“Those Criticising the Lagos-Calabar Highway Should Not Follow the Road” – Works Minister Umahi Fires Back at Obasanjo

Works Minister David Umahi has defended the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project following recent criticism from former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The former president, in his new book *Nigeria: Past and Future*, described the project as an example of waste and corruption.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting in Akure, Ondo State, Umahi rejected the allegations and maintained that the project is both transparent and beneficial. He said that while criticism is expected, the highway would bring long-term prosperity and development to the country. “It is natural and normal for people to criticise, but I’ve run the benefits of the project, the cost analysis of the project, the job is already done about 70%, and the project will bring a lot of prosperity to the citizens,” he said.

The minister also addressed comments suggesting a lack of transparency, saying he is fully capable of explaining the project. “As the Minister of Works, I am qualified to explain the project. The project is not wasteful and corrupt,” Umahi stated, adding that those who continue to oppose it should “not follow the road.”

Umahi praised President Bola Tinubu for backing the initiative, saying the president’s bold steps have drawn envy and criticism from some quarters. “His peers are jealous and angry, but that means he is doing very well what nobody has been able to do,” he said.

He also touched on other federal road projects in Ondo State, including the Akure/Iju and Ilesha/Akure roads, assuring stakeholders that issues such as contractor compensation are being addressed.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a 700-kilometer project estimated to cost N15 trillion, has sparked widespread debate, with many Nigerians questioning its timing and relevance amid the country’s ongoing economic challenges.