The Federal Government has stated that the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway was a well-thought-out project and not a wasteful and corrupt venture, as implied by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
While urging Nigerians to ignore the stance of Obasanjo on the over 700-kilometre highway, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, urged those criticising the project and other legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu not to pass through them when completed.
Umahi, who disclosed this in Akure, Ondo State capital, while unveiling the 71st alignment section of the road, stated that the project was transparent.
This is just as Ondo State residents accepted the alignment of the 71-kilometre section of the coastal highway, which was initially pegged at 75 kilometres.
According to Umahi, who stated that the alignment unveiling was the final stage of the route approval, urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to issue a revocation order on the route in line with the laws of the land.
The minister assured residents of the state that President Tinubu was determined to complete all inherited projects and the legacy projects of his administration.
He said, “The man (Obasanjo) deserves our respect. I have not read the book, but the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is not wasteful and corrupt. Anyone criticising the project is waking up to say, How can one man (Tinubu) be attributed to these types of projects?
Speaking on other projects in the state, Umahi said the federal government is looking into the issue of compensation so that the contract would not be stalled.
Umahi also disclosed that dualisation of the Ilesha-Akure-Benib Highway was stalled by funding but assured that the contractor was bound to make the road motorable.
The Minister promised that the federal government would soon shift its focus to the execution of the Aiyetoro shoreline protection project.
While assuring that the state would give all necessary support for the quick completion of the federal government projects in the state, Aiyedatiwa emphasised the crucial role of infrastructure in driving economic growth and development.
The governor hailed President Bola Tinubu on the increase in federal presence in the state through many infrastructural projects, including the ongoing Ore-Ondo-Akure dualisation project, the federal teaching hospital and the new aviation school, among others.
“We have not had it so good in recent times with federal projects in our state. Permit me to mention but a few: the Akure – Ore Dual Carriageway, the Akure – Ado Ekiti Dual Carriageway, the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, and the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Akure.”
He further stressed the importance of completing these projects, noting their potential to boost economic activities in the state and the South-West region. He also appealed for additional federal support to actualise critical projects such as the Ondo Deep Sea Port and the mitigation of the Ayetoro sea incursion.
Aiyedatiwa assured the Minister of Works that the Ondo State Government would provide an enabling environment for the execution of the projects.
“We are resolute in our commitment to ensuring that these projects are completed for the benefit of our people. In this regard, I pledge the Ondo State Government’s unflinching support and commitment towards actualising their completion.”
The Guardian
