ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has assured the people of Ondo State that the construction of the 63-kilometre portion of the Lagos/Calabar coastal highway in the state will commence in November 2024 when the ongoing designing of the road ends.
Umahi dropped this hint during a town hall meeting and stakeholder engagement organised by the Federal Ministry of Works.
He emphasised that the road is a legacy project which will include partnering with the states for investments in tourism, housing, industries as well as wind energy.
Umahi insisted that those antagonizing the project are ignorant and doing so in bad light.
The minister lamented that about 2,000 road projects running into N13 trillion naira, and about N1.6 trillion owed to contractors were met by the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
He also disclosed that 10 contracts have been terminated by the ministry for non-performance by the construction companies.
“We have terminated over ten contracts of big companies and we have the mind to terminate more and you can’t dictate for us we will tell you what we want,” he said.
“Our books are very much open. We will conclude the design (for Ondo State) within the month of November and we will inaugurate it.
“We have directed that all federal road controllers should give us details of roads within their domain, whether awarded or not so that by this Christmas, all federal high roads will be motorable.
“We are coming back after your election to start the Aiyetoro project which will get started after these ones.
“Nigerians should be grateful that we have a listening president. He is committed to all sectors. This country still has a lot of potential.”
In his address, the Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commended President Tinubu for the legacy project that will transform the socioeconomic life of Nigerians.
He explained that the coastal highway project is not political, noting that it has commenced in other Lagos and Calabar.
Aiyedatiwa said: “He (Tinubu) is supporting us economically. I want to thank you for all the other projects in the country.
“This project will be of huge benefit to us. That is why we are going to cooperate with the Federal Government and the contractors.”
Other speakers at the town hall meeting see it as a long-term investment that will boost the economy of the states involved and the nation as a whole.
The over 700 kilometre Lagos/Calabar coastal highway commenced in March 2024 at Victoria Island, Lagos. It traverses through Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom, and terminates in Cross River State; connecting the South West with the South-South region of Nigeria. It is scheduled to be completed in eight years.
