Youth and community leaders across the Niger Delta have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and direct the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, to preserve the original route of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The group cautioned that any attempt to alter the approved alignment will carry severe political and electoral consequences for the ruling party in the 2027 general elections.The demand was made during a press briefing in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) addressed growing concerns regarding reported plans by the Federal Ministry of Works to divert sections of the 750-kilometre project away from riverine communities toward existing inland routes.
Speaking on behalf of the council, IYC leaders emphasized that the multi-trillion naira coastal highway was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to directly connect oil-producing communities across Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.
The council appealed directly to President Tinubu to order Minister Umahi to stick strictly to the original engineering master plan rather than merging portions into existing road corridors.
They warned that failing to protect the original route would damage the administration’s political standing across the region ahead of the next political cycle.
“We assure Mr. President and the administration that politically, this diversion, if allowed to see the light of day, is suicidal for the President and the ruling party’s re-election bid in the South-South, even as 2027 draws near. You cannot seek our votes while taking away our roads,” the council declared.
Stakeholders dismissed arguments citing swampy terrain and elevated construction costs, noting that South-South state governments routinely execute major bridges and highway projects across similar mangrove topographies.
To end the controversy and restore public confidence, the IYC urged the President to mandate Minister Umahi to publish the full engineering blueprints and ensure simultaneous construction activities across all Niger Delta states.
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