The Federal Government has approved an additional 100 kilometers to the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, allowing it to pass through Edo State, South-South Nigeria.

This extension increases the total length of the highway to 800km and brings the number of covered states to nine.

Nigeria’s Minister for Works, David Umahi, disclosed this development at an Independence Gala night hosted by the Edo State government at the State Villa, Benin City, on October 1, 2025.

The Minister quoted President Tinubu’s directive regarding the project’s route, saying: ‘This project must pass from Lagos to Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and to Cross River. And that is why we are here. Your Excellency, the President has given you 100 kilometres of the coastal road.”

Umahi recalled that when the idea of the coastal road was first conceived 47 years ago, Tinubu contacted the governors who were in office along with him, but the project unfortunately could not take off at the time.

He explained the reason for the variation in the road’s length, stating that the original known route did not include Edo State: “So, when you heard 700 kilometres, and today you hear 750 kilometres, you may ask yourself where the difference is coming from; the difference is coming from here.”

The Minister commended the government and people of the state for their tremendous support for the Federal Government and for their steadfastness to the values of the government’s Renewed Hope agenda.

Umahi also assured them of the government’s commitment to the quality and timely delivery of inherited ongoing projects in the State, despite what he described as frightening infrastructural and funding deficits inherited from previous administrations.

Umahi commended the state governor for agreeing to intervene on some critical sections of the Benin-Sapele-Warri road, which had become a death trap for motorists, and praised the level of work so far done by CBC, the contractor handling one of the sections.

He directed the contractor to step up efforts, saying: “So I want to thank you, Your Excellency, for this intervention, and I want to thank CBC for the very good quality work we have seen. But, re-mobilise to this place, and the controller must be giving me photographs of work done every day, and we have to do more work at night.”

Monday Okpebholo, the state governor, thanked the Federal Government for including his state in the coastal highway project and for all the improvements on the federal roads in the state since the present administration took office.

He noted the gesture as a manifestation of the President’s interest in the people of the state and thanked the Minister for the innovation in road construction, which he said would guarantee quality and value for money.

The Governor equally commended Umahi for his commitment and for always responding whenever his attention is called to the infrastructural needs of Edo, stressing his administration’s desire to change the narrative in infrastructural development in the state.

He vividly described the poor state of a crucial road, noting: “A few days ago, I came to this axis on my way back, and what I saw almost made me weep. Seeing the number of vehicles that were on this road, and the trailers that fell, I felt it shouldn’t be so. The government is trying, and whoever is criticizing it doesn’t know what he is doing. However, criticism is also good because it serves as a wake-up call for all of us.”

The Governor then explained his rationale for calling the Minister’s attention to the road, stressing: “I invited you because of this road; it’s terribly bad. If I do my part and you do your part, no one will criticize the government. That’s the main reason I called you here. Our people are crying out for this road to be fixed. We need to do something about this place, whether it’s the federal or state government.”

The Governor concluded by stating that Benin people use the road the most, and they cannot go out and come back from work without struggling, which necessitates immediate action by the governments to fix the road and make it motorable.