Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: We did no harm to Landmark, Umahi tells Tinubu

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has reaffirmed that the Landmark Group’s infrastructure was not compromised during the construction of the initial segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

Speaking at the commissioning of the first completed 30 kilometres of the 750km project, Umahi stated that only areas encroaching on the shoreline were cleared.

Addressing attendees at the inauguration, Umahi credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership and portrayed the milestone as an early glimpse into what Nigerians can expect from the broader infrastructure initiative.

“Mr. President, I want to state that we did no harm to Landmark properties,” the minister said. “In fact, as you are going, sir, you will see where this dual carriageway divided into two, by your order, to save as much infrastructure as possible, even though they violated the gazetted route.”

He stressed that the project complies with federal laws governing coastal lands and maintained that Landmark’s core facilities remain untouched.

“The Landmark infrastructure are intact,” Umahi continued. “What went off was their encroachment on our front shoreline, and the Supreme Court ruled that 250 metres from the shoreline belongs to the federal government. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Umahi raised doubts about the Landmark Group’s claim of investing $250 million on the land in question. He urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to scrutinise the company’s tax records.

“Why is the FIRS chairman not going after them for tax? You have to go after them,” he said.

To support the government’s position, Umahi pointed to documented footage of the disputed area. “They didn’t know that we videoed the existing route, and no single structure was there,” he claimed.

He also addressed alleged Landmark’s global media outreach against the project with a dismissive tone. “The woman is making me very popular going to America, going to Canada — and I elected to give her money to go to London — because we do not care. We have Mr. President who has our back and we are moving forward.”

In a moment of levity, Umahi used a cooking metaphor to describe the stretch unveiled at the ceremony, likening it to an appetiser ahead of the main course.

“I remember when I was young and our mother used to cook, she would put Maggi, she would put crayfish, and she would now take the spoon and put it to her finger to taste. The Maggi there is Hitech, the crayfish there is Ministry of Works,” he said.

“Sir, today we are testing how the 750km will be completed,” he added. “We are giving you major projects, presidential projects. You have nine projects besides the coastal road that you will be commissioning.”

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is among the Tinubu administration’s signature infrastructure efforts, aimed at improving connectivity across southern Nigeria and enhancing tourism and economic development along the route.