President Bola Tinubu has flagged off repair works on the Eko Bridge and Marine Bridge in Lagos as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to improve critical infrastructure and ease transportation along the Lagos corridor.
The flag-off took place Sunday during a stakeholders’ engagement on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Tinubu was represented at the event by Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu said the president remained committed to infrastructure development, security and job creation under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to the governor, Tinubu directed him to assure Lagos residents and Nigerians that the Federal Government would continue to pursue development across the country.
Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the ongoing development of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying more than 200 kilometers across different sections had been constructed within two years.
He said additional measures would be introduced along the highway, including slip roads and improved drainage connections to the Lagos Lagoon, to provide relief for residents and other road users.
The governor said Lagos would also deploy motorized cleaning equipment to maintain the highway and improve cleanliness along Sections 1 and 2.
Minister of Works David Umahi, who also spoke at the event, condemned the vandalism of public infrastructure, describing the destruction of national assets as “devilish,” “wicked” and unacceptable.
Umahi urged Nigerians to help protect government infrastructure, saying the president, ministers and governors could not be everywhere to monitor public assets.
“It is very disheartening to know that these people, the efforts they are putting in to destroy national assets, if they put it on labour work in Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, if they put it in all the construction sites of the state government and Federal Government, they will put in less effort, and they will make more money,” he said.
“So, it’s devilish, its wickedness, and it’s unacceptable. The President cannot be everywhere; he is not a spirit. The minister cannot be everywhere; governors cannot be everywhere, so we have to come together to protect our national assets.”
Umahi warned that vandalism could undermine the benefits of major infrastructure projects, saying roads constructed under the president could last for decades if properly protected.
“When these roads are built under the President, they will last for 100 years. But when the roads are excavated and removed, we will be back to square one, and God will not allow it,” he said.
His comments followed the recent vandalism of sections of the newly constructed Festac-Alakija Bridge, where suspected scavengers reportedly broke into parts of the structure in an attempt to remove embedded iron rods and other metal components.
The Lagos State Government has arrested 27 suspects in connection with the incident. Sanwo-Olu, who inspected the affected sections of the bridge on Saturday, said the structure remained safe, sound and open to traffic. He also ordered immediate reinforcement and repairs.
Umahi also raised concerns about activities along sections of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, particularly the removal of construction materials and illegal occupation of the road.
“We have had very terrible, unpatriotic elements removing the blocks, breaking the fence, removing the rods and treading on the highway. This must stop,” he said.
The minister directed the Works Controller in Lagos to prevent motorcycles, tricycles, hawkers and other unauthorized activities from operating on the coastal highway.
“Their job is that no keke on the coastal highway, no motorcycle on the coastal highway, and no loitering,” Umahi said.
He also called on the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to strengthen the protection of strategic national infrastructure.
Umahi disclosed that the Ministry of Works had opened its ongoing projects to scrutiny by anti-corruption agencies.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 750-kilometer, 10-lane project designed to connect Lagos with Cross River through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The project is being constructed by Hitech Construction Company Limited under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works.
The Federal Government has described the highway as a major infrastructure project expected to improve transportation, reduce pressure on existing road networks and create economic opportunities along the coastal corridor.
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