The youth wing of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has asked President Bola Tinubu to clarify the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway’s route, saying coastal communities could lose access if it shifts inland.
At a press conference in Benin on Oct. 20, PANDEF National Youth Leader DonBen Donyegha called for the proposed inland shift to be canceled. BusinessDay reported that Donyegha welcomed upgrades to the East-West Road as a separate project. He also wants a written record of discussions with regional stakeholders, state governments and communities along the route before major routing decisions, and confirmation that coastal settlements will retain direct access.
At an Oct. 7 briefing, Works Minister David Umahi said Tinubu had directed parts of the highway’s continuation to align with the East-West Road. An Oct. 8 Federal Ministry of Works statement said difficult ground conditions prompted redesign work on parts of the highway in Ondo State. It separately said flooding concerns prompted plans to raise sections of the East-West Road.
Channels Television reported that a later Works Ministry clarification described reconstruction of 400 kilometers of the East-West Road, from Edo to Cross River states, as a separate, additional project. It said the 750-kilometer coastal highway would continue on its previously announced path.
A Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation release on Oct. 14 said Umahi described the coastal project as having been extended by an additional 400 kilometers to align with the East-West Road. The federal descriptions differ on whether the 400 kilometers are separate road work or part of the coastal highway. At a May 2025 opening of its first section, Tinubu described a 700-kilometer road along coastal areas from Ogun to Cross River, the State House said. The later 750-kilometer figure differs, and the statements do not explain why.
PANDEF says oil-producing coastal communities could lose the direct connection they expected if the route shifts inland. The Works Ministry says surveys and designs for the remaining coastal sections must be completed before procurement and construction proceed. It gave no completion date.
