{"id":128847,"date":"2026-08-07T09:05:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=128847"},"modified":"2026-08-07T09:05:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:05:43","slug":"umahi-replies-duke-says-lagos-calabar-coastal-highway-gone-beyond-epe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/umahi-replies-duke-says-lagos-calabar-coastal-highway-gone-beyond-epe\/","title":{"rendered":"Umahi Replies Duke, Says Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Gone Beyond Epe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims by former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would not extend beyond Epe in Lagos State, insisting that construction is already progressing in Ogun and Ondo states.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Umahi spoke during an inspection tour of ongoing sections of the flagship project, where he said the pace of construction had effectively answered critics who questioned the feasibility of the ambitious coastal highway.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;Yesterday, we were on the road to Ondo State to inspect the Ogun-Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Twenty-eight kilometres is ongoing in the Ogun section, while 52 kilometres is ongoing in the Ondo section,&#8221; the minister said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Taking a direct swipe at sceptics of the project, Umahi added: &#8220;Let me assure all the critics who said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not pass Epe; we have already passed there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister provided a detailed update on the project, saying Section One, a 47.47-kilometre stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos to the Lekki Deep Seaport corridor, has been completed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He disclosed that construction is actively ongoing on Section Two, a 55-kilometre segment linking the Lekki axis to the Lagos-Ogun boundary, while work is progressing simultaneously on other sections across the country.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, Sections 3A and 3B, covering approximately 75 kilometres across Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, have attained more than 30 per cent completion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Umahi also said contractors are working on Sections 4A and 4B, an 82-kilometre stretch traversing Ogun and Ondo states, as the Federal Government pushes ahead with the project across multiple corridors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The minister reaffirmed the commitment of the President Bola Tinubu administration to completing the coastal highway, describing it as a transformative infrastructure project designed to boost economic activities, improve connectivity and open up new opportunities along Nigeria&#8217;s coastal corridor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of the Federal Government&#8217;s flagship infrastructure projects. When completed, it is expected to connect several coastal states, improve transportation, stimulate tourism and facilitate trade and investment across the southern region.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The project, however, has attracted criticism from some stakeholders over its cost, alignment and long-term sustainability. Among the critics is former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, who recently questioned the feasibility of the project and suggested that it was unlikely to extend beyond Epe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Umahi&#8217;s latest remarks appear aimed at countering those concerns, as the government seeks to demonstrate visible progress on various sections of the highway.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the controversy surrounding the project, the Federal Government has maintained that construction remains on schedule and that work is progressing simultaneously across several states to ensure the successful delivery of the coastal road network.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lizzy Chirkpi Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims by former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would not extend beyond Epe in&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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