi further claims that Peter Obi is among these critics steering up resentment among the Igbo community. But the major question here is,
is this a genuine concern for region equality or a calculated move to score more political points in the next general elections in 3 years time?
To fully comprehend the depth of these claims of the Minister of works, we must delve into the historical context;
The Igbo people, one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic group, have long felt marginalized by the federal government. Their grievances date back to the Nigeria’s civil war in the late 60s; a conflict that left deep cited resentment and mistrust. Fast forward to the present day and these tensions are coming to the fore, once again.
Peter Obi, a prominent Igbo politician is being accused of fanning these flames of discontent Dave Umahi expresses that Pater Obi is using the coastal highway project as a rallying cry to provoke the igbo community against the federal government.
He maintained that Obi had been a critic since President Bola Tinubu’s administration embarked on the project, describing it as a “job-losing one and misplaced priority.”
Recall that Obi tweeted on his handle that Tinubu is creating more unemployment and destroying investments that paid taxes, as the Landmark Beach Resort, worth $200 million, was adversely affected.
The former Anambra governor lamented that thousands of jobs are about to be lost, with over 100,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector facing imminent extinction, along with 80 small businesses and their 4,000 mostly youth employees.
However, Umahi countered Obi, saying that he had done a similar thing when he was governor of Anambra state and did not compensate the affected individuals.
He noted that Obi was only inciting some unsuspecting residents of the South-East against Tinubu’s government, cautioning him to desist from such.
The former Ebonyi state governor said, “It brings to some of the comments made by my brother, his Excellency Mr Peter Obi; I am not supposed to comment about it because some people have already done the work.
“And I know what Arise Television brought courtesy of Channels Television; they were bringing similar scenarios when His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, ‘Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.’ That’s what he said.
“But look at me, by the human face of the Renewed Hope agenda administration, we are even paying for people who are illegally staying on the coastal line and don’t have valid infrastructure and valid documents. “When you condemn people, you bring judgment upon yourself. And that is what he (Obi) has done. And I think he’s inciting some of the people in the southeast who are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble. And he doesn’t go to fight for them. Wisdom is a defense. And I want our people to have wisdom because I am involved.
“There’s is no inhumanity meted to Landmark, that matters should be buried because I was there. And so we fought everything possible. Some people even donated property to save his two big infrastructures. That’s appreciation. But some people have taken sides along with him to play politics,” he added.
Earlier, Maryanne, the wife of the presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party in the 2019 general elections, Kingsley Moghalu, had advised investors to shelve investing in Lagos State, adding that doing that would be at their own peril.
She had since faced backlashes from raging Nigerians, including former presidential aide Reno Omokri, who consider the message spiteful and bigotry.
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