Minister of Works David Umahi has accused critics of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway of being motivated by envy, saying they did not believe President Bola Tinubu’s administration could deliver the ambitious project.
Umahi made the comment while inspecting Sections 4A and 4B of the over 700-kilometre highway covering parts of Ogun and Ondo states.
The minister described the coastal highway as one of Tinubu’s landmark achievements and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to completing it. He said the project had been conceived years ago but was delayed by funding and other challenges.
Umahi also rejected allegations that the highway’s alignment was changed to favour owners of private estates. He maintained that the redesign was based strictly on engineering considerations and the need to overcome difficult terrain.
He explained that construction costs vary depending on the conditions encountered, citing areas where engineers had to remove up to 50 metres of peat before replacing it with suitable materials to reach the required design level.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Works Bello Goronyo said the N178bn Mando-Birnin Gwari Road project in Kaduna State would improve security, trade and economic activity along a major transport corridor connecting northern and southern Nigeria.
Goronyo said the road project reflects the Tinubu administration’s broader infrastructure agenda, aimed at expanding Nigeria’s road network, strengthening national integration and supporting economic growth.
Both ministers reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering durable infrastructure, with Umahi arguing that sustained investment of this scale over the past three decades could have significantly changed Nigeria’s development trajectory.
