Lagos-Calabar Highway: Don’t sacrifice Ondo’s coastline, Afenifere tells Tinubu

By Dayo Johnson Akure

The Secretary-General of Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to ensure the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway passes through the coastal communities of Ondo State, declaring that the current alignment distorts the project’s original vision.

Ebiseni, in an open letter to the President, said he was writing on behalf of the Ilaje-Yoruba people and other coastal communities in Ondo.

He argued that the state’s over 100-kilometre oil-producing coastline was unjustifiably bypassed despite the highway being conceived as a true coastal road.

According to him, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a historic national infrastructure project intended to connect Nigeria’s Atlantic coastline from Lagos to Calabar and should remain faithful to that objective.

Ebiseni traced the historical significance of the Ilaje coastline, noting that the area formed part of the former Lagos Colony during the colonial era.

He said historical records showed telegraph poles and cables were installed along the corridor, and British colonial administrators undertook official tours through the area.

Ebiseni dismissed any ecological justification for excluding the Ondo coastline, citing major engineering feats such as Victoria Island and the Eko Atlantic City project as proof that such terrain could be developed.

The Afenifere scribe expressed concern that consultations on the highway in Ondo were held in Akure rather than in the affected coastal communities, adding that the proposed alignment was neither presented to nor discussed with local stakeholders.

While commending the Federal Government’s progress on the project, Ebiseni acknowledged ongoing construction from Victoria Island toward Ondo through communities including Irokun, Agerige, Uhapen, Olopo and Ipare.

However, he alleged the alignment deliberately veered inland, leaving out more populated Atlantic coastal communities.

He linked this to the Federal Government’s approval of a 100-kilometre extension connecting Edo State.

Ebiseni stressed that the coastal communities were not opposed to development in neighbouring states but insisted that Ondo’s coastline should not be sacrificed to achieve that.

He said connecting Ondo’s coastal areas would unlock economic opportunities, reduce coastal erosion around Aiyetoro, and stimulate development across Ilaje, Ikale and neighbouring communities.

The Afenifere Secretary General proposed that the highway continue along the Ondo coastline to Oghoye in Warri before linking with the Edo section through an alternative alignment across Delta and onward to Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

While describing the project as potentially the most impactful legacy project in the Niger Delta, Ebiseni, urged President Tinubu to ensure it fulfilled its original coastal vision.

He however, congratulated the President and Nigeria’s security agencies on recent successes against insurgency and terrorism, reaffirming the loyalty and support of the coastal communities while expressing hope that the Ondo coastline would ultimately be integrated into the landmark highway project.End

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