Esther Imonmion
The Federal Government has announced that the first 47-kilometre stretch of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will open to traffic between December 12 and 17, 2025.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this on Sunday during an inspection of the project. He said both the government and the contractor are committed to delivering the initial section of the 750-kilometre highway, which will connect nine coastal states.
“This job must be completed. We are here on the president’s directive to ensure the carriageway is opened for public use by December. Everything will be done to provide unfettered access from channel 0 to channel 47, up to channel 55,” Umahi said.
He added that the government has also set April 2026 for the completion of Section 1 and half of Section 2 for full commissioning, excluding bridges.
In a separate development, Umahi addressed the recent ruling on the suit filed by Stella Okengwu, CEO of Winhomes Global Services Limited, over claims that the highway route encroached on a proposed Winhomes residential development in Okun Ajah, Lagos.
Umahi said the Federal High Court struck out the suit—Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1803/2024—for lacking merit, noting that Okengwu’s own affidavits indicated that Winhomes had sold the disputed land to third parties, thereby losing any proprietary interest.
According to him, the court held that Okengwu and her company lacked locus standi and failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action. He accused her of making misleading public claims intended to discourage foreign investment.
“The court has exposed her claims as mendacious and unfounded. The public should disregard her allegations regarding the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway,” Umahi said.
The scheduled opening of the first section of the highway marks a major milestone in the Federal Government’s push to improve national road infrastructure and strengthen connectivity across Nigeria’s coastal corridor.