Monday, November 24, 2025 - The Federal Government has announced that the first 47-kilometre section of the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway will be opened to traffic in December 2025.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this during an
inspection tour of the highway on Sunday, stating that the opening is scheduled
to take place between December 12 and 17.
He noted that both the government and the contractor are
committed to completing this section of the 750-kilometre highway, which
connects nine coastal states of the federation.
“This job must be completed. We are here on the president’s
directive, working for the people, to ensure that the carriageway is opened for
public use by December. We have agreed with the contractor, and that is what we
are assessing now. Everything will be done to provide unfettered access from
channel 0 to channel 47, up to channel 55; that is our intention,” Umahi said.
He added, “We have set aside the 12th to the 17th of next
month to publicly open it for public use, without stopping the work. We have
also set aside April next year to complete Section 1 and half of Section 2 for
full commissioning, excluding the bridges, which are part of the Section 2
contract. We are grateful to God Almighty for His mercies and for the President
He has enabled to carry out this job. Also, the contractor is working to ensure
that the entire Section 1 of the highway plus half of Section 2 will be
completed by April 2026.”
In a turn of events, the minister revealed that a recent
court ruling clarified the status of Okengwu Stella Winhomes’ claims on the
Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project, striking out her suit for lacking merit.
“The attention of the public has been drawn to the extensive
media commentary surrounding the suit filed by the Chief Executive Officer and
Managing Director of Winhomes Global Services Limited, Stella Okengwu,
concerning the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project.
“Since initiating the action, Mrs Okengwu has made several
public allegations against me, claiming that the highway route was diverted
into a supposed Winhomes residential development in Okun Ajah, Lagos, thereby
jeopardising investment said to be worth over $250m. However, what has been
presented publicly as a ‘residential development’ is in substance only a
gatehouse structure without further development on the site,” Umahi said.
He added, “Crucially, documents filed by Mrs Okengwu herself
before the Federal High Court tell a different story from the narrative being
circulated in the media. In the affidavit supporting the Originating Summons in
Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1803/2024, as well as in her further affidavit, she expressly
deposed that Winhomes had sold the land in question to third parties. Having
divested their interest in the property, the foundation of the company’s public
assertions becomes fundamentally inconsistent with the position they presented
before the court.”
Umahi further explained that the Federal High Court held
that Mrs Okengwu and Winhomes Global Services Limited lacked the locus standi
to institute the action, having admitted through their filings that they no
longer held any proprietary interest in the land. The court found that the
plaintiffs failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action against the
defendants.
He said Okengwu was spreading misleading and false claims
through media channels to scare foreign investors from investing in Nigeria.
“She has told several lies against the Minister of Works.
She has been so wild in her negative comments against the good intentions of
the Renewed Hope administration in revolutionising road infrastructure
nationwide. The court of law has exposed her claims as mendacious and
unfounded, and this goes to show she is no more than a troublemaker and false
alarmist,” Umahi said.
He concluded by advising the public to disregard online
allegations by Stella Okengwu regarding the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway
project.
The announcement of the highway’s December opening marks a
key milestone in the federal government’s efforts to enhance Nigeria’s road
infrastructure and connect the nation’s coastal regions efficiently.
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