Amid mounting public criticism over the cost and transparency of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to ignore detractors and instead bolster financial support for the country’s expanding infrastructure portfolio.
Speaking on Thursday, June 5, 2025, during the commissioning of the 27km Deep Sea Port Access Road in Lagos, Umahi praised the president’s commitment to infrastructure and claimed that international financiers had assessed the highway project as “undervalued.”
“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. Don’t listen to people. Give us more money; we will deliver all these projects, sir,” Umahi declared.
He pushed back against critics questioning the highway’s cost, citing technical complexities like varying soil conditions and reinforced engineering specifications. “Tell me the cost of a kilometre when you have a section with 10 to 20 metres of bad soil and compare it to good terrain. I’m a Fellow of the Society of Engineers. I understand these figures,” he argued.
Umahi assured the president that the first 30km section would be completed and toll-ready by December, with the second section also nearing completion.
President Tinubu, addressing the controversy directly in his remarks, echoed Umahi’s confidence and dismissed criticism of the highway project as unfounded. “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,” Tinubu quipped, adding, “If they don’t like the road, they can use Idumota.”
The president reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to infrastructure, describing it as essential to economic development.
The newly commissioned Deep Sea Port Access Road—built using reinforced concrete—was presented by Umahi as a major logistics upgrade, addressing longstanding bottlenecks at the Apapa Port.
Among dignitaries present at the commissioning were Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, and other top government officials.
In a symbolic gesture, Dangote named the main access road to the Dangote Refinery after President Tinubu, commending his contributions to infrastructural development. He also announced that the Deep Sea Port Access Road is part of eight ongoing major road projects across the country, spanning 500km and including critical links in Borno State connecting Nigeria to Chad and Cameroon.
The newly inaugurated road network, which stretches through Epe–Ijebu-Ode and links to the Sagamu–Benin Expressway, is expected to play a key role in regional trade and logistics.
