The Federal Government has renamed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway, in recognition of President Bola Tinubu’s long-standing vision for the project.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the development on Thursday during a media briefing in Abuja, where he also disclosed that the President had approved a 400-kilometre extension of the Fourth Legacy Highway and the reconstruction of sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Umahi said the decision to rename the coastal highway was taken by the Ministry of Works after consultations with the ministry’s leadership.
“That highway is named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway. By the powers conferred on me as Minister of Works, in consultation with my Permanent Secretary, the Minister of State, directors and staff of the ministry, we decided to name it after him because of his dream for it,” he said.
According to the minister, Tinubu conceived the idea of the coastal highway about 27 years ago while serving as Governor of Lagos State.
“He had that dream about 27 years back as governor of Lagos State. It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualise that dream,” Umahi added.
He described the first section of the 750-kilometre coastal highway, stretching from Victoria Island to Lekki, as a major milestone in Nigeria’s infrastructure development.
According to him, the 47.47-kilometre six-lane carriageway features a 25-metre median reserved for a future railway line.
The minister also announced that President Tinubu had approved an additional 400 kilometres for the Fourth Legacy Highway, extending the project from 700 kilometres to 1,100 kilometres.
Umahi explained that the highway, originally planned to connect Akwanga in Nasarawa State to Maiduguri in Borno State through Jos, Bauchi, Gombe and Biu, would now be extended into Taraba State.
“The greatest story is that yesterday President Bola Tinubu approved the addition of 400 kilometres to our Fourth Legacy Road. That is an 800-kilometre road now extended to 1,100 kilometres, and that is unprecedented,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that the President had approved the dualisation of another 400 kilometres of the East-West Road, the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway using reinforced concrete pavement, the completion of the long-abandoned Ibi Bridge in Taraba State and the construction of the 5.76-kilometre Lao Bridge.
According to Umahi, the projects are part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to improve road connectivity, stimulate economic growth and modernise critical transport infrastructure across the country.
He said the renewed investments in road infrastructure underscore the Tinubu administration’s commitment to enhancing regional integration, easing the movement of goods and people, and supporting national development through strategic legacy projects.
