The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has assured that President Bola Tinubu will deliver the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway as promised.
Speaking on Thursday while inspecting ongoing construction at the Ondo section of the highway in Ilaje LGA, the minister said he believes the criticisms trailing the project are driven by envy.
Responding particularly to recent comments by former Cross River governor, Donald Duke on the completion of the project, Umahi said Tinubu, whom he described as “the man who tamed the Atlantic Ocean”, would deliver the highway as scheduled.
“However, some of the issues he raised require clarification. When he said the Coastal Highway would never go beyond Epe, I respectfully disagree,” Umahi said.
“He also said the project was not a priority. Yet, this Coastal Highway was conceived years ago, but it could not be implemented because of funding constraints and other challenges.
“Those attacking the Coastal Highway are, in my view, motivated by envy because they never believed this president could deliver it.
“The man who tamed the Atlantic Ocean is capable of delivering this project. I call him a divine President.”
The minister said section one, spanning 7.47 kilometres from Victoria Island to Elepe village, has been completed, while section two, a 50-kilometre stretch from Lagos to the Ogun border, is about 70 per cent complete.
He added that sections 3A and 3B, covering about 67 kilometres, are about 30 percent complete.
Umahi said section four covers about 82 kilometres, extending from Ogun into Ondo state, while section five, which spans about 180 kilometres in Akwa Ibom, is expected to be the longest section of the project.
“We have another 100-kilometre section beginning at the end of the Ondo section, which is currently at the design stage. What will remain afterwards are the sections through Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States,” he said.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, had stated that Duke was “arguing against reality” by claiming the highway would not extend beyond Lagos and by questioning the project’s priority.
In a post on his verified X account, the presidential aide said: “Former Governor Donald Duke, who wants to become President on the banner of an unviable political platform, has also joined the chorus of those saying the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will not go beyond Lagos State.
“I think politics makes a lot of people say things they don’t mean or believe. They just talk for the sake of talking or because of bad politics. There is actually no sense in arguing against reality.
“While Duke was saying on TV that the Coastal Highway won’t go beyond Epe, the project has reached Ogun State, and work is ongoing on the Ondo and Akwa Ibom State sections of the coastal road,” Ajayi said.
