?Commend initiative, quality of work so far

Civil society organisations, opposition party figures and key stakeholders in the Nigerian business community have commended the Federal Government on the quality of work being done on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, and the commitment of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to infrastructure development/economic growth.

The stakeholders, who were impressed by the level and quality of work done so far, spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a tour of the project in Lagos.

According to them, Nigerians must rise above politics to support developmental efforts such as the coastal highway project, especially with the verification of the quality of work and huge economic benefits.

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, disclosed, during the tour, that the first section of the 750km highway project, which covers the stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, to Eleko, Lagos, will be completed by May 2026.

Umahi expressed satisfaction with the level of work executed so far by Hi-Tech, noting that a total of 35km had been completed, with 12km left for the Section 1 of the project.

A policy expert, chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and convener of The Alternative, Otunba Segun Showunmi, said, "You cannot develop a nation without a long-term plan. You cannot sustain a long-term plan in a multi-party democracy unless you're able to build consensus around development.

"To build consensus around development, it means you will listen with the intention of hearing, not just with the intention of criticising, and you will go and see with the intention of verifying...

"What I have seen so far today is commendable, I must tell you. Beyond our political ideological differences, we need to, as a nation, breathe in and out to explore how to achieve a consensus to develop our nation.

"When you look at countries like Singapore, India and UAE, their achievements have come through building consensus for national development. A nation at 65 must be in a hurry to link its infrastructure to model after other globally competitive economies.?

?Nigerians must get the courage to build the kind of things that will position it as a country to turn the corner and go full throttle in investing in legacy infrastructure projects that will transform the economy," he added.

Chairman, Proshare Group, leading financial information hub in Nigeria, Olufemi Awoyemi, specifically noted that the coastal highway project was a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing.

"This is an alternative, providing a primary route for cross-country connectivity, away from the current congestion, and a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing," Awoyemi noted.

One of the leaders of about 20 civil society organisations represented during the tour, Declan Ihekaire, said he was happy that he had been invited to join the Minister on the project tour.

He said the work done so far and its quality must be commended by Nigerians.

"We, as CSOs must not condemn everytime. When we see where they are getting it right, we should talk so that we encourage them. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of good initiatives are the people," he said.

While briefing the press, the Minister of Works reinforced the value of concrete in building durable roads and was satisfied with its deployment for the coastal road.

According to him, emerging economies like India have led in the use of concrete to build enduring roads.

Umahi noted that the first section of the project covered 47km of the coastal highway, while work had already commenced on the second section.

This, he said, would continue from Eleko, Lagos, to Ode-Omi, Ogun State.

?In executing this project, we saved properties like the landmark centre and evacuated refuse in the axis with a depth of 10m to carry out the work and align the concrete to the roads.

"I came to inspect the variations to the projects and the level of execution. We will also unravel the issues around the WinHomes and allegations of about $200m of diaspora investments in the real estate project.

"We will involve the EFCC and DSS to investigate the matter alongside civil society organisations,? the minister stated.

He, however, assured stakeholders that there would be periodic briefings and engagements with the media to provide updates on the progress of the coastal highway project.

Apart from the 750-kilometre Lagos?Calabar Coastal Highway; the Minister listed the other three legacy projects designed to connect the entire country to include the 477-kilometre Trans-Saharan Highway traversing Calabar, Ebonyi, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, the FCT; the 422-kilometre Akwanga?Jos?Bauchi?Gombe Expressway; and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto?Badagry Superhighway.

"We will continue to reiterate that roads and bridges are the infrastructure that build the GDP of every nation. And it is from this that the GDP of other sectors will grow.

"President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has this knowledge; he has demonstrated it when he was Governor of Lagos State and you can see that Lagos State is an economy within an economy.

"That is why we're doing everything possible to support that, to develop infrastructure according to his vision and mission," Umahi said.

PHOTO, L-R: Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi; Policy expert & Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Otunba Segun Showunmi; and Chairman, Proshare Group, Chief Femi Awoyemi, during a tour of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, in Lagos.

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