Nigeria’s Federal Government will on April 14 formally flag off construction work on the Calabar section of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway — a move aimed at countering reports that road works have been restricted to the Lagos corridor.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, clarified in an interview with ARISE News on Sunday that the ceremony marks the official commencement of work in the South-South region, with events slated for April 14 in Calabar (Cross River), April 15 in Akwa Ibom, and later pn April 16 in Ebonyi State in Southeast Nigeria.
“By 14th of this month, we are going to be flagging off the construction in the Calabar axis,” Umahi stated, dismissing claims that the highway project has only been active in Lagos. “No, that is not a fact. We are working right now in Calabar and Akwa Ibom,” he insisted.
According to the minister, another legacy project of President Tinubu will connect Calabar with Ebonyi then Benue, then onward to Kogi, Nasarawa, and finally Abuja — part of a broader Trans-Sahara route envisioned to bolster national integration.
“And that Trans-Sahara is running from Calabar to Ebonyi, to Benue, then Benue to Kogi, Kogi to Nasarawa and to Abuja,” he explained.
He further revealed ambitious plans for the Lagos end, including a proposed underwater tunnel through the lagoon to Snake Island, which will link to Badagry and integrate with the Sokoto-Badagry highway.
“This project is not in isolation. It’s part of a wider loop that connects various zones across Nigeria,” Umahi added.
“And then at the Lagos end, it’s linked up through the Ahmadu Bello, through a lagoon, which we are going to have a tunnel, through the lagoon, going to Snake Island. And they take us to Badagry, which is where the Sokoto-Badagry is linked. So if you look at it, it’s all in a kind of, you know, loop,” he added.
The flag-off in Calabar will not only symbolise the commencement of construction in the region but also reinforce the government’s intent to ensure even development across all parts of the country, not just the commercial centres.
