Osaretin Osadebamwen, Abuja
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has officially named Nigeria’s flagship legacy highway programme after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the projects are a testament to the President’s long-held vision to transform the country’s road infrastructure.
Umahi specifically named the Lagos Calabar highway stretching 700km after the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emphasizing that the road naming can come at any stage of completing.
Speaking during a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Umahi announced that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will bear President Tinubu’s name in recognition of what he described as the President’s commitment to delivering infrastructure that successive administrations failed to execute.
According to the minister, the coastal highway will now be known as the “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway.”
Umahi said the decision was taken in consultation with the Ministry of Works’ leadership, including the Permanent Secretary, the Minister of State, directors and staff of the ministry.
“It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualise that dream,” Umahi said.
“He had this vision about 27 years ago when he was Governor of Lagos State. Today, by the grace of God, that dream is becoming reality.”
The minister said the Tinubu administration’s four legacy highway projects includes: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, Trans-Sahara Highway, and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Maiduguri corridor.
“All these projects are progressing simultaneously across different parts of the country,” Umahi stated.
Providing updates on the projects, Umahi disclosed that Section 2 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is about 60 per cent complete and is expected to be substantially finished by November, while work continues on several major bridges designed to accommodate heavy industrial traffic.
He added that construction has also advanced on sections in Cross River, Ogun, Ondo and Akwa Ibom states, with more than 360 kilometres of the coastal highway currently under active construction.
Umahi said that on the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, Umahi said work is progressing from both the Sokoto and Lagos ends, with some sections recording between 40 and 70 per cent completion despite security challenges in parts of the North-West.
He also highlighted ongoing construction on the Trans-Sahara Highway, saying the project would significantly improve access between the South-East and Abuja while integrating the region into the country’s national road networks.
The minister further revealed that President Tinubu recently approved an additional 400 kilometres of dual carriageway for the Akwanga–Maiduguri Highway, expanding the project to about 1,100 kilometres.
He also announced fresh approvals for strategic roads in the South-East, including the Oba–Nnewi–Okigwe Junction dual carriageway and the Otuocha–Anam–Ibaji Road, describing them as critical to regional connectivity.
Umahi said the four legacy highway projects are designed to connect all six geopolitical zones and will eventually form an integrated national transport network capable of boosting trade, tourism and economic development.
He maintained that the projects reflect President Tinubu’s commitment to delivering infrastructure that will have a lasting impact on Nigeria’s development.
