The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has urged people of the Niger Delta to vote for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election, saying their support is necessary for the completion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Umahi said this while inspecting Section 4B of the highway in Ondo State, according to a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Minister made the call while responding to concerns raised by former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, that the coastal highway might not progress beyond Epe in Lagos State.
Umahi dismissed the concern, saying construction had already moved beyond Lagos and was ongoing in five states.
“It is up to Niger Delta people to speak up for this project. They should defend it. They should defend the President. They must vote for the President to complete it,” he said.
The Minister said work was progressing on different sections of the highway in Ogun, Ondo, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is already on. We have sailed past Lagos that my brother Donald Duke talked about.
“We are on in Ogun – 28 kilometres of dual carriageway. We are on in Ondo – 52 kilometres of dual carriageway. We are also on in Calabar – 27 kilometres. In Akwa Ibom, the first section is about 47 kilometres. Those ones are over 60 per cent done,” Umahi said.
He added that construction had commenced on the longest stretch of the project, a 180-kilometre dual carriageway section in Akwa Ibom State.
Umahi described the coastal highway as one of the flagship infrastructure projects of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying it would connect states along the corridor while creating jobs and stimulating economic activities.
“Roads mean employment. In this section alone, Hitech has employed over 1,000 people. Direct and indirect jobs are springing up.
“Anywhere we are working, you will see security presence. We also have local vigilantes working with them. It is opening up commerce, agriculture and education,” he said.
The Minister also defended the alignment of the highway against allegations that it had been altered to favour private estates.
He explained that the original coastal route was abandoned because of technical difficulties, including deep soil deposits of up to 50 metres and the need to build three bridges measuring about 3.5 kilometres each across ocean channels.
“That option was not feasible. It would have been too expensive,” Umahi said.
On the funding of the project, the Minister described the coastal highway as one of the most transparent infrastructure projects undertaken by the Federal Government.
He said Deutsche Bank, which is financing Section 1 of the project, had described the design and construction as being “in perfection” and had oversubscribed the loan facility by $100m.
Umahi commended Hitech Construction Company for the quality of its work and its engagement with host communities, expressing confidence that the project would be completed as promised by Tinubu.
“Under President Tinubu, this country will be rebuilt. The roads he is building now will last for the next 100 years without reconstruction,” he said.
The Minister urged Nigerians to continue to offer constructive criticism, stressing that the administration remained open to feedback aimed at improving governance.
