Shanties, Caravan Owners Along Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road Won’t Be Compensated — Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has cautioned that shanty dwellers and caravan owners along the shorelines of the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal road project won’t be compensated by the federal government.

He noted that only those with permanent structures will be compensated during the course of demolition for the road project.

Umahi disclosed this while addressing a stakeholders meeting on Lagos-Calabar highway project alongside with property owners seeking for compensation on the planned demolition of houses along the coastal highway project.

The Minister also stressed that he inherited over 2,600 projects from the past administration, adding that the incumbent government in its efforts to bolster infrastructure milestones appropriated funds for the projects in the 2024 budget towards completion.

He added that the Ministry of Works has a funding gap of N2.7 trillion while maintaining that the president was committed to closing the gaps with the prudency to drive project completion across the country.

The Minister buttressed that the project will cost a tentative sum of N15.356 trillion and will be completed before eight years.

“In appropriation and procurement, what is in the appropriation may not necessarily be what is in the procurement but the most important thing is that it is appropriated for and it followed with due process.

“The due process is that we did our in-house evaluation of what we submitted. Some people said that this project is PPP (Public-Private Partnership), it is not PPP. It is EPC+F, which is Engineering, Procurement, Construction plus Finance. In EPC+F, there is a commitment in terms of funds from the Federal Government, depending on the negotiation,” he said.

Umahi stated that when you develop infrastructure, it brings down inflation and makes the economy viable to attract foreign direct investment around the economic corridors.

He added that the coastal project is viable and poised to interconnect states and stretch into Eastern and Southern regions of the country while stressing that the returns on investment of the coastal highway project will attract tourist attraction, commerce, water transportation, factories, hotels, and real estate development.

Umahi assured that the federal government will compensate qualified owners of facilities and structures along the coastal road project while stressing that the coastal road belongs to the government.