Ondo Communities Draw Battle Line With Umahi Over Alleged Marginalisation In Coastal Highway Project

Members of Ilaje communities in Ondo State have drawn a battle line with the minister of Works, David Umahi, over an alleged marginalisation of their areas from the Calabar -Lagos Coastal Highway project.

The communities through their Committee of Lawyers and Stakeholders in Ondo State, at a press briefing held in Lagos, yesterday, alleged the marginalisation of the coastal areas from the legacy project of the Bola Tinubu administration.

They warned that the action would indirectly incur the wrath of the Ilaje communities.

The spokesman of the group, Dr Benson Enikuomehin, said what the minister of works was doing to the communities was an injustice and a violation of the provisions of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which forbids the discrimination of a people in respect of their ethnic group, stressing that it must be addressed immediately.

Enikuomehin asked which offence the communities committed against the minister that made him to bypass them in the construction of the road.

According to him, it is well known that, of all the coastal states in Nigeria, that Ondo State has, unarguably, the longest coastline, at about 80–100km.

He maintained that the group’s action is a prelude to further action and that they would explore all options to correct the injustice, with legal action as the last resort.

“It is therefore reasonable that the Coastal Highway will pass through the coastline communities of Ondo State before getting to Delta State and on through the other states to Calabar.

He stated that the argument put up by the Minister of Works that constructing the road through the coastal areas in Ondo State is more expensive is not tenable.

“Available records and data reveal that the coastal road has now assumed a new name as “Inland Highway Road” when it comes to the Ondo State communities. This is courtesy of the Minister of Works and his Ministry.

The road now passes through Oke-Upare in Ondo State, linking communities in Ovia North and Ovia West in Edo State, and accommodating the Gelegele community in Edo State, which is about 10–20km from the coastline. It is not in dispute that Edo State does not have a single coastal community that borders the sea.’’

Enikuomehin said the Federal Ministry of Works and the Minister have argued that the cost of constructing the road through these Ilaje communities is exorbitant.

“It has been erroneously canvassed that it will cost the Federal Government of Nigeria more money if the road were to traverse through the coastline of Ondo State, which is the Ilaje communities. This lame argument is against the weight of evidence in respect of the road.”

He maintained that available and indisputable facts reveal that navigating the road through Ugbonla in Ondo State to Escravos in Delta (on a straight line) will take about 60 – 75km, whereas the detour to inland in Edo from Ebute-Ipare-Ovia North, Ovia West – Gelegele in Edo State to Warri in Delta is about 130 – 150km.