Works Minister David Umahi has said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway may not be completed if President Bola Tinubu does not win a second term in 2027.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Umahi described the 750-kilometre project as Tinubu’s initiative and said its completion depends on continuity in government.
“If President Tinubu does not come back in 2027, God forbid, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be gone,” he said.
The minister dismissed claims that the project had been dropped in favour of the East-West Road. He said Tinubu had approved the reconstruction of an additional 400 kilometres of the East-West Road, from Edo State to Cross River State.
According to him, the President directed that the coastal highway should follow the existing East-West Road corridor instead of opening new alignments.
Umahi blamed the route changes on difficult terrain in Ondo State. He said construction pits there ran deeper than 100 metres, and that suitable sharp sand was not available for up to 300 metres.
Defending the cost
Responding to criticism over the project’s rising cost, Umahi said a standard two-lane federal highway along the coastal route costs about N7.5bn per kilometre.
He said Section One, which covers 47.47 kilometres, costs N1.067tn. He explained that the per-kilometre figure was derived by dividing the cost of the six-lane highway to arrive at the cost of a standard two-lane road.
The minister said the cost covers 100-year concrete pavement, shoreline protection, retaining walls, solar lighting, tree planting, flyovers, underpasses and sand filling.
He had put the cost at N4bn per kilometre in April 2024.
Umahi insisted that the coastal highway differs from a conventional road because of its terrain and construction requirements.
Reply to Donald Duke
Umahi also rejected claims by former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke that the project amounted to land grabbing. He questioned Duke’s position and defended the highway as part of Tinubu’s infrastructure plans.
He said motorists would be able to travel from Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos through Sections One, Two and part of Section Four into Ondo State by November.
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