By LYDIA NGWAKWE

The Federal Government says it is withholding payment of compensation to affected property owners from Kilometer Seven on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, due to alteration on the plan.

The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, said this when he inspected ongoing works on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and other road projects on the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Dangote Tax Credit Route and Eleko, among other axis, on Saturday in Lagos.

The minister said that, to resolve most of the compensation issues where a lot of critical infrastructure were affected, the government had reduced the entire corridor from Phase Two, Section Two of the coastal route, to effective pavements of 55km, including the 10 train tracks.

He said that the government had released about N10 billion so far in compensations.

Umahi said, “We are going to withhold compensation payment from Kilometer Seven because we have re-routed some of the sections, like the white sand beach.

“I know the indigenes have been praying very well. I think God has answered their prayers because we have also compressed the corridor to 55 effective pavements with the 10 train tracks.

“We reduced the 10 tracks from 55 to 20, and we are taking it back also towards the beginning of this project.”

The minister said that after review, payment of the compensation would continue.

“For Section Two, we are going to have brand new enumerators so that they will also give us their opinions.

“It is going to be very, very fast,” the minister said.

According to Umahi, many property are going to be saved.

He said, “We saved all those cables and saved the whole community of Okunaja, by not only re-routing, but re-routing entirely through a swamp.

“I hear that some people are calling to protest that we are re-routing to the swamp, that we should go to the gazetted and then destroy the cables.

“I wonder what kind of people we are dealing with. It is very funny.

“I believe that they will see reasons to be very reasonable.” (NAN)

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