By LYDIA NGWAKWE

The National Assembly and Joint Committee on Works has passed a vote of confidence in the Ministry of Works, Mr David Umahi, affirming the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a work in progress.

The joint committee members passed the vote of confidence in Umahi when he led them on on-the-site assessment of the ongoing infrastructure projects on Friday in Lagos.

The members assured the Ministry of Works of adequate support amidst petitions allegedly slowing down the pace of work on the coastal road.

They commended President Bola Tinubu for the project they unanimously endorsed as a legacy for his administration.

The legacy project, they said was designed to cut across all regions of the country, with high economic benefits.

In separate comments, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Mr Peter Nwenbonyi, Minority Whip of the Senate, Sen. Osita Ngwu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Sen. Mpigi Barinada, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Akin Alabi, admitted that the construction of the coastal highway, was never abandoned as being speculated in some quarters.

The legislators, however, advised Umahi to always make recourse to members of the joint committee of works at the National Assembly in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

Earlier, Umahi had appealed to the legislators to investigate rumours before serving summons on the ministry to prevent unnecessary delays with progress of the highway construction.

He advised aggrieved persons to stop politicising the coastal highway project and approach the courts like other aggrieved persons.

He noted that the President was magnanimous in authorising payment for compensations to owners of even illegal structures.

?We have a lot of people who are not interested that this work be done, and yes, there are petitions, but I commend those who went to court.

?The Attorney-General has led a legal team to meet them in court. That is the right thing to do because everthing that government wants to do, people want to thwart it,? Umahi said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the oversight functions of the National Assembly Committees on Works is scheduled to be completed before the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill by President Tinubu.(NAN)

?PHOTO: National Assembly joint committee on works on an on-site assessment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, led by Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, on Friday.

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