Coastal Highway: CSOs, Experts Score Tinubu High

Civil society organisations, opposition party figures and key stakeholders in the Nigerian business community have commended the federal government on the quality of work being done on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to infrastructure development and economic growth.

The stakeholders, impressed by the level and quality of work done so far, spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a project tour in Lagos.

According to them, Nigerians must rise above politics to support developmental efforts such as the coastal highway project, especially by verifying the quality of work and substantial economic benefits.

During the tour, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, disclosed that the first section of the 750km highway project, which covers the stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, to Eleko, Lagos, would be completed by May 2026.

Umahi expressed satisfaction with Hi-Tech’s work so far, noting that 35km had been completed, with 12km left for Section 1 of the project.

Otunba Segun Showunmi, a policy expert, chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, and convener of The Alternative, said, “You cannot develop a nation without a long-term plan. You cannot sustain a long-term strategy in a multi-party democracy without building 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 country.

“When you look at countries like Singapore, India and the 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 a model after other globally competitive economies.”

“Nigerians must get the courage to build the kind of things that will position it as a country to turn the corner and go full throttle in investing in legacy infrastructure projects that will transform the economy,” he added.

Olufemi Awoyemi, chairman of Proshare Group, a leading financial information hub in Nigeria, noted that the coastal highway project was a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing.

“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,” Awoyemi noted.

One of the leaders of about 20 civil society organisations represented during the tour, Declan Ihekaire, said he was happy to have been invited to join the Minister on the project tour.

He said the work done so far and Nigerians must commend its quality.

“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.

While briefing the press, the Minister of Works reinforced the value of concrete in building durable roads and was satisfied with its deployment for the coastal road.

He says emerging economies like India have used concrete to build enduring roads.

Umahi noted that the project’s first section covered 47km of the coastal highway, while work had already commenced on the second section.

He said this would continue from Eleko, Lagos, to Ode-Omi, Ogun State.

“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 $200 million 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 stated.

However, he assured stakeholders that periodic briefings and engagements with the media would provide updates on the coastal highway project’s progress.

Apart from the 750-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, the Minister listed the other three legacy projects designed to connect the entire country: the 477-kilometre Trans-Saharan Highway traversing Calabar, Ebonyi, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, and the FCT; the 422-kilometre Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Expressway; and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.

“We will continue to reiterate that roads and bridges are the infrastructure that builds 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 demonstrated it when he was Governor of Lagos State. 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.