IYC REJECTS ALLEGED PLAN TO DIVERT LAGOS-CALABAR COASTAL HIGHWAY, WARNS OF POLITICAL FALLOUT
By EgbemaVoice
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide on Wednesday rejected any move to divert the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from its original coastal alignment, describing suggestions to redirect the project onto the East-West Road as “insulting, provocative and unacceptable.”
Addressing a press conference at Ijaw House in Yenagoa, the Dr. Doubra Okotete-led 10th National Executive Committee of the IYC said the organisation and the entire South-South region would not accept the exclusion of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states from the highway.
The group reacted to statements purportedly made by the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, indicating that the flagship project of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration could be diverted from Ondo State onto the existing East-West Road due to financial constraints and difficult terrain.
“We state here unequivocally that the Ijaw nation and the entire South-South will not accept the diversion of this all-important project under any guise,” the IYC declared.
The council argued that the South-South produces over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth, which funds major federal projects across the country, including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Sokoto-Badagry Highway and Abuja-Kaduna Highway. It said the region would not accept being short-changed on a project designed to benefit it directly.
“How can a project be too expensive or its terrain too difficult in the very region that produces over 85% of the nation’s wealth?” the statement asked. “Our oil must not be used to develop other regions while our region is told that developing our area is too costly.”
The IYC pointed to ongoing infrastructure projects by South-South state governments and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as evidence that the difficult terrain argument does not hold. It cited the Nembe-Brass Road in Bayelsa (21 km with over 15 bridges across Atlantic swamps), the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie Road with its 630-metre bridge across the Nun River, the Port Harcourt-Okrika Road featuring the 1.2 km Kaa-Ataba bridge, the Bonny Ring Road, and the Gbaregolor-Ogulagha Road in Delta State, among others.
In a direct challenge to former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, who had publicly questioned the feasibility and cost of the coastal highway, the IYC offered him a fully funded, all-expenses-paid trip to Bayelsa and other South-South locations to assess the projects himself.
The council also issued a political warning, noting that several South-South governors, including Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) partly on the strength of promised federal projects such as the coastal highway.
“Politically, this diversion, if allowed to see the light of day, is suicidal for the President and the ruling party re-election bid in the South-South, even as January 2027 draws near,” the statement said. “You cannot seek our votes while taking away our roads.”
The IYC called on President Tinubu to intervene urgently, direct the Minister of Works to adhere to the original Federal Executive Council (FEC)-approved design, and ensure the highway follows its planned 750 km coastal corridor through Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
It further demanded the public release of the approved designs and engineering drawings of the entire project, and directed that the contractor commence work immediately on the Rivers/Bayelsa/Delta/Edo axis simultaneously with the Lagos-Ondo and Cross River-Akwa Ibom sections.
A later disclaimer by the Minister was dismissed by the IYC as calculated and unconvincing. The group insisted that only concrete actions, not statements, would restore confidence.
The statement concluded that while the Ijaw people remain peaceful and accommodating, unguarded decisions on the coastal highway could undermine the political acceptance of the President and his party in the South-South ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The press conference was addressed by National President Comr. Dr. Doubra C. Okotete and National Secretary Ayebakuro Itari Igbeta, Esq., PhD.
OCTOBER 15, 2026.
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