The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has reiterated that the ongoing 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was not a waste of resources weaved with corrupt tendencies as claimed by critics.

Umahi said this at the Second Stakeholder’s Engagement and the unveiling of the 71-kilometre alignment of the Ondo State Section of the coastal highway on Thursday in Akure.

According to the minister, I saw on social media that one of the very respected former presidents said that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a wasteful and corrupt project.

“But the man, by his age and position, deserves our respect, but I must explain as Minister of Works that the project is not wasteful and is not due to corruption.

“It is my duty to explain by reasons of my years in public service and in engineering,” he said.

Umahi said that Section 1 of the project was already 70 per cent done, especially in the Lagos axis.

He said that the project would bring a lot of benefits to the country, adding that President Bola Tinubu-led government was doing all inherited road projects in the country.

The minister described the project as very transparent, adding that for anyone to develop the country, there was the need for solid investment in infrastructure.

He said that the meeting was necessary in order to bring in the inputs of the stakeholders in the project.

Umahi explained that there was no zone in the country that had not benefited from the road projects initiated by President Bola Tinubu-led government.

Umahi promised that all Federal Government projects in the state would be executed and completed.

He urged the state government to handle the compensation of those who might be affected by the ongoing projects in the state.

He asked Nigerians to continue to pray for President Tinubu and give him all necessary support for the transformation of the country.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State thanked President Tinubu for many ongoing federal projects in the state.

“We have not had it so good in recent times with federal projects in our state.

“Permit me to mention but a few: The Akure – Ore Dual Carriageway, the Akure – Ado Ekiti Dual Carriageway, the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, and the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Akure,” he said.

He stressed the importance of completing these projects, noting that their completion had potential to boost economic activities in the state and the South-West region.

The governor also appealed for additional federal support to actualise critical projects such as the Ondo Deep Sea Port and the mitigation of the Ayetoro sea incursion.

Aiyedatiwa assured the Minister of Works that the state government would provide an enabling environment for successfully executing the projects.

“We are resolute in our commitment to ensuring that these projects are completed for the benefit of our people.

“In this regard, I pledge the Ondo State Government’s unflinching support and commitment towards actualising their completion,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the occasion also witnessed the minister’s inspection of the ongoing construction of the 18.4-kilometre Akure/Iju-Itaogbolu road.