Rhodes-Vivour Blasts Tinubu Over ‘Premature’ Coastal Road Commissioning

Lagos, Nigeria – The 2023 Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, condemning the recent commissioning of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road as a “premature” and “shameful” political stunt. Rhodes-Vivour asserts the ambitious 700-kilometre project is less than 5 percent complete, directly contradicting the fanfare surrounding its recent unveiling.

Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Rhodes-Vivour minced no words, stating, “Not only is it shameful to roll out the drums to commission less than 5% of a project, they still had to lie and spew propaganda about the so-called 30km.”

His criticism echoes sentiments previously raised by other groups. Reports from earlier this year indicated concerns about the pace of construction and land acquisition issues along the proposed route. For instance, the Ogoni group recently faulted the Federal Government over the commissioning of an incomplete Eleme section of the East-West road, highlighting a pattern of perceived premature project unveilings.

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The government, through the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has consistently maintained that construction is ongoing across various sections of the coastal highway, specifically mentioning Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states. However, Rhodes-Vivour’s strong remarks suggest a significant disconnect between official pronouncements and the reality on the ground.

The LP chieftain drew parallels between the coastal road commissioning and what he termed “previous instances of misinformation from government officials,” citing a recent example involving the Minister of Finance. “This is the same way the Minister of Finance went abroad to reel out fake data, only to be checkmated by data from the CBN days later. So embarrassing,” he added, implying a pattern of misleading public statements from the current administration.

Beyond infrastructure, Rhodes-Vivour also took aim at the government’s handling of national security. He lambasted the administration for “shamelessly promoting the ‘genius’ of the NSA” while insecurity continues to surge across the nation.

Rhodes-Vivour concluded his critique by accusing the ruling party of prioritizing political maneuvering and propaganda over effective governance. “A party fixated on politics and propaganda cannot govern effectively. That is why Nigerians are much poorer today than they were less than a decade ago,” he asserted, painting a bleak picture of the nation’s current economic and security landscape under the present leadership.

The latest salvo from Rhodes-Vivour intensifies the debate surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and raises further questions about the transparency and efficacy of the government’s major infrastructure initiatives.