105km Pavement Of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway For Completion November – Umahi

The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has said the main pavement of the first 105 kilometres of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be completed by November 2026.

Umahi disclosed this on Tuesday while receiving the report of the Northwest leg of the Nationwide Federal Roads Project Tour conducted by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led by its President, Akinteye Afeez.

The minister said the pace of work on the coastal highway was unprecedented, noting that construction was still ongoing on bridges along sections one and two of the project.

“And so, the speed on that coastal highway is unprecedented. We are still building bridges in these sections, one and two. Even though for this Section 1, the bridges in Section 1 are part of the Section 2 project.

“But for the main pavement, 105 kilometres, the main pavement will be completed by November this year. This is very, very important,” Umahi said.

The minister also expressed concern about the destruction of infrastructure along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, particularly around the Apapa axis, warning that vandalism could undermine the benefits of major government infrastructure investments.

“I wept when I saw the level of destruction under the bridge in Apapa axis. People even pass through the piers, with trailers high over them, to get from one point to another. This mind-boggling damage, this is unacceptable,” he said.

Umahi said the destruction of infrastructure, including the cutting of metals and damage to blockworks, should not be regarded as development, stressing that public infrastructure represents the country’s future.

“That is not development, and to put the blame on the general public, that’s not development,” he said.

The minister spoke after NANS presented its findings from the Northwest leg of its nationwide inspection of federal road projects across Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Sokoto states.

In its report, the students’ body said the tour was undertaken to physically assess federal road projects, particularly those providing access to tertiary institutions and student communities, and to give feedback based on firsthand observations.

NANS said it inspected several major roads, including the Kano-Kwanar Danja-Hadejia Road, Kano Northern Bypass, Kano-Maiduguri Road, Kano-Katsina Road, Kaduna-Kano Road, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, Zaria-Funtua-Sokoto Road, Mando-Birnin Gwari Road, Sokoto-Badagry Road and Illela-Dukamaje Road.

The association specifically recommended the construction of a pedestrian bridge at the Federal Co-operative College in Kaduna along the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano route to improve students’ safety.

Responding to the request, Umahi directed his officials to take note of the recommendation and promised that the pedestrian bridge would be constructed.

“The pedestrian bridge you requested, I want my director to take note of it. We will do it,” he said.

He added that the ministry would increasingly consider direct access to tertiary institutions in future road projects, saying, “I have also taken special note of our future investment in our road construction to ensure that, where possible, we should put spurs leading to our campuses.”

Umahi cited ongoing pedestrian bridge projects at the University of Abuja and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, as examples of the ministry’s response to requests concerning students’ safety.

NANS, in its report, said it was impressed by the scale, spread, quality and pace of federal road projects inspected across the Northwest.

The association said several of the roads were strategically important to students because they connect tertiary institutions with surrounding communities and major cities.

It described the Kano Northern Bypass as particularly significant because of its connection to 10 tertiary institutions across the region, while the Kano-Maiduguri Road was identified as an important route serving communities and institutions, including Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil.

The students also commended the reconstruction of the 122.89-kilometre Mando-Birnin Gwari Federal Highway in Kaduna State, describing it as strategically important for inter-state connectivity.

Umahi said the federal government was committed to completing ongoing projects, adding that President Bola Tinubu was “very intentional” about ensuring their completion.

“All these projects, some are completed as you have noticed, some are ongoing. That Mr President is very intentional in getting all of them completed. They’ll all be completed,” he said.

The minister also urged Nigerians to protect public infrastructure, arguing that the destruction of roads, bridges and other facilities undermines the country’s development.

He said the NANS inspection was important because it gave students firsthand knowledge of government projects rather than relying solely on information presented through official channels.