President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially commissioned the first phase of the ambitious Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development, local content promotion, and national economic revitalisation.
The commissioning ceremony, held in Lagos on Saturday, also featured the unveiling of several other completed road projects across all six geopolitical zones of the country.
President Tinubu, in his address, warned contractors and estate developers against violating urban planning regulations, particularly setbacks and building approvals. He declared that the Federal Government would no longer compensate those who build illegally or without due process.
“Let me warn all developers that the Federal Government will enforce setbacks. Developers who fail to get approvals will not be compensated. We have gazetted and published the setback, and we will enforce it in any way possible,” he stated.
The President hailed the efforts of Engineer Ronald Chagoury and Hitech Construction Company for their roles in reclaiming parts of Victoria Island and Ikoyi from Atlantic Ocean encroachment, describing the feat as averting a “disaster greater than a tsunami.”
He assured Nigerians that the economy was on the path to recovery, citing stabilisation of the naira and a gradual reduction in food prices.
“I want to appeal to all Nigerians that hope is here. Our economy is recovering,” Tinubu added.
Among the roads commissioned were the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway (Phase I: Section I – Ahmadu Bello Way to Eleko Village), the East-West Road projects in Rivers State, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section III, the reconstructed Jimeta Bridge in Yola, the Shendam Bridge in Plateau, and parts of the Kano-Kwanar Danja-Hadeja Road in the North West.
New projects also flagged off include the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha-Akure-Benin Road, Nembe-Brass Road, Kano Northern Bypass, and the dualization of Kano-Maiduguri Road (Section I: Kano-Wudil-Shuarin).
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, revealed that the government spent N18 billion in compensations for those affected by the Lagos-Calabar highway project. He added that all new projects are being executed with a clear mandate for sustainability and Nigerian interest.
The event was attended by governors of Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, and Imo States, as well as Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and notable business leaders including Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Tony Elumelu.
