David Umahi says the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway could be completed within three years, defending the project’s procurement and funding model

Minister of Works David Umahi has projected that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be completed within three years, potentially placing delivery around 2029 if the proposed timeline is achieved.

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Umahi gave the projection during an interview with Arise Television on Friday, October 23, while defending the Federal Government’s decision to prioritise major infrastructure projects despite concerns about the condition of existing federal roads.

Asked when the entire highway would be completed, the minister said the administration was working towards delivering the project within the proposed period.

“We have four years plus by God’s special grace. So we are looking at three years,” he said.

Umahi linked his confidence in the timeline to his faith in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“I believe that within the next three years plus, the president will be able to complete that project,” he added.

However, the minister did not provide a detailed construction schedule or completion dates for individual sections during the interview.

The 2029 timeframe therefore remains a projection rather than a confirmed delivery date.

The minister also defended the procurement process for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, acknowledging that the contract was awarded without public bidding but insisting that the process was lawful.

“There was no public bidding, but there was direct procurement. It’s within the law. That’s all I’ve just said,” he stated.

The highway is one of the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure projects, intended to improve connectivity between coastal communities and strengthen transport links along Nigeria’s southern corridor.

Its construction has attracted debate over procurement procedures, project costs, funding priorities and the use of public resources, particularly as motorists continue to face deteriorating conditions on existing federal roads.

Defending his ministry’s broader infrastructure programme, Umahi said about 17,000 kilometres of federal roads were being constructed or reconstructed, excluding major legacy projects.

“Out of about 35,000 kilometres of our federal roads, the one that is before me in the Ministry of Works, if you remove the few legacy projects we are constructing, we are constructing 17,000 kilometres of roads presently,” he said.

He added that the ministry had completed approximately 1,700 kilometres of roads since the administration took office, alongside more than six kilometres of flyovers, bridges and underpasses.

Umahi also argued that the government’s major legacy projects were not entirely new-road developments, saying some involved work on existing routes.

“I’ve said that the legacy projects are not entirely greenfield. And so that justification is that we are also reworking the existing roads within these four legacy projects,” he said.

Umahi said the legacy projects were designed to attract investment, with 30 per cent of funding coming from federal government companies and 70 per cent being loan-driven.

“These legacy projects are investment-driven because 30 per cent is from companies of the federal government and 70 per cent is loan-driven,” he stated.

He cited growing congestion along the Lagos corridor as another reason for building the coastal highway, warning that traffic could worsen without intervention.

“In the next five years, unless something is done in the corridor from VI to Lekki, it becomes, you know, a car park because of the congestion,” he said.

The minister also referred to plans for a seven-lane route as part of efforts to address traffic challenges in the area.

During the interview, Umahi defended a plan to engage 4,000 social media influencers to promote the administration’s projects, saying the initiative would be funded personally rather than through the Ministry of Works.

“Dave Umahi is funding, not Minister of Works, is funding influencers to advertise what I’m doing because I believe in what I’m doing. I believe in what the president is doing,” he said.

He added that the campaign would also promote Tinubu’s achievements across the country.

“I am funding 4,000 influencers to advertise what the president is doing and it’s a catalyst for campaigning for him all over Nigeria,” Umahi said.

Asked whether the influencers would support Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election and respond to criticism of the administration, the minister acknowledged that the initiative would also support the President politically.

Umahi further dismissed suggestions that his criticism of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was connected to his own presidential ambition, describing such speculation as disrespectful to Tinubu.

“I cannot wish the position of my boss. It is disloyalty and it’s unspiritual and disrespectful,” he said.

The minister said he hoped his legacy would be defined by infrastructure development, helping people and promoting the integration of the South-East into national politics.

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“My legacy will be the people I have made to laugh. The roads I have constructed, the people I have lifted up. And the region of South-East that I support being totally integrated,” he said.