Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a 100-km stretch of Lagos -Calabar Coastal Highway which will pass through Edo State and was not originally in the alignment for the highway project.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Works, Sen. Engr David Umahi during the unveiling the stretch of the Coastal highway in Edo State recently, as part of the transformational roadmap, inclusive road infrastructure revolution of the Renewed Hope administration.
“The President called me and said, ‘this project must pass from Lagos to Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and to Cross River. And that is why we’re here. Your Excellency, the President has given you 100 kilometres by 2 of the coastal highway”, he stated.
The Minister explained, “When, the Coastal highway was first dreamt by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 47 years back. He contacted Governors who were in office with him, but unfortunately, the project could not take off.
“Then, the route was made known, but unfortunately, the route did not pass through the Edo State, very sad.
“And when you hear 700 kilometres, and today you hear 750 kilometres, you ask yourself where is the difference coming from, the difference is coming from here because a miracle Governor appeared on the State”, he added.
Umahi commended the government and people of Edo State for their tremendous support to Mr. President and their steadfastness to the values of his Renewed Hope agenda.
According to the statement released by his aide, the Minister assured them of the commitment of Mr. President to quality and timely delivery of inherited ongoing projects in the State, despite frightening infrastructural, funding defits inherited from previous administrations.
He also hailed the State Governor for accepting to intervene on some critical sections of Benin-Sapele-Warri road, which had been a deathtrap to motorists while noted and commended the level of work so far done by the contractor handling one of the sections.
Umahi said, “So I want to thank you very very highly, Your Excellency, for this intervention, and I want to thank CBC for a very good quality work we’ve seen, but, re-mobilize to this place, and controller must be giving me photographs of work done everyday and we have to do more work at night”.
On his part, the Governor, Sen. Monday Okpebholo thanked the President for including Edo State in the Lagos -Calabar Coastal Highway project and for all the improvements on the federal roads in the State since his administration came on board.
He noted the gesture as a manifestation of the extraordinary love of the President to the people of Edo State, while tasked his people on the need to champion the cause of Mr. President’s re-election come 2027.
The Governor also thanked the honorable Minister for the new innovation to road construction, which he said would guarantee quality and value for money.
He equally commended him for his commitment and for always responding any time his attention is called to the infrastructural needs of Edo State. The Governor reiterated the desire of his administration to change the narrative in infrastructural development in the State. “Few days ago, I came to this axis on my way back, and what I saw almost made me weap.
“Knowing the number of vehicles that were on this road, trailers that fell, and I felt it shouldn’t be so. The President is trying, and whoever is criticizing the President doesn’t know what they’re doing. However, criticism is also good because it serves as a wake-up call for all of us.”
He further said, “I invited you because of this road; it’s terribly bad. If I do my part and you do your part, no one will criticize our President. That’s the main reason I called you here. Our people are crying out for this road to be fixed.
“For us to earn more votes, we need to do something about this place, whether it’s the Federal Govt or Edo State. The Benin people use this road the most, and they can’t come out and go to work or come back from work without struggling”, Okpebholo said.
