Controversy has trailed the Federal Executive Council (FEC)’s approval of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project to Hitech Constructions.

During its Monday meeting, FEC discussed, among other matters, the contract for road networks connecting Lagos to Calabar in Cross River State.

By the time the meeting was over, the council had given Dave Umahi, minister of works, the go-ahead to award the contract to the contractor.

This development raised suspicions on social media, as some users drew up a September 2023 report claiming the ministry had already awarded the contract to the company owned by Gilbert Chagoury, an affiliate of President Bola Tinubu.

CLAIM: FEC duplicated the Lagos-Calabar road contract award to Hitech Constructions.

An X user, @Oserume1, tweeted a screenshot of the September 25, 2023, report to juxtapose Monday’s report. This tweet, as of press time, had gained 71,900+ views, over a thousand likes and over 900 retweets.

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Commenting, the user claimed the government was re-awarding the contract.

VERIFICATION: FIJ reviewed news reports from September 25, 2023, and found that while some platforms reported the contract award, the ministry denied it on the same day.

Lere-Adams Blessing, the ministry’s director of information, press & public relations, denied the claims at the time and said both parties were still in talks.

Beyond this report, FIJ checked to see why the works ministry needed FEC approval to award the contract.

We found that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) gives the FEC powers to approve contracts that exceed N500 million.

Some have described this practice as unconstitutional. Femi Falana (SAN), a human rights lawyer, has maintained a vocal stance against the practice, but it continues.

The practice means that it was constitutionally impossible for the ministry to award the contract without FEC’s approval.

VERDICT: The claim that the FEC duplicated the contract could not be substantiated.