Coastal Highway Project: CSOs, opposition leaders, experts give kudos to Tinubu

Civil society organisations, opposition figures, and economic experts have hailed the Federal Government over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, praising the quality of work delivered so far and the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to legacy infrastructure.

The commendations came on the sidelines of a project inspection tour in Lagos, led by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

Umahi disclosed that the first section of the 750km coastal highway, stretching from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, to Eleko, Lagos, would be completed by May 2026. 

According to him, 35km has already been delivered, with 12km remaining to finish Section 1 of the project.

A policy expert and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Segun Showunmi, said: “You cannot develop a nation without a long-term plan. You cannot sustain a long-term plan in a multi-party democracy unless you’re able to build consensus around development.

“To build consensus around development, it means you will listen with the intention of hearing, not just with the intention of criticising, and you will go and see with the intention of verifying…

“What I have seen so far today is commendable, I must tell you. Beyond our political ideological differences, we need to, as a nation, breathe in and out to explore how to achieve a consensus to develop our nation.

“When you look at countries like Singapore, India and UAE, their achievements have come through building consensus for national development. A nation at 65 must be in a hurry to link its infrastructure to model after other globally competitive economies.”

He added that Nigeria must muster the courage to invest in transformative infrastructure that would reposition its economy.

Chairman of Proshare Group, Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi, described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a test case for big-ticket projects. 

“This is an alternative, providing a primary route for cross-country connectivity, away from the current congestion, and a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing,” he said.

One of the CSO leaders present, Declan Ihekaire, said Nigerians should not hesitate to give credit when the government is doing the right thing. “We, as CSOs, must not condemn every time. When we see where they are getting it right, we should talk so that we encourage them. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of good initiatives are the people,” he said.

During the briefing, Umahi highlighted the durability of concrete roads, noting that emerging economies like India have successfully deployed the technology. He revealed that Section 1 of the project covers 47km, while construction on Section 2 from Eleko, Lagos, to Ode-Omi, Ogun State, has commenced.

“In executing this project, we saved properties like the Landmark Centre and evacuated refuse in the axis with a depth of 10m to carry out the work and align the concrete to the roads. I came to inspect the variations to the projects and the level of execution. We will also unravel the issues around the WinHomes and allegations of about $200m of diaspora investments in the real estate project. We will involve the EFCC and DSS to investigate the matter alongside civil society organisations,” the minister said.

He assured stakeholders of regular updates on the project’s progress.

Apart from the 750km coastal highway, Umahi listed other legacy projects under Tinubu’s administration, including the 477km Trans-Saharan Highway from Calabar through Ebonyi, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa to Abuja; the 422km Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Expressway; and the 1,068km Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.

“We will continue to reiterate that roads and bridges are the infrastructure that build the GDP of every nation. And it is from this that the GDP of other sectors will grow. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has this knowledge; he has demonstrated it when he was Governor of Lagos State and you can see that Lagos State is an economy within an economy. That is why we’re doing everything possible to support that, to develop infrastructure according to his vision and mission,” Umahi said.

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