Senator Dave Umahi, Minister of Works, on his recent inspection of the first phase, section one of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and its realignment in Lagos revealed that the Federal Government has initiated the design of the Badagry-Sokoto Coastal Highway project; Which once completed will connect the North-West to the South-West, and in future link with the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. The latter highway will connect the South-West to the South-South and South-East regions of Nigeria.
During the inspection on Sunday, April 28th, the minister revealed to journalists that he was pleased "that Mr President has also directed me to start the immediate design of the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway.
“This one is a spur of the Coastal highway, and that one is 1000 kilometres. We’ve started the design and I’m very sure that as soon as the Federal Executive Council approves it, we will be starting at the Sokoto side, which is the zero point. We also have another spur which is going to go from Enugu -Abakaliki-Ogoja going to Cameroon. So we have that spur and it’s about 361 kilometres, going through Otukpo to Benue to Nasarawa and ends up at Apo in Abuja.
“We are also going to be presenting it to Mr President, and when this is done, then the coastal routes as we promised will go to circle the entire country,” he said.
Umahi expressed strong belief in the significance of the coastal road project, which he said would be a first in Africa.
“So, this will be the legacy that we’ve never seen in Africa, and I think that God has sent Mr President to do this and he’s just doing it.
“He’s a man of courage and we are also learning courage following him,” the minister said.