•Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will be completed, says minister
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The federal government will deploy security guards to protect infrastructure along the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano superhighway from vandalism, Minister of Works, David Umahi, said yesterday.
Umahi disclosed this when he received the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on a courtesy visit to the ministry.
He said the measure became necessary following attempts by vandals to damage newly constructed sections of major federal highways.
“I just came back from Lagos when we inaugurated the coastal highway guard. We are going to inaugurate this Abuja, Kaduna, Zaria, Kano Superhighway. I saw people digging the concrete to remove rods. But I’ve said that if they can commit to that level, just out of it, a meaningful job,” Umahi said.
The minister said the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano corridor, covering about 750 kilometres of carriageway, had received more than N200 billion in government funding, while the current projects on the corridor were valued at N752 billion, with over 80 per cent paid.
“We are believing that by November, the entire stretch will have been completed,” he said, adding that solar lights would also be installed along the highway.
Umahi said the government’s road projects had created employment opportunities across the country, noting that “there is no site in all these projects here that has less than 1,000 normal people.”
He also highlighted other ongoing projects, including the Sokoto-Zamfara-Zaria corridor, the Benue-9th Mile road and the Port Harcourt-Bonny road, which he said had been completed.
On the Port Harcourt-Bonny project, he said: “That project is completed. 39.7 kilometres. Fully done.” He added: “The people of Bonny are very happy. They are no longer dying in the sea. They are now driving through the land,” he added.
The minister also defended the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway against criticism, insisting that the project would be completed. “That is being unfair. That is being unrealistic. That project will be done,” he said.
Umahi urged NANS to participate actively in monitoring federal projects and approved support for the association to undertake project monitoring nationwide.
“If you help us to monitor these projects, please no blackmail, no intimidation, no altercation with contractors. Every responsibility, I take responsibility. And if you do this intelligently and honestly, we are partners,” he said.
He also urged young Nigerians to focus on productivity and skills acquisition, saying, “We need to do things with our hands.”
The minister further urged students to engage the government on national issues based on evidence rather than social media narratives. “If you say that the President is not doing well, what is your own alternative?” he asked.
On his part, NANS President, Akinteye Babatunde, commended Umahi for the ministry’s infrastructure projects, saying good roads were essential to students’ academic activities and mobility.
“For students, infrastructure is not an abstract concept. A bad road can mean arriving late for an examination. A bad road can increase the cost of transportation to school. An inaccessible community can limit educational opportunities,” Babatunde said.
He added that roads being constructed across the country would connect students, communities and businesses to wider opportunities.
“The roads we are building today will help lead this administration. They will carry students to schools, farmers to markets, workers to their places of employment, businesses to their customers and families to their destinations. That is the significance of infrastructure,” he said.