The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, has commended the Lagos State Government for supporting the Federal Government’s infrastructure development efforts in the state.
Umahi also urged the state government to provide additional support as the Federal Government prepares to construct service lanes and secondary drainage channels along Sections 1 and 2 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The minister made the call on Sunday during a stakeholder engagement on the coastal highway project and other infrastructure developments in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the decision to construct the service lanes and additional drainage channels followed recent heavy rainfall and flooding recorded across parts of Lagos.
Umahi called on the state government to contribute financially to the project, stressing that collaboration between the Federal and state governments remained essential to addressing the challenges.
“You have to bring money, Governor, to do the service lanes and also the drainage channels. We must join hands to solve this problem for the sake of our people,” he said.
The minister disclosed that Lot 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway had been completed, while work on Lot 2 had reached more than 80 percent completion.
He added that construction had also progressed in Calabar and Akwa Ibom, while work had commenced on what he described as the largest section of the project, covering 180 kilometers.
“We have done over 30 percent of the job in Calabar and Akwa Ibom. We have started the largest section, 180 kilometers by two,” Umahi said.
He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would complete the highway project within the scheduled timeframe.
Umahi also appealed to Nigerians living along the coastal corridor and those expected to benefit from the project to continue supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The minister, however, expressed concern over the vandalism of government infrastructure and other national assets, describing the practice as unacceptable.
“It is very disheartening. The effort they are putting into destroying national assets, if they put it into labor in all construction sites of state governments and the Federal Government, they will make more money,” he said.
Umahi urged Nigerians to protect public infrastructure, warning that vandalism could undermine the benefits of major road projects.
“It is devilish, wickedness and unacceptable; so, we have to come together to protect our national assets,” he said.
He added that properly maintained roads could serve Nigerians for decades, but vandalism and the destruction of infrastructure could reverse development gains.
“When these roads are built under the President, it will last for a hundred years but when the roads are excavated and removed, we will be back to square one,” Umahi said.
