Makinde Faults Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway Project, Advises Tinubu To Focus On Pressing Infrastructure
•Admin
IBADAN – PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has expressed excitement over the newly secured $1.26 billion funding for the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the deal will ensure the uninterrupted continuation of the landmark infrastructure project.
Tinubu made his remarks on Friday while commending the Federal Ministry of Finance for successfully closing the $1.26 billion financing arrangement for Phase 1, Section 2 of the highway.
He noted that the funding represents a significant step forward in the federal government’s infrastructure delivery agenda.
According to a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the financial deal as a critical milestone in the execution of the coastal road, which is expected to transform trade, transportation, and economic integration along Nigeria’s coastline and beyond.
Tinubu also applauded the Ministries of Finance and Works, as well as the Debt Management Office, for their collaborative efforts in structuring and concluding the transaction.
However, the project has drawn criticism from Oyo State Governor, engineer Seyi Makinde, who questioned the prioritisation of the coastal road amid other pressing infrastructure needs.
Makinde argued that trillions of naira are being committed to the project while major highways such as the Lagos–Ibadan axis, particularly the Lagos–Shagamu interchange which bears the heaviest traffic in the country, require urgent expansion and repairs.
He suggested that efficient inland road connectivity from Lagos through major cities to Calabar would be more practical than routing travel strictly along the coast.
Phase 1, Section 2 of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway spans about 55.7 kilometres, linking Eleko in the Lekki axis of Lagos State to Ode-Omi, a town on the boundaries of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states.