The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially renamed the highly anticipated Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Coastal Highway. The announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, during a media briefing in Abuja. According to the minister, the decision was finalized after extensive consultations with the ministry’s leadership, including the permanent secretary, directors, and other senior officials.
The rebranding serves as a direct tribute to President Tinubu’s long-standing architectural and infrastructural vision for the country. Minister Umahi explained that Tinubu originally conceived the master plan for the massive coastal corridor approximately 27 years ago while serving as the Governor of Lagos State. “It is one thing to dream and another thing to have the grace of God to actualise that dream,” Umahi stated, praising the President’s divine mandate and focus on turning the decades-old vision into a modern reality.
The ambitious 750-kilometre project is designed to span multiple coastal states, establishing a vital economic link between Nigeria’s commercial hub and its southeastern coast. Giving a progress update, the Works Minister highlighted that Section One—stretching 47.47 kilometres from Victoria Island to Eleko Village—is already setting benchmarks as a flagship model. This portion features a massive six-lane carriageway equipped with an integrated 25-metre-wide median purposely reserved for a future railway line, intended to blend road and rail transportation.
Beyond the name change, the briefing came with a wave of newly approved infrastructural expansions across the nation. President Tinubu has greenlit a 400-kilometre extension to the Fourth Legacy Highway—stretching its reach to 1,100 kilometres into Taraba State—alongside the complete reconstruction of sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway using durable reinforced concrete pavement. These sweeping approvals reinforce the current administration’s targeted approach to modernizing Nigeria’s transit networks to boost economic activity and domestic connectivity.
This Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway discussion provides an on-the-ground look at the open sections of the road while exploring the public and political debates surrounding the renaming of this national infrastructure project.
