Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticized Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, following the minister’s heated exchange with Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni, which went viral earlier in the week.
Speaking at an event on Friday, Governor Makinde defended the journalist’s line of questioning, accusing Umahi of “dancing around the cost” of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
“They asked a minister how much the coastal road costs, and you (Umahi) are dodging the question, saying one kilometre differs from another. So, what is the average cost?” Makinde asked.
He went on to provide examples from his own administration’s projects for comparison:
“When we constructed the Oyo–Iseyin road, it cost about ₦9.99 billion—nearly ₦10 billion—for roughly 34 or 35 kilometres, which is about ₦238 million per kilometre.
For the Iseyin–Ogbomoso road, which is 76 kilometres, we spent about ₦43 billion, averaging ₦500 million per kilometre. That included two bridges—one over the Ogun River and another at the Ogbomoso end,” he explained.
Umahi’s clash with Oseni began when the journalist requested a breakdown of the Lagos-Calabar project cost per kilometre. The minister, visibly irritated, dismissed the question, claiming the matter was too technical.
“These are elementary questions. A process is ongoing, payments have been made, and you’re asking how the money has been utilised? The funds are tied to project progress and are released based on completed work,” Umahi said.
He further argued that the cost per kilometre could not be uniform, adding:
“How can you ask for a cost per kilometre? Each kilometre differs. Keep quiet and stop speaking on what you don’t understand. I’m a professor in this field. You know nothing about engineering.”
Oseni, unfazed by the minister’s remarks, responded calmly:
“Minister, that’s fine. Keep dignifying yourself and let the world see who you truly are.”
