The Nigerian government has addressed concerns over the alleged exclusion of the Lagos-Calabar Highway from the 2025 budget.
In a video sighted by Media Talk Africa, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, clarified, stating that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was included in the 2025 budget, contrary to the reports making the rounds.
Umahi, however, stated that “they” wrote Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Road instead of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road in the budget, noting that it was a typographical error.
The minister added that his ministry is interfacing with the committee chairman in the National Assembly to correct it.
He said: “Number one, I have read on social media where you people say that the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway is missing in our budget. I think there was a little error. It’s the social media, yes, I want to correct it. What you have in the budget is Lagos-Port Harcourt coastal highway. It’s supposed to be Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. So we are interfacing with the committee chairman to correct it. And then we’ve been hearing, you know, news flying around that the Third Mainland Bridge is shaking. People say it should even be avoided. We’ve directed the controller of works to take journalists and go through the two carriageways of Third Mainland Bridge. They have done that, and we’ve uploaded the information that the project is safe and there is nothing to worry about.”
Media Talk Africa reported that the coastal road, one of the signature projects of President Bola Tinubu, has generated a lot of controversy.
The project is expected to gulp around N16 trillion.
“I have read on social media that the LAGOS-CALABAR HIGHWAY project is missing in the 2025 budget……”
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi clarifies misconception about the funding for the project pic.twitter.com/oaaT0zaZQp
— Wale Adedayo (@Mario9jaa) January 17, 2025
