Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Has Moved Beyond Epe, Umahi Replies Donald Duke

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims by former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway may not extend beyond Epe, saying construction has already progressed beyond the area and is advancing simultaneously across several states.

Umahi made the clarification during an inspection of Section 4B of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Ondo State on Wednesday, according to a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze.

The minister said the flagship infrastructure project of President Bola Tinubu’s administration was making significant progress, creating jobs, improving security and opening new economic opportunities across the country.

Referring to Duke’s earlier comments on the project, Umahi said developments on the ground had disproved the former governor’s concerns.

“So the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is already on sail. And then so we have sail past Lagos that my brother Donald Duke talked about,” he said.

He disclosed that construction was ongoing in multiple states, with different sections already recording substantial progress.

“We are also on sail at Ogun, 28KM, on sail at Ondo, 52KM, all by two. We are already on sail in Calabar, 27km, and the Akwa Ibom, the first section of Akwa Ibom is about 47km. Those jobs are over 60 percent done. And we are on sail in the longest section of this Lagos-Calabar, that is at Akwa Ibom, 180km by two,” Umahi said.

The minister described the highway as more than a transportation project, saying it was generating employment, enhancing security and stimulating economic activities.

“Roads are source of employment. We’ve counted over one thousand people within this section employed by HITECH. It is creating a lot of direct and indirect jobs. It is also solving the problem of insecurity… It is opening a lot of corridor for commerce, for agriculture, for education,” he said.

Umahi welcomed criticism of the project but insisted it should be constructive.

“So if you want to criticize us, I’ve said it, criticize us constructively and offer alternatives,” he said.

He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to completing the highway, expressing confidence that the project would be delivered.

“According to the words of President Bola Tinubu, he said this project will be done. With God on his side, it will be done,” Umahi stated.

The minister also called on people of the Niger Delta to support the project, describing it as critical to the region’s long-term economic development.

“It is up to Niger Delta people to open their mouth and defend these projects. Of course, they should defend the project. They should defend the president. They must have to vote for the president to complete this project,” he said.

According to Umahi, opposition to the coastal highway does not represent the interests of the Niger Delta.

“Those who are attacking the coastal highway, they don’t have love for the Niger Delta people,” he added.

Addressing allegations that the road alignment was altered to benefit private estates, Umahi said the decision was based entirely on engineering and economic considerations.

He explained that the original coastal route encountered soil deposits as deep as 50 metres, making construction technically difficult and significantly more expensive. He added that the initial alignment would also have required bridges across three ocean channels of about 3.5 kilometres each.

“This is because the president wants Ministry of Works as much as possible to see how we minimize large ocean, body waters and then rivers. So we have to navigate it in compliance to the directive of the president that this must be realized,” he said.

Umahi described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as one of Nigeria’s most cost-effective infrastructure projects, citing positive assessments by international financiers.

“And this project is the most prudent project I’ve ever seen. When the Deutsche Bank people came to finance the first section, they said that the construction was in perfection. They said the design was in perfection, but the procurement, the cost was undervalued. And that’s why when they put it in the market, it was oversubscribed by 100m US dollars. And that is our bragging right as Minister of Works,” he said.

The minister also commended HITECH Construction Company for its quality of work and relationship with host communities.

“We commend very highly the doggedness of HITEC, the partnership of HITEC, the good spirit, the good work, and the community friendliness. It doesn’t matter what anybody with envy and jealousy say, you are our partners,” he said.

Umahi expressed confidence that President Tinubu’s infrastructure programme would leave a lasting legacy.

“And under President Bola Tinubu, this country shall be rebuilt. Every of this road that he’s constructing, for the next hundred years, maintenance free, we will not reconstruct it,” he added.