The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, Sunday night disclosed that the Federal Government would concession the Lagos-Calabar Superhighway when completed.
Umahi, who featured on the Politics Today, a political programme of the Channels Television, also disclosed that about five companies are already bidding for the completed section one of the project.
THE WHISTLER recalls that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 700-kilometre project under development (as of 2025) by Federal Ministry of Works that is planned to run from Victoria Island, Lagos to Calabar, Cross River State.
The highway will pass through Ogun State, Ondo State, Edo State, Delta State, Bayelsa State, Rivers State, and Akwa Ibom State, before ending in Calabar.
In April 2024, Umahi announced that the government was constructing the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway at a total cost of N4bn per kilometre and not the N8bn per km reportedly claimed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Also in December 2025, the Federal Government disclosed that it secured $1.26bn in financing for the execution of the second section of the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
Speaking further about the project, Umahu said the companies had also expressed their willingness to refund all the expenses incurred on the project.
The Minister, who claimed that the procurement process of the project was not flawed, said a special process was used for the project.
He, however, dispelled the rumour that the contractors handling the project were closed to Presisent Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said: ” There is no issue of flawed procurement process in the award for the Lagos-Calabar Highway because we used the special procurement process. Also the President’s friendship with the contractor (HITECH) does not have anything to do with the project.
“It is not a money laundering project. The procurement process does not need to go to the National Assembly. We have taken the members of the National Assembly to the project site. We are paying the 30 per cent to fund the project, while the external financing institutions will finance the 70 per cent.
” They have checked everything because we have nothing to hide. If the procurement process was flawed, would the international banks had shown interest?
“The project is investment driven and five companies are bidding for the completed section one for the project and they are ready to refund of the expense we have spent on the section”
Umahi also denied that the Lagos-Calabar Highway Lagos section was Flooded.
He said the corridor was flooded before of the construction, saying that all arrangements had been concluded to channel the water on the Lagoon.
Speaking on the four Legacy Project of the President, he assured that they would be completed in the next three years
The four Legacy Highway Projects are the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Calabar-Abuja Superhighway, and the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road Corridor-.
Speaking on the 2027 election, Umabi expressed the optimism that Tinubu would be re-elected, saying that he believed that he would win in the five states of the South East Region of the country.
He advised the people of the region to shun regional politics, and declared that the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, is not a threat to the 2027 re-election bid of Tinubu.
Umahi said: ” I believe that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will harvest a lot of votes in the south east. My mind is telling me that he would win the five states in the South East.
“Our people should not play a regional politics. Peter Obi is my brother and he is not a threat to me and President Tinubu”.
