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…“Hope Is Realisable”, President Assures
BY ABIU-SATAR HAMED
LAGOS, NIGERIA – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again appealed to Nigerians for patience as his administration works to deliver on its promises and ease the nation’s economic challenges.
Speaking on Saturday, May 31, 2025, during the commissioning of Phase 1, Section 1 (30km) of the ambitious 750km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Tinubu acknowledged the ongoing hardships faced by many citizens.
“I know at this stage, your expectation is still very high and our people are still going through difficult times,” the president said. “I take this opportunity to appeal to all Nigerians that the hope is here and it is realisable.”
He assured the public that positive change is underway, stating, “You would be proud of the benefits. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Inflation is coming down. The corruption in the exchange rate is eliminated. The corruption in fuel subsidy is limited to the barest minimum.”
President Tinubu reiterated his administration’s commitment to strengthening the local economy, “It is all for you, the people. We are reducing the cost of manufacturing and encouraging manufacturing locally. We give all incentives for everyone to abide by the principle.”
He concluded with prayers for national peace and security, saying, “May God bless our country; may God bless Lagos State and keep our fighting soldiers safe.”
The president also issued a stern warning to land developers along the new highway route:
“Development on land without government approval will not be compensated.”
“Let me at this stage warn all developers, the Federal Government reinforced the setbacks for the interest of our nation, development without approval will not be compensated. We have gazetted and published the setbacks, we are going to enforce it rigidly in every way possible,” he stated.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, said the project was designed on a six-lane carriageway with a total corridor width of 60m.
According to him, only the landmark’s encroachment on the front shoreline was touched during the construction of the road.
“Mr President, I want to state that we did no harm to the landmark property. It is by your order that we should save as much infrastructure as possible even though they violated the gazetted route.
“The landmark infrastructure is intact, what went off was their encroachment on our front shoreline, and the Supreme Court ruled that 250 metres from the shoreline belong to the Federal Government, and so we didn’t do that,” Umahi said.
The minister announced that the President had ordered the governors of states with major Federal Government projects to give a minimum of 500 metres from the edge of the carriageway which would be part of the tolling arrangement.
He said by law, the Federal Government was not supposed to pay compensation for shanties along the road, but the President directed that compensation be paid.
Umahi further disclosed that a total of N18bn had been paid in compensation for the Phase 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
