The decision by the Federal Government to re-route the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road Project has generated intense public debate, leading to critical questions on the advertised N15 trillion price tag, the process of the contract award and involvement of the Chagoury & Chagoury Brothers as contractors for the project.
Few days ago, the Hon. Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi, made a public statement on the project as follows:
“The Lagos-Calabar coastal road project will no longer go through the coast after Lagos and Ogun States. Instead, it would detour inland through Edo State to join the East-West Road.”
According to various media reports, Umahi cited difficult terrain, soft soil, rising cost and the prospect of constructing many bridges along the original route as reasons for the change of plan.
The raging controversy has critics asking how the price tag of N15 trillion was determined, who made the final call, absence of the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for such coastal projects and engineering feasibility studies on the route.
It has equally revived dark allegations by critics that the project was not intended to run beyond Lagos State.
During an interview on Arise TV, Mr. Donald Duke, former Executive Governor of Cross River State, stated that the coastal road will not go beyond Epe in Lagos State. He also alluded that the swampy terrain of Bayelsa State, including the capital, Yenagoa will necessitate the construction of numerous bridges to overcome the terrain.
“You can’t even go through Bayelsa. Bayelsa is swamp. Even Yenagoa, the capital, is swamp. You’ll probably have to build about 100 or 200 bridges to go through those swamps.”
Mr. Femi Falana, lawyer and human rights activist lamented in a recent video that the so-called coastal road has suddenly become an inland road. He warned that such impunity by those in power will continue because majority of Nigerians refuse to speak out.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Henry Ebimo Kentebe said: “Looking at the picture of the Niger Delta, you will agree with me that the so-called Coastal Road was a lie from inception. Delta, Bayelsa & Rivers cannot have a coastal road. (Maybe China could achieve such engineering feat). Some of those deltas are as wide as 20km. That is like building 15 3rd mainland bridges on the coastal road.”
