ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to disregard criticism surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and instead allocate more funds to infrastructure projects across the country.
Umahi made the appeal on Thursday during the official commissioning of the Deep Sea Port Access Road in Lagos, amid mounting scrutiny over the cost and transparency of the expansive 700km highway project.
“I want to assure you, sir, that the international financiers have given you kudos because they say the project is even undervalued. I commend you very highly, and I am grateful for the support,” Umahi said.
“Sir, don’t listen to people. Give us more money; we will deliver all these projects, sir. We will deliver,” he added.
His comments followed growing concerns from the public and civil society over the financial and technical aspects of the ambitious coastal highway initiative.
Defending the project’s valuation and complexity, Umahi challenged the basis of such criticism.
“This highway… tell me the cost of a kilometre. What can you quantify as the cost of a kilometre when you have a section of 10km that has a bit of 10 to 20 metres and you compare it to another section with good soil?” he asked.
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“When people gather counsel without knowledge… Your Excellency, I am a Fellow of the Society of Engineers, and I understand the figures; I understand this work,” he asserted.
The minister expressed confidence that the project would proceed on schedule. “I want to thank you for commissioning the first 30km, and I reassure you that this first section will be completed by December. We shall toll it, and Section 2 will also be close to completion. I commend the contractor very highly.”
In his address, President Bola Tinubu echoed the minister’s stance, urging him to stay focused and dismiss detractors of the highway project.
“I appeal to you, David (Umahi): don’t listen to those critics; they don’t know what they’re talking about. If they don’t like the road or it’s too expensive, toll it for them,” President Tinubu said.
“If they don’t like the road, they can use Idumota. We will not stop building the needed infrastructure for economic development,” he declared.
Umahi, during the event, also presented the newly completed Deep Sea Port Access Road a 27km two-lane reinforced concrete project to the president.
“Today, I present to you the completed 27km by two-lane reinforced concrete access road – the Deep Sea Port Access Road. This road is very important. It will serve the deep-sea port so that all the challenges we faced with Apapa Port will be a thing of the past, using this place,” Umahi said.
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The event featured detailed updates from the minister on various completed and ongoing road projects nationwide.
Among the dignitaries in attendance were business magnate Aliko Dangote, Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, and several other high-profile guests.
In a symbolic gesture during the ceremony, Dangote named the main road leading to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos after President Tinubu, in recognition of his contributions to infrastructural development.
Dangote revealed that the Deep Sea Port Access Road is “one of eight major projects totalling 500km, including two in Borno State that will link Nigeria to both Chad and Cameroon.”
He added that the newly commissioned road stretches through Epe–Ijebu-Ode and connects to the Sagamu–Benin Expressway, forming a critical artery for logistics and trade in the region.