PANDEF rejects FG’s plan to divert Lagos-Calabar coastal highway
THE National Youth Wing of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has rejected the Federal Government’s decision to redesign and
The Lagos-Calabar coastal highway is a flagship infrastructure project of the Federal Government, conceived to link Lagos to Calabar through a string of coastal states, with promoters citing its potential to boost trade, tourism and development along Nigeria's southern seaboard. Since it was announced, the project has drawn attention over its cost, route and the communities it would pass through, with stakeholders in the Niger Delta particularly keen on ensuring the road retains its coastal alignment to directly serve oil-producing states long associated with underdevelopment despite their resource wealth.
PANDEF, a pan-regional group that has historically advocated for the interests of the Niger Delta and South-South geopolitical zone, views the coastal routing as central to correcting infrastructural neglect in the region. Reports indicate the group's youth wing is opposed to a reported plan to reroute the highway through the existing East-West Road via Ondo and Edo states instead of hewing to the originally proposed coastal path. What remains unclear from the coverage is the Federal Government's official justification for any alignment change, the cost implications, and how it would affect the project's timeline.