The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Wednesday said the Federal Government’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project has begun attracting strong interest from international investors, with at least four companies offering to refund the entire cost of Section One in exchange for operating and tolling the road.
Umahi disclosed this while speaking at a press briefing at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, insisting that the flagship highway was conceived as an investment-driven legacy project rather than a conventional public works programme.
“When a nation is in crisis, you have to do everything possible to bring external funds into the system. That is the wisdom behind what the President is doing with these four legacy projects,” the minister said.
According to him, the Federal Government is funding only about 30 per cent of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, while 70 per cent is being sourced from international financiers, adding that the return on investment remains “very high”.
“There are about four companies that have indicated interest to pay 100 per cent of what was spent on Section One of the coastal highway, take it over and toll it. That process is ongoing,” Umahi said.
He stressed that the coastal road was designed to link and unlock multiple infrastructure projects across the country, describing it as a strategic economic corridor rather than just a road and bridge construction effort. “This legacy project is an investment. It is linking all the ongoing projects of Mr President,” he added.
The minister also pushed back strongly against allegations by a lawmaker, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, questioning the procurement process for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing the claims as a direct attack on his integrity.
“By saying that I didn’t care about the procurement process, that is an attack on my personality and integrity,” Umahi said, adding that he expected the statement to be withdrawn.
He maintained that the project fully complied with the Public Procurement Act, noting that the law recognises three procurement methods, all of which were duly observed. “I want him to go and study the Procurement Act and come back to tell Nigerians whether there was any infringement in the procurement of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway,” the minister said.
Umahi explained that the project passed through a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process, which he said was a prerequisite for attracting international funding.
According to him, the ESIA process involved public advertisements, stakeholder engagements across affected communities, independent assessments led by an academic expert, and an open international comment window before certification was issued. “At the end of the day, a certificate of ESIA was issued. It was displayed publicly, and it remains on record,” he said.
The minister revealed that international financiers, including the Dutch Development Bank, conducted independent evaluations of Section One of the project and gave favourable verdicts. “They found that the project was properly packaged, of very high quality, and undervalued,” Umahi said.
He added that when the project was opened to foreign financial institutions, it was oversubscribed by $100m, a development he said underscored global confidence in the project’s credibility. “International funders are not jokers. They scrutinise every detail before approving funding,” he said.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of President Bola Tinubu’s four legacy infrastructure projects, designed to span about 700 kilometres along Nigeria’s coastline, linking Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.
The project is expected to boost trade, tourism, logistics, and coastal protection, while also serving as a strategic evacuation corridor for oil, gas, and agricultural assets in the southern belt. Section One of the highway, which runs from Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos to the Lekki axis, has drawn public attention following concerns raised over cost, procurement procedures, and environmental implications.
However, the Federal Government has consistently defended the project, insisting that due process was followed and that the road would deliver long-term economic returns while easing pressure on existing transport corridors. Umahi said the sustained interest from foreign investors was proof that the project was economically sound and interassertionsy credible.
Speaking further, the minister defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s record in the South East, dismissing claims by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe that the region has no reason to support the President and warning that such assertions should be stopped.
Umahi said Abaribe’s remarks amounted to an attack on both his personal integrity and the reality of federal investment in the South East under the Tinubu administration.
Umahi said his response was neither emotional nor partisan, but rooted in government benefits and verifiable outcomes, “I am not speaking as a politician, I am speaking as a Minister who is directly involved in Southeastern and who knows what is happening on the ground,” he emphasised.
He insisted that the South East has benefited significantly under Tinubu, stressing that governors from the region are fully aligned with the President. “All of the South-East governments are supporting the president, because the president has provided inclusive governance in the country,” he said.
Using Abia State as an example, Umahi rejected claims of marginalisation, pointing to what he described as the strong performance of Governor Alex Otti, saying, “The performance of Governor Otti is a product of the national environment created by President Bola Tinubu. If we did not have the audacity and courage to bring this moment to the sub nationals, Governor Otti would not be doing what he is doing”.
He said Governor Otti himself had acknowledged the role of the Federal government in enabling reforms and development at the state level. Umahi contrasted the current administration with the previous one, accusing the past government of excluding the South East from key national security positions for eight years.
“How can a zone be totally excluded? President Bola Tinubu corrected that wickedness,” he affirmed. He cited the appointment of a South-East officer as Chief of the Naval Staff, followed by other strategic security roles, and disclosed that the President recently approved the establishment of an army depot in Abia State.
He said, “This is very key. The president has favoured Abia State and, by extension, the entire South East by providing an army training level to tackle insecurity.”
Umahi dismissed Abaribe’s claim that the South East would not vote for Tinubu in 2027, saying it reflected a personal opinion rather than the region’s collective position. “He was talking about himself. The governors of the South East are very happy and very grateful,” the Minister stressed.
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