The presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Architect Peter Agada, has urged the National Assembly to summon the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over the reported ₦15.6 trillion cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Agada questioned the financial justification for the 770-kilometre road, calling on the Federal Government to provide a detailed explanation of how the project cost was calculated.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the YPP candidate argued that Nigerians deserved greater transparency in the financing and execution of major public infrastructure projects.
He described the reported cost as excessive and challenged the Ministry of Works to make public the financial and technical considerations behind the expenditure.
Agada maintained that a project of such magnitude should be subjected to thorough public scrutiny to establish whether the proposed spending represents value for money.
To support his concerns, the YPP candidate drew comparisons between the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and other major road corridors across Africa.
He claimed that Nigeria was spending approximately $11.2 billion on the 770-kilometre coastal road, while the estimated cost of the 10,000-kilometre Cairo-Cape Town Trans-African Highway was about $3 billion.
Agada also referred to the Cape Town-Dakar highway corridor, which he said covered between 11,000 and 11,500 kilometres and had an estimated cost of $4 billion to $5 billion.
He argued that the differences between these figures raised questions about the costing methodology adopted for the Nigerian project.
The figures cited were presented as Agada's claims, and the comparison did not establish whether the projects involved equivalent construction requirements, specifications or financing arrangements.
Beyond the financial concerns, Agada called for the publication of the Lagos-Calabar highway's cost per kilometre to allow Nigerians to assess the expenditure more closely.
He also demanded the release of the Environmental Impact Assessment report covering the mangrove areas along the proposed corridor.
According to him, constructing the highway through mangrove ecosystems and protected forest areas raises environmental questions that require clear explanations from the government.
The YPP candidate further asked the Ministry of Works to explain why the Federal Government selected the coastal alignment rather than the inland route identified in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's Trans-African Highway Master Plan.
He maintained that the choice of route, environmental implications and financial arrangements should be made available for public examination.
Agada also requested information on the standards and assumptions used in arriving at the overall project cost.
His appeal to the National Assembly centred on the need for legislative oversight and accountability in the management of public funds.
The YPP presidential candidate argued that Nigerians should have access to sufficient information to determine whether the project is being executed efficiently and at a reasonable cost.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has remained a subject of public debate over its financing, route selection and environmental implications.
Agada's latest intervention adds to calls for greater disclosure of the project's financial and technical details.
The source report did not include a response from Umahi, the Federal Ministry of Works or the National Assembly to the issues raised by the YPP candidate.