The Young Advocates for Good Governance (YAGG), Ondo State chapter, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his reported comments on governors constructing flyovers, urging him to focus instead on what it described as more pressing national priorities.
The group also called on the President to halt what it termed massive spending on the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, arguing that the project is a misplaced priority when thousands of existing federal roads across the country remain in terrible condition.
In a statement made public on Friday, YAGG urged presidential aides to advise Tinubu against what it described as wasteful expenditure on the coastal highway.
According to the group, rather than faulting governors for investing in flyover projects, the President should first reassess some of his own policies.
It alleged that certain actions of the Federal Government were driven more by political considerations than genuine development and described them as an unnecessary drain on public resources.
YAGG also accused the Federal Government of channeling huge sums of money to a Minister allegedly to destabilise a State and undermine the political interests of a sitting Governor, insisting that such actions contribute nothing to governance and only divert scarce resources from projects that directly benefit Nigerians.
The group, however, praised Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, for commencing the 2.3-kilometre Oba-Adesida Flyover in Akure, expressing confidence that the project would ease traffic congestion, attract investments, create jobs and stimulate economic activities in the State capital.
It questioned why the same standard reportedly applied to state flyover projects was not extended to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
YAGG argued that the Federal Government would not need to spend even half of the estimated ₦15 trillion budgeted for the coastal road if it prioritised reconstructing existing federal highways across the country.
The group further claimed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was driven more by personal interest than economic necessity.
It also alleged that there was no record of a competitive bidding process before the contract was awarded to HITECH Construction Company Limited, a firm it claimed is widely believed to be owned by an ally of the President.
According to YAGG, it is difficult to justify embarking on such a costly project at a time when Nigeria is facing economic challenges and thousands of kilometres of federal highways have deteriorated into death traps.
The group asked whether the President or state governors should be more concerned about avoiding wasteful public spending.
It urged the Federal Government to concentrate on rehabilitating existing roads used daily by millions of Nigerians instead of committing huge resources to projects whose economic value, it claimed, remains questionable.
YAGG added that leaders at every level of government must ensure public funds are managed responsibly and invested in projects that directly improve the lives of citizens.