Minister of Works, David Umahi, has explained that the Federal Government plans to link the East-West Road to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway through an additional spur, rather than divert the coastal project from its original route.
Umahi gave the clarification during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, following questions about his earlier statements that President Bola Tinubu had directed a diversion of the coastal highway through the existing East-West Road.
The minister admitted that his earlier use of the word “divert” was inaccurate, saying the directive was to create an additional connection between the two roads.
“The word divert, you know, if I use that, then it’s a slip of the tongue. It’s to also put a spur. That’s the correct, you know, language. To put a spur,” he said.
According to Umahi, the proposed connection would expand the highway network without replacing any section of the coastal highway’s existing alignment.
He maintained that the original route of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway remained intact, despite the additional directive, which he had previously described as an extension of about 400 kilometres.
The minister also defended the inclusion of Edo State in the project, rejecting arguments that the highway should pass from Ondo directly to Delta State to remain closer to the coastline.
He said the inclusion of Edo was consistent with the original concept of the project, which was gazetted in 2006.
“Some people believe that going through Edo is going off the coast. So they want me to just go through Ondo and then route to Delta. But that is not the concept, you know, the gazetted concept in 2006,” Umahi said.
The nine states covered by the original coastal highway alignment are Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
The clarification comes amid public questions over the scope of the project following the President’s reported directive and the minister’s earlier description of the proposed changes as a diversion.
Umahi’s latest explanation distinguishes the additional East-West Road connection from a realignment of the main coastal highway, maintaining that the original route will be preserved.
