People of Ilaje coastal communities in Ondo State have threatened war against the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over alleged bastardisation of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
They further alleged that the minister has balkanised the original concept of the Coastal Highway Project, adding that the oil-rich communities were marginalised and schemed out of the project.
Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Ondo communities war against Umahi
The allegations were made by the Committee of Lawyers and Stakeholders at a press conference held in Lagos on Thursday to address the marginalisation and unfair exclusion of Ondo coastal communities from the project.
Addressing newsmen at the press conference, Dr Benson Enikuomehin, Esq, declared that more than 80 per cent of the coastal communities in Ilaje Local Government Area have been bypassed and sidelined.
He alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works, under the supervision of Umahi, has deviated from the plan and vision of President Bola Tinubu for the coastal highway project.
Going down the memory lane, Enikuomehin said President Bola Tinubu took a bold step in February 2024 when he revived the idea of having a coastal highway, running through Lagos to Calabar.
“The coastal highway had been in the pipeline since the 1970s, but successive governments had paid lip-service to its actualisation.
“The bold step which the president described as ‘a symbol of hope, unity, and prosperity…it will connect our communities in nine states, foster trade and commerce, boost tourism and create new opportunities’, has rekindled the hopes in the coastal communities of Nigeria, particularly those who reside in the Niger-Delta region of the country.
“For us in Ondo State, this is a welcome development. The entire coastline of the state stretches for about 80–100km. The area is occupied by the Ilaje of the Yoruba ethnic group.
“The communities span from Irokun-Agerige-Upare-Ugbonla-Ilepete-Obe-Enikanoselu-Obe-Rewoye-Jirinwo-Awoye-Odun-Igo to Oghoye…
“It is a known fact that, of all the coastal states in Nigeria, Ondo State, unarguably, has the longest coastline of about 80–100km.
“It is therefore reasonable that the coastal highway will pass through the coastline communities of Ondo State before getting to Delta State and on through other states to Calabar.
“It is however very shocking that the concept of the coastal highway has now been bastardised and balkanised by the Ministry of Works under the supervision of Senator David Umahi.
“More than 60 per cent of the coastal communities in Ilaje LGAs of Ondo State have now been bypassed and sidelined.
“Available records and data reveal that the coastal road has now assumed a new name as “Inland Highway Road” when it comes to the Ondo State communities. This is courtesy of the Minister of Works and his ministry.
“The road now passes through Oke-Upare in Ondo State to link communities in Ovia North and Ovia West of Edo State so as to accommodate the Gelegele Community in Edo State which is about 10–20km from the coastline.
“It is not in dispute that Edo State does not have a single coastal community that aborts the sea. The Gelegele Community which is closer to the sea has a distance of about 10–20km from the coastline,” he said.
The Lagos-based legal practitioner further alleged that the injustice meted to the Ondo State communities by the Ministry of Works, under Umahi, along the coast was both intentional and deliberate.
“Notable communities, such as Ugbonla, Ilowo, Ilepete, Obe-Enikanoselu, Obe-Rewoye, Ikorigho, Jinrinwo, Awoye, Igho etc, have completely been taken off the coastal route.
“These communities fall squarely within the initial coastal route where the coastal highway is meant to pass.
“The injustice, and the orchestrated marginalisation against the Ilaje people began when an additional 100km was added to the initial 700km (bringing the distance to 800km) to accommodate Edo State at all cost in the coastal highway. All the initial drawings and mappings of the road have now been jettisoned.
“It must be noted that highest from Lagos to Calabar is meant for the coast. It is not a Niger Delta affairs; it is a coastal road.
Any state that does not fall within the coast in Nigeria will not be considered. This accounts for why states like Abia and Imo, though oil-producing states, are not considered in this project.
“The intentional distortion of the coastal highway to accommodate non-coastal states makes a mockery of the name of the road, coastal highway,” he added.
Enikuomehin further stated that Umahi inelegantly justified the diversion to Edo State by erroneously canvassing that it will cost the Federal Government more of the road were to transverse through the coastline of Ondo State.
He challenged Umahi to come clean on the issued, noting that available facts revealed that navigating the road through Ugbonla in Ondo State to Escravos in Delta State (on a straight line) will take about 60–70km, whereas the detour to inland in Edo State to Warri in Delta State is about 130–150km.
“While the cost of building 1km road on the axis of Ugbonla through the coastal communities in Escravos will cost ₦4billion to ₦7.5billion per km, that of constructing same in severe swampy with massive bridges through Oke-Upare to Gelegele in Edo to Warri will cost ₦7.5billion to ₦12billion.
“The estimated cost of the road through Ugbonla route is about ₦240billion to ₦450billion, while the detour to Edo State will cost a whooping sum of ₦970billion to ₦1.5trillion.
“What is more? While the alignment on Ugbonla in Ondo to Escravos in Delta is straightforward and aligns with the concept of ‘coastal highway’s, the detour to Edo State is volatile, eroding immediate shoreline and renders the concept of coastline a mirage,” he added.
Enikuomehin appealed for the intervention of President Tinubu to ensure that Ondo State was fully reinstated into the coastal highway project.
“Let this be on record: if Ondo State is not taken into consideration in the coastal highway, we are doomed forever.
“Diverting the road to Edo State is a calculated attempt to marginalise and victimise the coastal communities of Ondo State,” he added.
He sounded a note of warning as he declared: “Anything contrary to this will attract from us. We are not threatening the president, but we cannot be sidelined. We will fight it out.
“While we are not opposed to Edo State benefitting from this project, we strongly maintain that the road must remain coastal through Ondo State, passing through Ilaje communities on the coast.
“It is unfair, unjust and, indeed, very wicked to take the road through 20–30km from the sea when it gets to the Ondo State section.”
