The Federal Government has defended the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, dismissing calls by some political opponents to halt construction and insisting that the project is already delivering economic benefits.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made the remarks during a stakeholders’ meeting on the highway project in Lagos, where he said visible economic activities along the corridor demonstrated that the investment was already transforming livelihoods.
According to Umahi, the project is creating employment opportunities, boosting commerce and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth. He noted that workers, suppliers, food vendors and other businesses were already benefiting from the construction activities.
The minister also said the concrete highways being constructed under the Tinubu administration could qualify for carbon credits because of their lower heat emissions, while the use of solar-powered streetlights and extensive tree planting would further support climate financing initiatives.
He explained that the completed highway would shorten travel time between states, improve connectivity and enhance commercial activities across the region.
Umahi stated that infrastructure development remains the backbone of national growth, arguing that investments in roads and other public works support every other sector of the economy. He disclosed that the administration inherited 2,068 ongoing projects valued at about ₦13 trillion in 2023 and had continued executing them despite economic challenges.
The minister also warned residents against dumping refuse or blocking drainage channels along the highway corridor, describing such actions as economic sabotage and a criminal offence.
He urged supporters of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to actively defend the administration’s infrastructure achievements against what he described as misinformation, maintaining that the President had demonstrated courage in pursuing major reforms and infrastructure development simultaneously.
