The Federal Government has renamed the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway after President Bola Tinubu, citing his role in conceiving the project during his tenure as governor of Lagos State.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the decision on Thursday during a media briefing in Abuja, saying the highway would now be known as the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway.
“That highway is named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway,” Umahi said. “By the powers conferred on me as Minister of Works, in consultation with my permanent secretary, the minister of state, directors and staff of the ministry, we decided to name it after him because of his dream for it.”
He said the renaming was approved by the ministry in recognition of Tinubu’s vision for the landmark infrastructure project.
Umahi disclosed that the President also approved the extension of the fourth legacy highway by an additional 400 kilometres, the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with reinforced concrete pavement, the completion of the abandoned Ibi Bridge in Taraba State, the construction of the 5.76-kilometre Lau Bridge, and the dualisation of an additional 400 kilometres of the East-West Road.
The minister said the President conceived the coastal highway project nearly three decades ago “He had that dream about 27 years back as governor of Lagos State. It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualise that dream. This is one man who dreams and has the grace and divine mandate to actualise that dream,” he said.
According to the minister, work is progressing on various sections of the 750-kilometre coastal highway.
He said the first section from Victoria Island to Eleko Village in Lagos is serving as a model for modern highway construction, while the second section from Eleko to the Lagos-Ogun boundary is about 60 per cent completed and expected to be substantially finished by November.
Construction is also ongoing in Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun and Ondo states.Umahi further stated that the extension of the fourth legacy highway would increase the strategic corridor to about 1,100 kilometres.
He added that the approved road projects across the country are aimed at improving connectivity, strengthening national integration and boosting economic activities nationwide. “These approvals will enhance connectivity, promote national integration and boost economic development across the country,” he said.
