Lawyers and stakeholders from Ondo State’s Ilaje coastal communities have urged the Federal Government to review the planned route of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, alleging that the present alignment excludes several communities that were expected to benefit from the project.
The group, represented by Attorney-at-Law Dr Benson Enikuomehin, made the call at a press conference in Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Enikuomehin alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works had altered the Ondo section of the highway, taking it farther inland rather than maintaining a route through the coastal areas of Ilaje Local Government Area.
The stakeholders listed Ugbonla, Ilowo, Ilepete, Obe-Enikanoselu, Obe-Rewoye, Ikorigho, Jinrinwo, Awoye and Igho among the communities they claimed had been left out. They said the proposed alignment now runs through Oke-Upare and subsequently connects with parts of Edo State, including communities in Ovia North and Ovia West Local Government Areas.
The dispute follows concerns earlier raised by Afenifere regarding the Ondo section of the highway. Minister of Works David Umahi had said the government still favoured a coastal alignment but acknowledged that technical considerations could affect the final route. He explained that the original design placed the road roughly two kilometres from the shoreline in the affected area.
However, Enikuomehin maintained that the changes went beyond ordinary engineering adjustments, alleging that more than 60 per cent of Ilaje’s coastal communities had been excluded. He also disputed concerns about the cost of construction in the area, saying the group’s estimates placed the Ugbonla-Escravos coastal route at between N4 billion and N7.5 billion per kilometre, while the inland alternative could cost between N7.5 billion and N12 billion per kilometre.
The group estimated the coastal stretch linking Ugbonla with Escravos at approximately 60 to 75 kilometres, compared with about 130 to 150 kilometres for the inland route. To support its position, the stakeholders pointed to the 40-kilometre Ugbo-Oghoye Road Phase 1, awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission in 2010, as an example of road infrastructure being undertaken in the area. The cost and distance estimates were provided by the stakeholders and were not independently verified.
The lawyers said they had no objection to Edo State benefiting from the wider highway project but argued that this should not happen at the expense of Ondo’s coastal communities. They alleged discrimination, cited Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution and appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene by directing a fresh assessment of the Ondo alignment before construction progresses further.
