Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigerian government has officially renamed the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, announced on Thursday, July 16, 2026, that the infrastructure project will now be known as the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway.
Umahi, speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, said the decision was made by the leadership and staff of the Federal Ministry of Works in recognition of Tinubu’s role in conceptualizing and actualizing the project. "That highway is named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway. By the powers conferred on me as Minister of Works, in consultation with my Permanent Secretary, the Honourable Minister of State, directors and staff of the ministry, we decided to name it after him because of his dream for it," Umahi declared.
The Minister recalled that Tinubu first conceived the idea for the coastal highway about 27 years ago while serving as Governor of Lagos State. "He had that dream about 27 years back as Governor of Lagos State. It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualize that dream," Umahi added. Describing the project, Umahi said the first section, from Victoria Island to Eleko Village in Lagos, spans 47.47 kilometres and includes a 25-metre median reserved for a future railway line. He added that Section Two, extending to the Lagos-Ogun boundary, is about 60 per cent complete, while other sections in Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, and Ondo states are at various stages of execution.
The renaming announcement came alongside other major infrastructure approvals by President Tinubu. Umahi disclosed that the President approved an additional 400-kilometre extension to the country’s Fourth Legacy Highway, the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Maiduguri Superhighway, extending it to Taraba State and bringing the total project to 1,100 kilometres. The President also approved the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway using reinforced concrete pavement technology, which Umahi said would last between 50 and 100 years without maintenance.
The decision to rename the highway has drawn mixed reactions. While the government has framed it as a tribute to Tinubu’s long-standing vision for infrastructure development, critics have questioned the timing and the propriety of naming a major national project after a sitting president, with some social media users describing it as an act of sycophancy. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the administration's four flagship legacy projects, is designed to interconnect all six geopolitical zones, enhance economic activities, and boost national development.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments